How do I throw a faster a hook?

[Polish beast]

I don't know if I have slow arms. I do what I was trained, and then I adapted it. My way was a but faster, but it's still slow. I've only been doing MA for one year, and have very weak arms. That, of course, could be it, but I don't know. The way I do my hook is I turn my elbow so it's 90° (parallel with the ground), turn my back foot and hips and just punch sideways. It's simpler than it sounds. Does anyone have any tips or is it just my experience/muscle?

[Permalost]

Your way is faster than the way it was taught to you? How were you taught? Isshin ryu is known to have some odd ways of striking.

[Polish beast]

I was taught just turning the hip and punching, just less hip in Isshinryu than in MMA. Another way I was taught by some random dude who turns his elbow upwards (not completely, diagonally) and punches.

[Polish beast]

Sorry for the double post, but I forgot to say this. Sometimes I turn both my feet so I'm basically sideways.

[patfromlogan]

Yeah, make sure you have decent coaching. First thing I'd think is that the hook comes from the lower body. I don't bend the arm then get my feet set etc. I get the body moving and the strike comes out of that. It comes from the hips, so it sounds like you are kinda backward in your practice.

And when you have the form down, watch yourself in a mirror and go faster, don't think about it too much, just speed it up.

That said, speed is mindset. I was lucky enough to be in a dojo or two where the instructor told us that we are going 100% all the time. Think life and death, how fast would you move? So everytime the instructor said ich, or one, we were to move as fast as possible. It's not one two one two one two three, it's fucking EXPLODE! Years later I'm an old fart and when in the bb line I'm usually the first to finish combos ('cept when it's several moves long, then the slowpokes catch up and pass me). I don't hesitate because I was trained to do it immediately.

I drive the same way - often waiting in the left turn lane behind some dull slow car that's waiting for the long gap in oncoming traffic, I just go, because I can.

This was in Kyokuhshin and Kajukenbo, but most KK and Kaju doesn't teach this, some (few) Okinawan karate do, so good luck finding such drilling schools.

[Polish beast]

I think I have a decent coach, the reason I turn my feet/foot is so my legs are also used (I was talking about being weak before, I always try to make-up power). As for the elbow bending, I've read somewhere that turning the elbow gives it more power. I guess that's not true? My coach doesn't see anything wrong with the technique. Maybe he thinks it's because I'm from karate.

[Estarlio]

90 degrees strikes me as a rather awkward angle for the elbow. I've just tried it like that and I can't do it with any speed. Looking at the way I throw a hook, I barely lift my elbow at all until I'm most of the way through the hook - even then the only time it comes anywhere near 90 is if it's on the return and I don't use the unspent momentum to return to my guard more quickly. (i.e. I punch and then stop.)

As far as footwork goes I step across with the opposing foot to my striking hand and thrust off of the same foot as the striking hand. So that my body moves slightly in the direction of the punch and turns a little.

As far as hand positioning goes... Try sticking your fist in the palm of the other hand and swinging them around at more or less chin height at whatever distance you want the hook to land, as if you were going to club someone with them. Then do, more or less, the same thing but without sticking your hands together. I don't think there's much need to do anything more complex with your elbow than that. The amount of bend on it is, ime, largely dictated by where you want the punch to land.

That's more or less how I do it, anyway. Play around, see what works for you.

[gregaquaman]

Throw the hook at the right time and you will appear faster.

[taijidude]

It's interesting the different opinions about this. Coming from a tai chi background when I encounter something like this I tend to work it out slowly. I make the movement in the same slow fashion as practicing the form which allows me to detect and correct errors along the way. Then I can eventually start to increase the speed until I get the exact feel or movement I'm looking for.
Having said that, I tend to throw hooks a couple of different ways. If I'm already wound up I might throw it as was described above where I don't put a lot of movement in the arm but let most of it come from the hips and torso. Other times, if I'm close and don't want to telegraph I'll rotate my hips around while leaving my shoulders square and my guard up, then I lead with my hips and bring in my torso and shoulders. That lets me toss out the hook straight from a guard without taking it too far outside. I think that gives the impression of it being much faster then it really is as there's not as much arm movement, but there's still a decent amount of power behind it.

[Polish beast]

I've changed my hook a bit. For the lead, I have my back leg flat and my front on the ball of my foot, I bend my knees, and I throw it diagnally. For the rear, I still do it parallel from the ground.