Elbow Strike — Upward: A Complete Guide

Quick Intro

Elbow Strike — Upward is a Martial Arts Drills exercise performed from close range by driving the elbow upward and forward in a rising arc toward the chin or jaw, rotating the hip and driving up through the legs. Loading the strike with a slight knee bend and driving up through the legs is what gives this strike its lifting power.

Equipment Needed

No equipment is required. An open patch of floor with enough room to drive up through the strike is all this drill needs.

Why It Matters

Loading the legs and driving the elbow upward in one motion asks the lower body and the upper body to work as a single unit at close range. The biceps (biceps brachii) and the front of the shoulder cap (deltoid, anterior) drive the elbow up through the arc, and the muscles along the sides of the abdomen (obliques) add rotation behind the strike. The chest muscle (pectoralis major) supports the upward drive, the lower back muscles (erector spinae) brace the spine through the motion and the largest glute muscle (gluteus maximus) and the front of the thigh (quadriceps, rectus femoris) drive the leg extension that powers the whole strike.

When to Do It

Elbow Strike — Upward works well within a close-range striking session, added once the basic guard and clinch positioning already feel steady, before combinations or clinch work build on top of it. Fitting this strike into two or three sessions a week is enough to build the leg drive it depends on.

Anyone with a current shoulder, elbow or knee issue should get individual guidance before adding this drill, since the leg drive and the rising arc both load those joints at close range.

Getting Ready

Standing at close range for a moment, feeling the knees slightly bent and ready to drive, checks the loaded position this strike depends on. A few slow, partial strikes, rising only halfway, preview the full motion before full speed is attempted.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Set the range. Stand at close range with the knees slightly bent.
2. Load the legs. Settle the weight down into the bent knees to load the strike.
3. Drive upward. Extend the legs and hip to drive the elbow up in a rising arc toward the chin or jaw.
4. Reset the guard. Return to a guarded position before the next strike.

How Many, How Often

Elbow Strike — Upward is dosed by reps, with each load-and-drive strike counting as one.

Driving the strike up through the legs, with the knees bending first, matters more here than how many strikes land in a set, since an elbow lifted by the shoulder alone loses most of the power this strike is built to generate.

Modifications and Variations

As an easier version, Slow Upward Elbow performs the same strike at reduced speed, isolating the leg drive and rising arc without the sharp acceleration of a full-speed strike.

As a harder version, Upward Elbow to Clinch adds an immediate clinch entry right after the strike, securing head or arm control as the elbow’s momentum closes the distance.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Lifting the elbow with the shoulder. Raising the arm without the legs driving upward first turns a powerful strike into a weak shoulder shrug. The legs load and extend first, and the elbow follows that upward drive.

Skipping the knee bend before the strike. Striking from a standing-tall position, with no load in the knees, removes the source of the strike’s lifting power. A brief but visible knee bend before driving up is what makes this strike work.

Striking with the elbow too far from the body. Letting the elbow drift wide before the rising arc begins telegraphs the strike and shortens its reach toward the chin or jaw. Keeping the elbow close and tight until the legs drive it upward keeps the strike both sharp and hard to see coming.

After Your Set

A few slow shoulder rolls in each direction release the shoulder after repeated strikes. A standing quadriceps stretch, holding one ankle behind the body for a few breaths, lengthens the legs that just drove the upward motion.

Going Deeper

Loading the legs and driving the elbow upward asks for whole-body coordination that raising the arm alone does not. The knee bend tends to disappear once speed is added, right as the legs matter most. Slowing back down and rebuilding the knee load before pushing speed again fixes this faster than repeating a shallow strike at full pace.

Someone new to this drill generally manages a controlled, moderate strike within the first few sessions, then works toward a fast, fully loaded strike over the following couple of weeks.

How to Know You’re Improving

1. A knee bend that loads visibly before each strike
2. An elbow that stays close to the body until the legs drive it upward
3. A strike that lifts with force without needing a wider swing
4. Leg drive that holds up even once full speed gets added

A consistent knee bend before the rise matters more than how many strikes land.

Muscles Worked

• Biceps Brachii (the front of the upper arm, folding the arm tight so the elbow leads the rise)
• Anterior Deltoid (the front of the shoulder cap, lifting the whole arm up the rising line)
• Obliques (the muscles along the sides of the waist, turning the hip under the strike to add force)
• Pectoralis Major (the chest muscle, drawing the arm in close as it climbs)
• Erector Spinae (the muscles running along the length of the spine, extending the spine behind the upward drive)
• Gluteus Maximus (the largest glute muscle, pushing the hips up from underneath)
• Rectus Femoris (a front thigh muscle that crosses both the hip and knee, straightening the knees to lift the whole body into it)

FAQ

Why does the knee bend matter so much for this strike? Bending the knees loads the legs with the power this strike depends on, since an elbow lifted by the shoulder alone generates only a fraction of the force the same strike produces when the legs drive it.

Is this strike different from a horizontal elbow strike? Yes, this version rises in a vertical arc toward the chin or jaw using leg drive, while a horizontal elbow strike travels across the body using hip and shoulder rotation instead.

Is some shoulder or leg fatigue after this drill normal? Yes, a worked feeling through the shoulder and the legs after a full set is expected. A sharp pain in the shoulder, elbow or knee is a different signal, worth pausing for and mentioning to a doctor or physical therapist.

Does the slow version need to be clean before adding speed? Yes, a strike that already loads the legs cleanly at slow speed comes first, and Slow Upward Elbow is the drill for it.

How often should the upward elbow be drilled? Two to three times a week, once the basic guard and close-range positioning feel steady, suits most people building toward this close-range tool.

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Related to Slow Upward Elbow as the easier version performed at reduced speed and Upward Elbow to Clinch as the harder version adding a clinch entry after the strike.