Basic Attack - Lead-Hand Uppercut

This week's tutorial is on the technical details of the uppercut with the lead hand (for orthodox fighters, this is your left hand; for southpaw fighters, your right).

To make our body learn the correct principles to throwing this punch, it’s recommended to practice slowly and with exaggerated twist and knee bend. Once you’ve gotten your body used to throwing the uppercut that way, it’s much easier to shorten the form and throw a quick, abbreviated version of it, but if you try to master a quick version without learning the slow full-twist version first, your quick version will not be quite right. Practicing the exaggerated full-motion version will make the punch come from your feet up through your hips and shoulders properly.

This attack can be considered significantly riskier than straight punches, as lowering your front hand off of your face even a few inches creates a window for your opponent to strike you with a straight punch, which is why this attack is best utilized in context of a combination, but it can be extremely effective if used and time correctly.