Hand Speed Training Exercises

Some people naturally have good hand speed, while others have to work harder to improve it. With the right exercises, you can build on your natural talent, or develop good hand speed from scratch. These exercises can be done alone, or in pairs.

  1. Speed Bag

    • Classic speed drills are built around a speed bag, that ubiquitous tool of the boxing gym. To use it, you place it at the level of your face and then bring your fists up to eye level. Start with one hand moving it in a circle, striking the bag with the outer edge off your hand. This will cause the bag to hit the back of the board. Count that as one. The bag will rebound and hit the front of the board; that's two. It will then bounce again off the back of the board, call that three, and hit it again as comes toward you. This will set up an even and regular rhythm. Work on keeping a consistent rhythm before you try to accelerate. Start with one hand and work toward using both.

    Single Drills

    • As useful as the speed bag is, there are many other ways to get hand speed in single drills. The best are based on following the form that you study. If your karate style punches in a certain way, repetitively do that, and slowly increase the speed. Your own discipline will dictate the details. Once you have the form down, hold small weights and use the form again. This will strengthen your arms and give you more speed when you punch without the weights.

    Paired Drills

    • Drilling with a partner will allow you to gauge the speed that you have developed. With your partner holding a focus mitt or a small shield, have him move the target around as you try to hit it. This requires you to combine both the speed you have developed and judgment about where the target will be. Variations on this theme are nearly endless, and can be chosen based on your personal training goals and the form you study.