Building Wrists for Punching?

Black Swan

What are the best ways you have found for building wrists so that you can punch harder? I have tried curling weights with wrists, fist push-ups, and some bag work, but if I hit someone really hard, sometimes my wrists will collapse. I do wrap for tournaments, but would like to have stronger wrists. Any techniques that you have used that really work?

Budo.Judo.Kev

I think I asked this question or a variation of it before and was told punching doesn't come from the wrist all that much.

Heavy bag, heavy bag, heavy bag to increase power of punch. Punch minus the wraps and gloves, lightly and try and build up to maximum.

I'd be interestested to see how you punch too.

Niall Keane

Blue,
With regards wrists and punching, I think the problem when people start off is that they're not strcturally aligned, and/or their ligaments, tendons aren't strong enough. The hand bends, i.e the structure collapses, and the power is delivered into the wrist joint and not the fist, which can be painful. Tendon and ligament strength needs to be built up rather than muscle, in order to hold the correct structure through delivery. In the style I practice, a student will start off with 2minute handstands, not handstand push-ups, once a day for 3 months, and then move to 2 minutes, handstands on the fists. This strengthens and at the same time teaches structure and so will cure the problem.
Regards,
Niall

Miles Long

I asked the same question of a friend of mine who has been big into weights for years. He said that a good way to strengthen the wrists is to tie a string to a weight of XXkg and tie the other end of the string to a dumbell bar, then wind the string around the bar like rolling up a poster (turning the in an alternate fashion) and then letting the string back down the same way... Anyone back this one up? I've never gotton round to trying it and I'm a little unconviniced.

Musashi

Wrist rollers (stick,twine and weight) work the forearms and grip, Captains of Crush Grippers work the crushing grip, stuff like climbing walls or "Titans Telegraph Key" work the pinch grip.
To get better at punching, practice punching. If you've any mates who box, get them to check your technique. You could also try using palm heel strikes instead? Are you training for boxing, martial arts or what? Holding your weight in a knuckle press up position is good, but not as dynamic as a punch. Try a mix of things, it can only help

Black Jack

This helped me and i got some skinny weak wrists.

Well i know this one, hurt my right hand badly when i was younger punching a mate while training, my hand jsut collapsed under the impact. I have got long arms and thin wrists but my hands are big enough, also my forearms are thin where as my upper arms are thick enough

So ive always had this problem and i have found using a light dumbell and do the basic wrist curl both ways.
1) Palm facing up, curl your wrist towards yourself
2)Palm facing down, again curl your wrist backward towards yourself, knuckles pointing at you.

Fist push ups, but wrap your wrist or wrists, give the wrist stability, this way is easier to lock out and not worry about any movement, pressure from the exercise is directed straight through the hand wrist and forearm.

And bagwork, keep hitting that punchbag, make your punches stronger, but try use a inner glove instead of a wrap, Allows more blood flow through the hand and wrist, but gives you the support you will need !

And get one of your boxing mates to check your tech, someone else here has said this, this is important, everyone has a different style but it is a natural style that they are not taught, each guy or girl throws punches from different angles naturally, so your fist will impact on the target at a differetn position, just check your tech and then make sure your knuckles are making clean impact.

Black Swan

Thanks Kev, Niall, Miles, Musashi, and Black Jack! Over the next few months I will experiment with these techniques suggested and hopefully establish a regular method to improve my wrists and punching.

Millionaire

98% of the time, i never wrap my hands....and thats for years! and never a wrist injury.

Punch the bag, start slow and build up, plus you will be working your punches too!

That will build strenght in the wirist, and get them used to the punching impact.

Roper

Millionaire wrote:

98% of the time, i never wrap my hands....and thats for years! and never a wrist injury.

Punch the bag, start slow and build up, plus you will be working your punches too!

That will build strenght in the wirist, and get them used to the punching impact.

Hey Mill,
You said that before and I know luck SOBs like you! I broke my scaphoid on a pad without wrapping my hands, I've also got bogey thumbs, legacy of same. If I don't wrap my hands, I can't move em the next day after training, particularly after a heavy pad session.

As for the OP, I'm not convinced you can strengthen your wrists for punching TBH, but of the methods above, Niall's seems like the more likely to benefit you IMO, I noticed some improvement after handstands before.

In my experience, most hand injuries from punching are caused by bad technique/lack of due care as opposed to weak wrists.

Millionaire

the funny thing is too, I have very small hands of a guy of my size.

Maybe its I just hit the pad/bag/person with a correct technique.

I can hit the wall too hardish and not a problem at all either. (thats when PC hangs for 5 mins, when I need to send an urgent email...hahha)

I was always jealous of dudes, with big mallets of hands! LOL!

