Uppercut Technique

[Peter V. Dell'Orto]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Also in the real-world technique, most of the power is generated through upward translation from a lower to a higher stance, substantially engaging the strong leg muscles. This is as opposed to using the whole body torsionally or, worse, using just the arms. Using the legs in this way gives the uppercut power comparable to a kick.

Note that all properly thrown punches leverage the legs and hips - and knowing how to do that is as good as any of a justification for giving trained fighters an unarmed damage bonus.*

Uppercuts, like the man says, leverage a stance change (although not a huge one) to get even more power from the legs and hips. Although it's listed as an uppercut, it can also represent other attacks in a similar line - a shovel hook, for example (a Rocky favorite), behaves a lot like a GURPS uppercut in terms of target limitations and damage.


* It's easy to feel this too. When I hold mits for people I tell them "that was arms. You're arming it. That was arms. THAT was it!" when they finally get it to click that you're punching with your whole body. But for everyone, a proper uppercut will hit harder because you're in a better position to leverage all of that muscle.