I've never in my life thrown a punch in anger. I'm thinking about getting a punching bag and hanging from the tree in my backyard this summer, but I'm concerned because at some point in the past I've broken both of my wrists--I do NOT want to do that again. Any of you guys in MMA or boxing who have opinions on how I might start light and work my way up to being able to throw a genuine punch if I need to? Reference video/websites?
Is there a boxing gym in your area? There are typically ones that are more for fitness/fun, than true "We are going to train you to get in a ring and fight" type gyms.
^^^ what he said.
find a local club or dojo, and then look for the smallest ego you can find. It's not terribly difficult, but hard to really explain in anything less than in-person instruction. Hitting a bag is a great way to work a sweat, and sparring is the best way to learn to keep your cool if you ever find yourself in a bad situation.
I have bad wrists too, but I wouldn't worry about throwing punches in a controlled setting, especially with tape/wrap and gloves.
I only lost two fights in my life. 5th grade and 7th. My first fight and my last one. 
I do however have two friends, one who fought in the Korean war and the other who was stationed in Korea during the Vietnam war. Both where small in stature and each learned the Korean killer form of Kung Fu fighting which I personally witnessed each performing, ending fights neither started. They could slap someone in the face with their open palm harder than you can with a fist. Also, if you karate chop someone, you do it in their throat and nothing stops a fight like a thumb into the eyeball.
If you just want to wail on something without destroying your wrists, then invest in some hand / wrist wraps and start practicing tying them up. Watch YouTube videos for advice.
I have still managed to get a couple of boxer breaks and sprained knuckles (all with wraps and gloves), but it's substantially less than if I had nothing on my hands.
I like a good heavy bag session when I'm stressed. Haven't thrown my hands in anger in 15 years and don't intend to break that streak, but it feels good knowing that I could if needed
I have two punching bags hanging in my garage and I leave the garage door open all the time. I don't ever use them.
People just need to see the bags hanging in my garage.
When I first started in racing as a crew member on a stock car, I remember two lessons from an older, seasoned vet.
- always torque your lug nuts
- never throw a punch while in the "window" of a moving car. You don't have any leverage.
Those two bits of advice never failed me.
Is the goal to get exercise working a heavy bag? Or to be prepared to throw a punch in anger?
Get professional training - boxing or martial arts that spar full contact at least occasionally. The real advantage of that isn't learning fancy technique, but preparing yourself to keep your head when you get punched in the face. Same idea that real-world car control isn't about being able to put a wheel on a dime while in a controlled slide, but to just keep driving the car when it starts doing something weird.
Punching a heavy bag, it's not your wrist that breaks. It's the tiny metacarpals in your fist that you injure. It is really really easy to hit something wrong and mess up your hand when punching with a bare fist.
This is why boxing and MMA use gloves.
If you want to train yourself to be able to throw a punch with a bare fist in the real world where people aren't gloving up, you will need to find a place that practices and trains bare handed.
When I studied hapkido*, we actually practiced and trained to strike open-handed. You can hit *really* hard with the heel of your hand and not hurt yourself. Hammer fist and ridge hand are also pretty solid and low chance of injury. Closed fist punches are either thrown really lightly to the face - just to bloody the nose, make their eyes water, and make them flinch - or medium strength to the solar plexus.
This is why old-timey boxers have those "goofy" stances. They fought bare-knuckle, so they didn't throw full-strength blows to the head, because they were more likely to break their own hands than injure their opponent. Low hand protects the solar plexus from those body shots. Front arm extended for distance and head back to keep your opponent from knuckling you in the nose/eyes/cheek.
If you work a heavy bag with a bare fist. Stick to open-handed strikes.
*Hapkido is a Korean martial art that is like the angry version of Aikido. Actually more similar to jiu-jitsu.
Hang out in seedy bars and watch what the winners do
RevRico said:Hang out in seedy bars and watch what the winners do
...situational awareness of which idiots are about to throw hands, quick footwork to get well out of their way, observational skills and good timing to snag unattended nearly-full drinks they can duck out the back with.
Beer Baron said:When I studied hapkido*, we actually practiced and trained to strike open-handed. You can hit *really* hard with the heel of your hand and not hurt yourself.
Yep. If you punch a guy with a big enough chin a broken finger may result, so palm strikes to the face are taught in self defense classes.
keep your elbows in, effort and motion that extends out to the sides in motion and force that isn't directed forward. Elbows in, knees slightly bent, fluid and loose, base slightly wider then your hips, and rotate your hips through the target when not throwing a jab.
j_tso said:Beer Baron said:When I studied hapkido*, we actually practiced and trained to strike open-handed. You can hit *really* hard with the heel of your hand and not hurt yourself.
Yep. If you punch a guy with a big enough chin a broken finger may result, so palm strikes to the face are taught in self defense classes.
More likely forehead. One of the reason to keep your chin tucked.
To illustrate the advantage of an open-palm strike vs. a closed fist, instructor would point at the cinder block wall and ask, "How hard can you punch that without hurting yourself?"
Sumo wrestlers beat on laquered tree trunks.
A fight in 8th grade earned me a boxers fracture of my right hand. My wrist was fine but punching the other kid in the head a dozen or so times was bad for the carpel bone.
I found it to be more effective when I was in the army and had a run in with a mouthy troop who threatened me, to pick him up by the throat and bang his head on a wall for emphasis. I'm probably not strong enough to pull that trick off these days.
But as everyone has said the secret to punching things is to choose something softer than your hand. Drywall: fine. Drywall over a stud: ER visit.
Going into a fight know right up you're getting hurt. With some training you get hurt less, still hurt though.
How's your overall fitness level? If "OK I guess", better make that first punch a doozy.
I remember as a kid if you got me in a headlock, that's it I have no idea what to do. Now, 6 or so years of Indonesian, I'm getting hurt but not as much as you are. Find a style or trainer you like, maybe take a Free Seminar type class as research or a one on one to discover weaknesses, but a heavy bag is not your friend.
Like driving, bad habits are the hardest to break.
I was told if I ever get in another fight, I have a 50/50 chance of blocking their first punch and if I do to moving in close and grab his neck with my left hand and crush his trachea with my left thumb and pop out his left eye with my right thumb. I hope. If I could only find a decent stun gun that wasn't junk, I wouldn't have to worry about getting into a fight at all.
Look on FB or CraigsList for a heavy bag, but not one filled with sand, try to find a water filled or "hyrdo bag". Much easier on the hands/fingers/wrists. A speed bag is great exercise and quite rewarding once you get the timing/cadence figured out. To complete your workout, a "rebound" bag is the next step. It's a smaller bag attached to both the ceiling and floor with elastic straps. The combination of all 3 pieces in the basement workout room makes for a pretty intense workout(a when I find the free time).
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