Budo.Judo.Kev

Roper I thought you once said on a thread that you hurt your hands iuncorrectly wrapping your hands and since have not bother wrapping. Better get inspector O'leary on the case to find out

Roper

Budo.Judo.Kev wrote:

Roper I thought you once said on a thread that you hurt your hands iuncorrectly wrapping your hands and since have not bother wrapping. Better get inspector O'leary on the case to find out

Nope, but better get Columbo O'Leary on just to be sure. I've broken my wrist twice BTW, same hand possibly same place:mad: . I always wrap my hands, so I defo didn't say that.

Michael O Leary

Millionaire wrote:

I have very small hands of a guy of my size. I was always jealous of dudes, with big mallets of hands! LOL!

Will I say what everyone is thinking?

Budo.Judo.Kev

he has a small penis? no don't say that.

Michael O Leary

Budo.Judo.Kev wrote:

Better get inspector O'leary on the case to find out

Evenin all,

Actually I agree with Niall, Roper and Musashi in that a lot of it is technique. Musashi mentioned heel palm shots and I know Gerry/Millionaire favours them for self-defence over punching. The thing about the heel palm is that the heel is at the end of a long strong bone and this is what enables people to generate a lot of force in their strikes without damaging their wrist.

In Wing Tsun we close the fist in such a way so that when the four knuckles make contact with the target, the force travels along this big bone (radius/ulna?) and out through the knuckle of the ring finger leaving the wrist strucurally aligned. I have been hitting pads hard for 13 years and never wear gloves, hand wraps and have never had any problems.

I don't know how Niall does it in his Tai-Chi but again, structural alignment seems to be the key. I have been hit in the head by some of his lads and can testify that they hit hard.

Regards,

Michael O'Leary
www.wingtsun-escrima.ie

Michael O Leary

Budo.Judo.Kev wrote:

he has a small penis? no don't say that.

Jeez Kev, you are a terrible fella.

Gerry, you know we are only having a bit of fun.

Actually I forgot to mention that our method of punching in Wing Tsun is basically the same as the old bare knuckle boxers of 100 years ago.

Regards,

Michael O'Leary
www.wingtsun-escrima.ie

ColinJennings

I agree with JackBlack.
Wrist curls and press ups are the way to go. Even tually I progressed to 'jumping' pressups, where I'd push slightly off the ground and land down on my fist. From there I began punching a wall a few times a week. Now I can easily punch any immovable object withouht fear.

Niall Keane

Miles & Blue,
The method you describe Miles is used in Emei Mountain Martial arts, the One I described is based on Wudang practices. Basically what holds your joints in place are the ligaments, with reinforcement from the tendons and muscles that provide additional “tensile strength’. The major muscles such as the biceps etc. don’t do a lot of this; they’re to a large degree linear in action, providing a lot of power in a single direction. The muscle groups that help hold our bones together are the micro/ twisting muscles that provide us with afore-mentioned tensile strength. Push-ups etc. mainly work on large muscles i.e. compressive strength (you’ll probably know some people who work out all day and constantly get injuries in martial arts). This type of training can have a slight effect on strengthening the ligaments and tensile muscle groups, but it’s secondary. Hence I have previously advocated fist hand-stands rather than handstand push-ups. The alignment is corrected and there is a balance required that demands an increase in tensile strength.
On Emei the rolling of weights is another method of increasing the strength of the twisting / tensile muscle groups, hence it works.
You have to understand that Chinese philosophy is based on general observation, and the west’s on particular experiment. Both can be negated by prejudiced, myopic dogma, and both can fall foul of believing that they are the only truth, a balance is needed!
We all have our own truths! What works for you is all you need,
Regards,
Niall

Millionaire

LOL! I expceted that jibe! ha ha

When I punch, I always concentrate on hitting with first 2 kunckle, and proper technique, thats probably how i can hit full power, no wraps.

ninjawitatitude

Hello Blue,
Try these guys.
http://www.ironmind.com/ironcms/export/IronMind/GripTips/griptip.html

They are exercise for strengthening grip, wrist and lower arm strength.

OMFG! I repeat, OMFG!

Budo.Judo.Kev

Blue - Why do you need strong wrists for? You don't punch in WTF

Black Swan

Budo.Judo.Kev wrote:

Blue - Why do you need strong wrists for? You don't punch in WTF

Kev:
In most WTF rules tournaments in the States you are correct (except for setting up kicks with punches), but in a few others we are now seeing judges award 1-point for hitting your competitor so hard in the chest protector that it significantly moves them.

(Millionaire did you do TKD in Canada? Do they award points for hard punches that move the opponent?)

But I am interested in more than winning points in a tournament. I have observed since I came to the US that TKD competitors rely quite a bit on their chest protectors for defense against body punches. This is an obvious weakness that I can exploit.

And lastly, did you watch the 2004 Olympic Games (TKD womens)? It seemed that there was a lot of kick-and-hug, kick-and-arms, to avoid a counter kick. No one is going to want to hug you if you punch them hard when they get close.