The hand is often open or relaxed and in connects with what ever part hits the target first. Punching like this without protection will certainly lead to you breaking your hand, finger, or wrist.
Before i get going with this blog i want to make clear that i don’t think there is a problem with punching – i think punching is a technique that should be learned and should be used in self defence (i just have an issue with how it is generally taught).
There is a real problem with how people learn to punch (not everyone – but most people), this problem is how the punch connects to the target.
Punching is used in sport martial arts (e.g. mma, boxing, taekwondo, etc.) and so; any punch, that is landed within the given target, is worth a point (or two, or however many). It doesn’t matter where, exactly, the punch lands e.g. a punch to the forehead will gain as many points as a punch to the temple and/or a punch to the chest will score as many points as a punch to the solar plexus.
When it comes down to the crunch – when you are (unfortunately) cornered in an allyway by a huge aggressive Chelsea fan with no option of talking your way to safety – landing your punch accurately (to the cm) becomes extremely necessary. In sport (as mentioned before) a punch to the forehead and a punch to the temple will be valued with the same number of points, but in a self defence situation there is a big difference:
Punch to the temple: landing a strong, fast, and technically accurate punch to the temple will (should) drop the aggressor to the floor, or at least stun him (blur his vision and making him loose his balance), giving you enough time to run away, or finish him – whatever your style.
Punch to the forehead: landing a strong, fast, and technically accurate punch to the forehead, other than leaving a red fist mark on his bald forehead, will (definitely) cripple your hand and leave chuncky attacker smarting, angrier, and more determined to crush you than ever – you will get crushed (possibly).
Also, in sport, gloves are worn to protect both the hand of the puncher and to prevent cuts and serious injury to the ‘punchee’. This leads to a lot of people punching with slightly relaxed and open fists (being relaxed is great when fighting but fists should not hit relaxed!) – so so so often i see people punching without a straight wrist. In a real life situation this will be an extremely painful lesson to learn. (It’s usually the first thing i have to change of new clientss/students’ technique.)
Yo conclude, check the connection of your punch:
- make sure you are deciding where to hit (accurate to the cm), and hit it!
- make sure your fist is closed tight, clenched, grasped, squeezed, and solid.
- make sure your wrist is straight – the line from shoulder to knuckles/tagret should be as straight as uncooked spaghetti! (This often feels like you’re rolling your fist downwards.)
If you land a fast, hard, technically correct punch to an accurate target with a clenched/straight fist – you’ll get the intended effect (knocking out the for aforementioned Chelsea fan).
All images have been provided by Titan Academy:
http://www.TitanTaekwondo.com & http://www.Facebook.com/TitanDojang
Master Luke Robinson
Master Luke Robinson 
Interesting post! What do you think of how Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do teaches you how to punch? Your method of punching requires the knuckles to be lined up horizontally while his are lined up vertically?
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I think it’s quicker to learn and less likely to hit in the wrong position, but twisting at the connection point helps to rifle the energy through the target. Hitting lined up vertically (from my experience) generally hits faster but disperses the power more. I think understanding both and being able to resource both is ideal 🙂
I think the points about connection to target are relevant to both techniques though.
Thanks for commenting – I appreciate the question!
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You’re welcome and thanks for answering it!
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