I was watching knockout secrets (an mma doco) and one of the trainers said that in order to throw a good punch with snap the whole body should tense up just for a second at the end of a punch. Is this correct?
In for answer 
What did they mean by "tense up"?
What I do notice when I watch fights, Boxing and MMA, is that fighters who have great snap in their punches or strikes, usually have great technique.
If you wanna see whether or not someone tenses up just as a strike or punch lands, your best bet is to find a some slow-mo clips on YouTube.
A great example would be the after round highlights during a boxing match where the commentators go over highlights of the round with a slow-mo replay.
But what I do notice with KOs, is if you watch them in slow-mo, the moment of impact does seem to have a "tensing" moment just before the receiver of the strike/punch shows he or she was effected by it or not.
Ive been told this by two people during training i guess its like the battering ram type affect not sure in mna tho unless other guy was hurt or slower its not the best tech imo but I'm an armature
And a amateur lol
ANT_P1989 - What did they mean by "tense up"?
What I do notice when I watch fights, Boxing and MMA, is that fighters who have great snap in their punches or strikes, usually have great technique.
If you wanna see whether or not someone tenses up just as a strike or punch lands, your best bet is to find a some slow-mo clips on YouTube.
A great example would be the after round highlights during a boxing match where the commentators go over highlights of the round with a slow-mo replay.
But what I do notice with KOs, is if you watch them in slow-mo, the moment of impact does seem to have a "tensing" moment just before the receiver of the strike/punch shows he or she was effected by it or not.
In terms of tensing up. The way it was explained in the video is that with a properly thrown punch all the muslces "stop" or "tense up" at the same time.
Paulie Ayala told me that you should stay completely relaxed throughout your whole body until the last second when only your hand should tighten to make sure you land the punch with a clenched fist.
chtdrmn - Paulie Ayala told me that you should stay completely relaxed throughout your whole body until the last second when only your hand should tighten to make sure you land the punch with a clenched fist.
Paulie wasn't much of a puncher but he is correct. You especially don't want to clinch your fists tight until right when your are extending your arm to the point of contact. Being light on your feet and bouncing until the punch is at point of impact, and turning hips while snapping the shoulder all helps.
boxing wiz -chtdrmn - Paulie Ayala told me that you should stay completely relaxed throughout your whole body until the last second when only your hand should tighten to make sure you land the punch with a clenched fist.
Paulie wasn't much of a puncher but he is correct. You especially don't want to clinch your fists tight until right when your are extending your arm to the point of contact. Being light on your feet and bouncing until the punch is at point of impact, and turning hips while snapping the shoulder all helps.
this pretty much sums it up
Think of it like cracking a whip. Loose as you throw, but tense for a split second as it lands. Then relax again.
More importantly, do not pull your punches. Let the target stop their motion. This imparts all of the kinetic energy.
tensing up your whole body makes no sense, since half your muscles will be working against the other half.
You tense your hand, that is all.
Don't tense your body. You'll tire out very quickly, and become so slow, robotic, and predictable, that you'll be eating a lot of counter punches. Just before your punch lands you tense your fist, and that's all.
HULC - Don't tense your body. You'll tire out very quickly, and become so slow, robotic, and predictable, that you'll be eating a lot of counter punches. Just before your punch lands you tense your fist, and that's all.
exactly, clench your fist at the moment just before impact. think of your arm like an iron chain connected to an iron ball and your body is the catapult to launch that sucker.