So if you throw punches in boxing (or kickboxing, Muay Thai or any striking-sport) that inflict some damage, you are going to hurt your opponent. That is the goal too. There are plenty of boxing coaches and enthusiasts who don't want to plainly say this though. Not without a qualifier. They want to explain that the art and sport of striking is not necessarily to hurt someone and there is so much more to it than just violence. This is probably because a lot of people who haven't spent a lot of training in boxing don't fully understand. They think it is just 2 guys or gals beating the crap out of each other. Boxers and coaches can be sensitive to this and will be quick to tell you that there is so much more than just violence. They are correct but the simple, inescapable fact is that again, we strike our opponent to hurt them. It is an amazing, beautiful art and yes, sweet science, that takes years to learn and develop, but this art/science is about inflicting damage. In most cases, this is not because fighters hate or dislike their opponent and want to hurt them for this reason. There is no negative emotion attached or hatred/dislike between combatants. Oftentimes quite the opposite. There is almost always mutual respect on both sides but none of this changes the fact that the object is violence.
The level of violence can depend on the fighter and more importantly, whether it is amateur boxing or professional boxing. Amateur boxers generally fight 3 rounds, wearing head gear, and most of the time, the strategy is to simply out-point your opponent instead of knocking them out. Out-point means landing more strikes than the other guy and generally controlling the action. Just as I mentioned earlier though, it will be very hard to win a points battle if your strikes do almost no damage at all nor have much force behind them. This is because the other fighter will be able to walk right through them and do damage to you, meaning you pretty much have to punch and run away for 3 rounds. Some amateur boxers can do this, for sure, but it is not the best strategy and puts you at risk against higher caliber opponents
What about if you are just training for fitness though? You have no desire to compete and certainly don't want to hurt anybody? That is where I am at right now. But I can tell you that regardless of fitness goals, f you are throwing non-violent punches on a heavy bag (or mitts), you are heavily, heavily limiting the fitness benefit you get from training. You will also give yourself a low ceiling in terms of progress so the fitness benefit potential for the future is much less too. Throwing violent punches makes you stronger, burns more calories, increases your cardio, works more muscle groups, better trains your skills like balance, agility, coordination and reaction time, has stress-relieving and confidence-boosting benefits - I could go on and on.
When you are punching (or anything) the heavy bag, you should always ask yourself this question - If you were being hit by your own strikes, would it hurt at all? Of course no one really wants to be hit, even lightly, but would any of your own strikes actually do damage to yourself or any other human non-baby? If the answer is "no", then you really should punch harder.
Harder doesn't just mean tensing up and trying to muscle your punches. I have written several blog posts that talk about the mechanics of throwing powerful punches and it has little to do with how strong you think you might be. Here are a few:
https://theboxingmanifesto.blogspot.com/2025/11/punching-power-is-something-you-are.html
https://theboxingmanifesto.blogspot.com/2022/12/do-i-have-to-be-big-strong-to-throw-big.html
https://theboxingmanifesto.blogspot.com/2025/07/slow-down-to-get-it-right-yes-but.html
Beyond the technical aspects, there is a mental side too. In fact, the mental side is what people often are missing. I see this much more often in women than in men but there are major exceptions, of course. Someone who has done extensive boxing training for years may still not get it. Their punches, footwork and defensive form can be pretty good but their strikes feel like just movements to me. The same movements they would use in any form of exercise. But that's not what boxing is. Even if you do it for exercise. Your punches, kicks, elbows, knees, whatever are designed to hurt an opponent and that is how we should practice them on the heavy bag for maximum benefit. Throw everything with bad intentions and you will get so much better. We need to come to terms with this, embrace it, and avoid all excuses for not doing it.
Speaking of excuses, here are the ones I have heard people say out loud as well as some I have heard them think in their brain, using my psychic, telepathic powers:
"I don't need to punch hard because I am too old/too tired/not planning to get in the ring with someone/not a fighter/just doing this for exercise/etc."
"I am not strong enough to punch hard"
"I just want to work on the technique."
"I am trying to pace myself"
"I am not a violent person"
"Not every punch needs to be powerful"
Note that many of these are not necessarily wrong. But they are not mutually exclusive either. You may not be able to punch like Mike Tyson but you can definitely punch harder, no matter who you are. And regardless of whether you want to hit another human being, punching harder will have exercise benefits I touched on earlier. Working on the technique is great but power and technique are connected. They are not too separate things and improving power does not inherently make your technique any worse. Trying to pace yourself can be very limiting. You would likely get more benefit from working towards failure (exhaustion) and every time you do, you will push that bar further back. I have seen several people achieve pretty incredible feats doing this. And not being a violent person is a good thing! Again though, it has nothing to do with how hard you hit the heavy bag. Some of the hardest strikers in combat sports are some of the biggest sweethearts in real life. Hitting the bag violently and hitting a person in anger are two totally different things. Sometimes hitting the bag hard can even make you less likely to want to strike a person in anger even. Gets the stress out
I am going to take that last excuse - "Not every punch needs to be powerful" - separately because it is another thing that boxing coaches, boxers and boxing enthusiasts love to say. That sometimes we use "throwaway" punches to set our opponents up. This is certainly correct but how many super light, seemingly intentionally light punches do you see thrown in a professional boxing match? I have watched hundreds, maybe thousands, and can tell you there are not that many. Not every punch is 100% either. It's not all or nothing. There are faster punches, there are harder punches, there are set-up punches but very few are thrown at a level of intensity that would not do any damage to their opponent, as I spoke on earlier. If you are just trying to set someone up, there needs to be a payoff, aka violent punch you are setting them up for. So if you are training at a sub-maximal level, there should be a reason for it. But a lot of people use it as an excuse not to push themselves.
Remember also that violent doesn't mean sloppy or out of control. Technique is part of the violence. Controlled, technical violence is what we are looking for. Think Mike Tyson in the 80s or our very own member, Kayla S, in the modern day.
So next time you are doing bag work, don't give yourself any excuse not to be violent. Doesn't matter who you are, why you are training in boxing or anything. When you stand in front of a heavy bag, you are like 007. Licensed to kill!
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