| Summary: | Jab, cross, and hook punching power and the physical characteristics affecting them.
Mikael Paajanen, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä
Background: Powerful punches are essential in full-contact combat sports, yet few studies have examined the physical qualities underpinning punching power. This study explored how rapid force production and maximal strength relate to jab, cross, and hook power in combat athletes.
Methods: 74 male and 31 female athletes from boxing, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and MMA participated. Punching power was assessed using the PowerKube (ICC = 0.80–0.92). Physical characteristics were measured with tests including the reactive strength index (RSI), jump push-up RSI, countermovement jump, broad jump, landmine throw, one-repetition maximum bench press, and isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP).
Results: For males, all rapid force tests showed significant correlations with all punches. The strongest were observed with the landmine throw (r = 0.43–0.58, p < 0.001), followed by jump push-up RSI and RSI (r = 0.32–0.49, p ≤ 0.006). Bench press showed weak but significant correlations (r = 0.28–0.34, p ≤ 0.016), while IMTP was not significant.
For females, jump push-up RSI showed the strongest associations (r = 0.49–0.77, p ≤ 0.006), followed by landmine throw (r = 0.43–0.56, p ≤ 0.017). IMTP was significant for the cross (r = 0.47, p = 0.009) and hook (r = 0.44, p = 0.015), and bench press for the cross (r = 0.41, p = 0.024) and hook (r = 0.49, p = 0.005).
The top 10 punchers of each gender outperformed the bottom 10 across nearly all tests, except for IMTP and the cross punch in males, with most effect sizes being large. The strongest in IMTP and bench press also outperformed the weakest in all punches (d = 0.47–1.27).
Conclusion: Rapid force production is the key physical attribute for punching power, with maximal strength, especially upper-body in males, and both upper- and lower-body in females, also contributing.
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