How To Properly To Throw Uppercuts With Gabriel Gonzaga
A little known combat sports fact is that Uppercuts used to be considered an unorthodox strike that would be crazy to attempt. Uppercuts were kind of seen the same way a lot of people still view spinning techniques nowadays. Now that was a long time ago and since then uppercuts have become a standard boxing punch and a ton of pro fighters favorite technique.
The thing is that a lot of people that are newer to combat sports don’t get a ton of education into throwing the uppercut, at least most of the time. This is bad because the uppercut, despite looking pretty simple, actually has a ton of small little details that people need to work on if you want your uppercuts to be as effective as possible.
Part of the trouble people have with the uppercut is that they tend to just throw it as an arm punch. They don’t understand that there is a lot of subtly involved in turning a weak arm punch uppercut into a massive powerful shot.
Luckily we have someone here who definitely knows a lot about power punching to talk to us about the uppercut.
In this video Gabriel Gonzaga and his coach go over the proper positioning and movements required to land heavy uppercuts.
Who Is Gabriel Gonzaga?
Gabriel Gonzaga is a Brazilian Boxer, BJJ Black Belt and former UFC fighter who fought in the heavyweight division. Gabriel is a fighter with a ton of knockout power, but you could probably tell that just by looking at him. Gabriel is most well known for scoring a head kick knockout on Mirko Cro Cop, a man who won his fights usually using his own devastating head kick.
How To Throw The Lead And The Rear Uppercut
The video starts off with Gabriel’s coach talking about how important it is to have a strong structure when you are in your stance. This will help make sure that you can have as much power as possible when you throw, it will also help make sure that you aren’t going to be off balance when you throw and after as well.
When you are throwing your uppercut, whether with your lead hand or your rear, you want there to be a line from your fist to your target. Think of it as throwing your literal bones at your target.
Before actually throwing the uppercut, you want to dip to the side of the arm that is going to be throwing the uppercut. From that dipped position you can basically squat up and this will help get your leg , the strongest part of your body, to put more force into the strike.
Remember as you're going up, you should also rotate to get even more power. This is why going from hand to hand with each uppercut is a solid idea. Think of the dipping motion as the same one you should be doing when you slip punches. This is why throwing an uppercut after a slipped punch is also a good idea, as you’re already in the loaded up position and your opponent is at least somewhat exposed as they are trying to hit you.
Learn More From Gabriel Gonzaga
If you like this technique breakdown and want to learn more from Gabriel Gonzaga and his coach then you should check out his complete tutorial series “Working The Power Punch by Gabriel Gonzaga” Available exclusively on Dynamic Striking!