The Hitting Hands

Hands have been the most versatile tools our body's have been endowed with. Using layman's language, universal human design says we have five jointed fingers, a palm, back of the hand, and a wrist that connects it to an arm. Using muscles, the fingers can flex or extend, moving independently from each other, bending at the joints. In full flexion the fingers curl and the hand forms a fist and in full extension the hand opens with fingers extended.

For hundreds of years humans have been using their hands in many ways. Pushing, pulling, holding, scooping, counting, grabbing, poking, waving, slapping, hitting, etc.. Hands have the ability to perform the most delicate of procedures, as evidenced by surgeons, and artists. Hands provide a language, signed for those with little or no hearing, or written. Hands have the power to create, divide, condemn, sustain, and even bless a man. Hands can move supplely and dance-like or be rigid and brute-like. Hands have been used to bring nations together as well as push them apart. But for the hundreds of years that hands have aided in the advancement of the human race, one thing is constant, hands have always protected the wearer.

Of all the martial arts and self defense techniques in the world, nothing can be more fundamental than hitting with the hand. Learning to hit with the hand is one of the first things you learn in self defense. How you hit depends on who's teaching and what you're hitting. The following is a list of some of the more common hitting hand forms.

Let's look at the basic punch. You'd think that making a fist is an innate gross motor skill that we have embedded in our physiology, but considering how many people break their hands in fights makes me beg to differ. Well, maybe making a fist is gross motor, but making it to suit the purpose of hitting needs to be learned.

I've seen many different ways fists are made. The most common way is to curl the four fingers starting from the tips into the palm of the hand, joint by joint. Then place the thumb over the index and middle finger.

It's important to keep hand relaxed up till the point of contact, just before impact clench the fist. Proper alignment in the hand, wrist, and arm is important to make for a powerful strike and less chances of spraining or breaking the wrist on impact. Steer clear of punching hard bony parts of the body. The chances of your fist coming out with the win over the head or elbow is slim; remember, the hand is made up of many tiny bones and will more than likely lose against one hard solid bone.

There are some key points to keep in mind. These points will help in preventing possible breaks, sprains, and less than powerful punches.

• Make a proper fist.
• Ensure proper alignment of hand, wrist, and arm.
• Choose targets wisely- stay clear of hard bony areas.

Next is the almighty Slap. This is one of my favorite tools to use. The power generation is just as powerful as a punch, and with less chances of injury. Imagine touching something hot, that quick flick of the wrist can generate quite a bit of power. The kinetic chain in the slap is generated through the body, to the arms, and out through the hands. Much like the chain of a flail, the arm is relaxed up to the point of impact and the energy is force out through the hand. The great thing about the slap, you can hit soft and hard targets with little to no injury to the hand.

• The most important part of the slap is to- RELAX and let it whip!

Let's now look at the heel palm. Like the slap, the heel palm is a very powerful strike with very little risk of injury. You can use the same alignment rules as the punch but the contact is made with the heel of the palm rather than the knuckles. Striking with the heel palm can also be delivered like a slap, but rather than whipping the hand, strike is made with that heel palm instead  A bonus with the heel palm is having the use of the fingers to rake and gouge the face on impact. 

When doing the heel palm, you can either bend the fingers or keep them extended. The point of contact is on the palm just above the point where the wrist meets the palm.

Next is the hand sword or edge or blade of hand strike. Extend the fingers of the hand and tuck in the thumb. You're using either the meaty part of the pinky side of the hand or the bony part by the thumb that attaches it to the hand. This hand position makes it very effective for chopping at the neck of your opponent. The chopping action, much like the motion of a hammer fist is very powerful and with little risky of injury to yourself. 

Last, but not least is my favorite- the mighty hammer fist. The hammer fist is given its name because the action resembles the swinging of a hammer. The fist is the same as the common punch, but instead of making contact with the knuckles, you make contact with the meaty part of the side of the fist next to the pinky. The hammer strike is an extremely powerful strike, and can be used to hit soft and hard parts of the body with little to no risk of injury to your hand.

Here's a last bit of advice. In order to create a more powerful strike, you should soak the target, which means to follow through as though you're hitting through it. By doing this, it forces you to commit to the strike, so be careful to not leave yourself open and exposed to a counter. As opposed to quick snapping and jabbing strikes, which aren't as powerful. Although, the faster strikes do allow you to recover quicker and keeps you less exposed to counter. They definitely have their place in the arsenal of tools. Depending on your target, you may not need so much power. In the end, use wisdom in your striking, use the appropriate strike and appropriate pressure for the appropriate target. 

These are but a small list of the tools that are in the combatants tool box, hopefully they may prove useful to you one day. Be Safe!