Mike Tyson Teaches Rookies Basic Punching Techniques

You would think that throwing a proper punch is a formality for every adult male, especially those that are involved in sports one way or another.

This is not the case however as evident in this video where Mike Tyson teaches former American football linebacker Brian Urlacher how to throw a powerful punch on FOX Sports.

Mike Tyson is probably at the top of most people’s list of boxers you want to teach you how to punch with power.

There are a few notable points I’d like to point out in the short clip above.

Firstly, Urlacher didn’t know how to make a proper fist. This is quite common for people that have never thrown a punch before, let alone boxed.

He had his thumb sticking out past his knuckles, a recipe for breaking your thumb. Tyson quickly corrected him on that.

Tyson also stated the importance of turning the fist to create more power, and the need to being one’s hand back to guard after throwing a punch.

But the thing that struck me the most about what Tyson said was:

“The actual knockout punch is to make two punches sound like one”

What does Tyson mean by that?

He basically implies that you should use a quick 1-2 combination to create a knockout. The jab distracts the opponent and sets up the straight that follows immediately behind it.

It’s difficult to score a knockout with single punches especially at the elite level, unless you’re a superb puncher. Throwing a combination however, greatly increases your chances.

Lastly, Tyson briefly showed how to use rotate the body to add more power into the punch.

You would already know if you’ve read my article on How to Punch Harder that punching power has very little to do with the arms; most of the physical force is generated by rotational body movement.

Despite the very short lesson on how to throw a power punch by Mike Tyson, he managed to cram in plenty of gems that I’m sure boxing rookies can learn from.