Someone told me that Foreman was an arm puncher, is this as preposterous as it sounds

[sonnyboyx2]

power comes from more places than that, dude.

explain???

[Mugwump]

A lot of fighters are arm punchers these days. Maybe they draw a small amount of power from their legs - but it's a rarity to see anyone hitting out from the knees like a Tyson.

Come to think of it - Hamed drew pretty much all of his power from those massive thighs of his. Probably the reason he's regarded as one of the hardest hitting feathers of all time.

[billeau2]

explain???

Dempsey does a great job of explaining this: its actually universal...Regardless of technique punching power comes from a set of elements that have to work together. First off the feet should be dug in...can be the toes, but at least part of the foot. Then the legs have to ground the foot as they tense making the spine into a pivot. At that point (and this can differ) one can either explode the pivot, pivot through a lot of points (if one draws a circle where the hips are located) but the legs and feet have to be set in motion by this pivot...it can even be an inch like the weight drop on a one inch punch, where one simply moves the hips an inch and drops the weight....but some movement takes place...IT CAN EVEN BE INTERNAL but that is a tricky concept to explain...but some chinese boxers can do this...anyhow...
From the hips the shoulders are the next pivot and they have to be relaxed with the elbows in close so the energy stays grounded. the shoulders swing, the arms extend the hand closes on target and power is transferred.

Another way of doing this is to step and ground by making sure the hand hits the target as the foot hit the ground, but I would argue (from experience) that EVEN in this linear fashion the spine must create a pivot..albeit a small one. BTW guys who explode the pivot...Tyson for example, make more power through this explosive movement...Bruce Lee did the same thing.

The difference between martial artists, self defense guys and boxers is that we martial artiiisteees tend to want to make this movement smaller and so efficient that it cannot be picked up...why engage a guy who can block a punch? if you can throw the punch in a manner where it is untelegraphed and thus unseen? You can see hints of this economy in Louis and dempsey...even in Tyson really.

[them_apples]

in his youth he never threw arm punches. He torqued his entire body.

Foreman was so strong though, that even in his comeback when he was much slower - he shortened his punches to arm arm punches as to have less telegraphing - but they still packed a good shot. The bombs foreman would throw in his youth however were devastating and came from his legs as much as his arms.

[Insane Ninja]

He used both (as does every fighter ever) and it was more common later when he was older, but even his arm punches could hurt you.

[K-DOGG]

Sometimes he did; but the majority of the time you can see his torso and thighs move as he dug into the canvas with his toes.

Foreman had "natural punching power" too, so even when he didn't get "full power" behind his shots, he could hurt you. The man was incredibly heavy-handed.

[New England]

explain???

have you ever boxed / hit the heavy bag or mitts?


i can assure you that you're using more than your hamstrings ["the back of the thighs."]



you can't go around to a gym and tell who punches hardest by lifting up everybody's skirts and seeing who has bigger hammies...



punching power comes from a coordinated series of muscle contractions to shift weight and accelerate through a target.

[brahmabull81]

I think they just look more like arm punches because he stands so squared up but if you look at the KO of Moorer, he actually turns in the punch a LOT, it just looks awkward with his zombie style.

[The Old LefHook]

Foreman was indeed an arm puncher. He punched Ali over and over in the arms. He never knocked anyone out with an arm punch.

[billeau2]

Richard Pryer on George Foreman..... "Which one is da refereee? good cause Im gonna knock the other mutha fvca out."

Actually while in this territory another good puncher Max Bauer during his fight with Louis for the championship: Maxie goes back to his corner after getting battered and his handlers say 'dis guy got nuthin he aint hittin ya champ' where upon Bauer looks up and says "Well then you boys better keep your eyes on that sun a a beutch the ref because he is beating the **** out of me" A little levity after this weekend