Punch Front Technique

[Sternford]

Whenever I try a punch front I end up with pain in my shins, and I'm pretty sure it's a technique problem because they don't hurt when I do anything else. I know I'm supposed to get my legs in front of my body and keep my legs straight, is there anything else to it?

[Blairbob]

You're punching off your forefoot right?

More heel/toe raises, punches on floor ( possibly with weight held or attached ).

Besides feet in front, you need to pop and open up your hip angle as you punch off the floor. Punching off the floor isn't merely an ankle extension.

[Seiji]

You either jump or land on your heels. Landing on the balls of your feet will decimate your problem

It's a good idea to do shin raises just because though. It'll help eventually as you learn new stuff and land on the heels (because it's easier). It'll destroy shin splints too. I used to get them on my punch fronts, and i still land on my heels. I've conditioned enough that I don't get sore or hurt anymore though.

[Robbie Main]

The pain in your shins could possibly be shin splints. It is a common overuse injury in Gymnastics (and running). You can help avoid this by some conditioning for the punch, and some basic knowledge of foot position during the punch - this is most likely wher you are injuring your shin. I'll outline some that helped me:

• 
  [*:3739vfaq] Rebounds on the floor are a good start - for 4xfloor lengths (preferable along a mat join line): rebounds - pressing right through your toes (evenly) as you bounce - aim for max height NOT distance. Ensure that your heel does NOT touch the floor - your primary contact with the floor will be the large pad at the front of your foot (and not your toes or heels). Bounce along the line in a zig-zag fashion. Focus on getting off the floor as soon as you get on it - lightning fast is the key. Extend through those toes for max height!
  [*:3739vfaq] No travel punches. With straight knees/legs at all times rebounding on the spot. Heel should not touch the ground, it should be getting ready on the way down to explode again into a punch. Extend right through to the toe on the way up - you should be getting the most out of those puppies! Do 3 sets of 100 no stopping. Perfect as an interim conditioning tool between other legs conditioning :twisted:
  [*:3739vfaq] Punch-Punch-PunchFront: with arms up by ears you replicated the above punch style maximising height - two punches and then punch into front somie onto soft mat. Ensure there is no forward lean on the somie - this will send you forward and NOT up. It feels like it helps because it increases rotation speed but you really need HEIGHT - your legs will drive up and behind you to provide more than enough rotation. NOTE: if you are consistently leaning forward I suggest you do some drills from a tramp to land on a soft surface concentrating on the angle of takeoff. You must have this skill coming out correctly first, or you will just end up travelling horizontally instead of up.
  [*:3739vfaq] Hurdle Punch jump: A prerequesite is to learn a hurdle. There are other posts outlining this. You really need a long horizontal hurdle. Getting your feet slightly out in front of you will allow you to translate that horizontal motion to vertical. At the point of punch your heel should NOT touch the ground, it should be gearing up potential energy to PUNCH out and through the ball of foot/toes. Aim on getting max height - train height by landing onto a raised surface - aim to land near the edge (minimising travel and maximising height). Once thing to note is the position of your arms - by the time you punch they should ALREDY be above your head - this means motion of arms to vertical either before or through the hurdle. View a vaulting vid on youtube and you will understand the arm timing if visualising is not the best.
  [*:3739vfaq] Hurdle Punch Front: As in the above drill but adding a front somie to the punch. If you are having trouble punching up instead of out put something soft in the way that you need to go over - that wil be a great motivator!

All the best and let us know if it helped with the shins and you tried the drills / how your progress is going.

Leo

[Sternford]

This came up again and I searched for it and was surprised to find that I started this thread. I don't remember reading your post, Leo. It must have fallen off the first page. One question about the hurdle I realized. Does doing a short hurdle increase the likelihood of injury? I think I tend to have short hurdles.

And actually, to some of the other things brought up, I do take off and land on the balls of my feet

[dlsso]

Besides feet in front, you need to pop and open up your hip angle as you punch off the floor. Punching off the floor isn't merely an ankle extension.

Could you elaborate on this?

I found this video that has a couple girls doing fantastic punches (at 0:35 and 1:41) and I noticed that both the entry and the exit of their punches look nearly identical to each other. So I assume that must be the best way to do it, and am trying to emulate it.

U6wbRNBo5ys

I've gone through frame by frame and I think am am seeing what you mean by hip extension. Are there other details I should be aware of?