Straight Punch Placement By Stephen Whittier
It is not enough to just be able to punch hard and fast, you must know where and how to place the punches to do any significant damage. Here, Stephen Whittier shows the target in which he aims for when throwing his straight punches to the head and the body!
Stephen starts by explaining that the main targets for his head punches are going to be right down his opponent center line, under the thick and boney forehead. You do not want to hit somebody in the forehead, you can damage your knuckles on it because it is some much thicker than the little bones in your hand.
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Where you want to make contact is from the nose down to the chin if your opponent is right in front of you and from the ear to chin along the jawline and the temple if your opponent is slipping and exposing that side of the head to you or if you achieve an angle on your opponent, placing you in a dominant position to unload punches on them. Stephen continues to explain that people develop good guards when all you do is head hunt so being able to change targets and attack the body is extremely important as well.
Attacking the body can open up the head, by getting them to lower their hands or you may even drop them with a good body shot. When Stephen goes to attack the body with straight punches, he does not punch down from his guard, instead he lowers his level. If he simply just punches down that opens up his face for the opponent to come over the top and counter.
When throwing straight punches you want your chin tucked and your shoulder up guarding you. When punching down the shoulder is no longer protecting you, leaving a clear opening for your opponent. Instead, Stephen looks to lower his level, bending at his knees, akin to a more traditional boxing stance. This allows Stephen to fire off a straight shot while still maintaining some protection as well as puts his body behind his strike to deal more damage. When attacking the body with straight punches Stephen is looking to strike the solar plexus or anything down in that area.
Remember, the placement of your shots is more important than just throwing a crazy powerful haymaker. All techniques have their time and place but if you are not able to hit the right spots you may not do as much damage. Placement is key.
Fundamentals Of Functional Striking by Stephen Whittier is a 4-part series designed to give you a complete guide to the Fundamentals of Striking. Learn everything from stance and footwork to beginner friendly combinations. Once you have a firm grasp of the Fundamentals, Stephen keeps adding top-tier techniques!