Mike Winkeljohn Teaches You How To Strike More Effectively And Efficiently!
Coach Mike Winkeljohn is one of the most highly respected coaches in MMA, coaching out of the legendary Jackson-Wink MMA Academy located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Coach Mike Winkeljohn has coached some of the top MMA fighters, such as John Jones, Carlos Condit, George St. Pierre and Holly Holm to name just a few. Here, Coach Winkeljohn shares some insights on throwing his straight punches!
Looking at just the straight rear hand punch, probably the first or second strike you learned but that does not mean it is easy. Having a strong rear straight is an essential weapon in a fighters arsenal, so having the fundamentals of throwing this punch correctly is extremely important. To start, Coach Winkeljohn has his fighter throw his rear straight punch on the mitt. What Coach Winkeljohn points out is that the rear straight needs to utilize the whole body behind it. If you just use your arm to throw the punch you are missing out on tons of power, reach, and evasion. To help use your whole torso to generate power in this punch, Coach Winkeljohn explains that you have to use your other arm, something a lot of fighters miss out on.
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To use your lead arm to assist your rear straight, you need to quickly retract your lead arm, pulling your hand to your cheek and elbow to your rib cage, this helps twist your torso quickly making your punch faster and stronger but it also gives you extra reach in your punch. By pulling your lead shoulder back, naturally your rear shoulder moves forward, adding that last little bit of reach to your punch that can be the deciding factor between missing and hitting the target. Coach Winkeljohn explains that when pulling the lead arm back to rotate, make sure your shoulders are not even, rotate more so your rear shoulder is passed your lead shoulder so you gain the full benefit that the rotation will give you. At the same time, you do not want to over rotate. Coach Winkeljohn shows that if you over rotate you will lose balance and be out of position to follow up, a key element to this technique is the ability to return to your starting position quickly.
The next tip Coach Winkeljohn shares is how to position your head during this punch. Showing that if his fighter does not rotate fully he misses out on reach but his head is also right down Coach Winkeljohn’s center line, opening him up for attack. To correct this, Coach Winkeljohn has his fighter lean slightly to the lead leg side, this moves his head off the center line while also helping him fully rotate to gain more reach with his punch. Having that lean makes your punch have more length to it, Coach Winkeljohn explains that when watching fight footage that is a common reason a lot of people miss, they do not use their full rotation in conjunction to leaning to gain that extra length on their punch. Having the ability to use the full length of your arm will make harder, faster, snappier punches as well because your punch has more distance to accelerate and build momentum, explaining it like a car going down a highway, they longer the highway the more time the car has to build speed, making the impact all the more powerful!
The final tip from Coach Winkeljohn is the positioning of the pulling hand. When the lead hand pulls back, your hand should go to your cheek while your elbow goes to the obliques. The tighter you keep that pulling motion the quicker your torso will twist while at the same time offering protection to your opponents counter punches. The first line of protection is your lean, moving your head because it is better to not get hit at all but the reality of a fight is that your opponent will be hitting you back, so keeping that pulling hand tight will protect your head with your hand and your body with your elbow and arm. Coach Winkeljohn demonstrates that when doing this his chin should not be up, it should be tucked down and your elbow should not be flared out like a chicken wing, everything tucks in tight, this will keep you better protected.
Add all of these details to your rear straight and you will have a fast, long reaching and powerful punch that also keeps you pretty well protected when thrown! Check Out Power Punching from Mike Winkeljohn available NOW!