Boxing gloves screw up your fist?

**Traditional Tom** · Posted On: 5/25/2004 11:47am

I don't have any swelling in my wrist (I'm a 17 year old teenager... I have secret 'techniques' that I practise behind my closed door in my room, LOL jk) its just my middle knuckle of my right hand. I think I understand what your saying about squeezing the pinky and ... next-to-pinky finger hard (helps push out those two knuckles a bit more I find, or it just moves the smaller two further down to help increase the double knuckle hit...ANYHOW) but I was just wondering if anyone had any tips/advice for using the bag. Right now I mainly practise my jabs and straights (reverse punch...whats the difference between a straight and a reverse punch anyhow?) because I don't really know how to do a good hook (though sometimes my jab tends to 'hook' around a bit because my 'straight jab' muscles (shoulder) gets tired lol) and uppercut tends to go kinda screwy on a punching bag when its swinging around, so any advice / tips / drills to do with jabs and straights?

Also, I was also thinking of picking up boxing gloves, but this thread has me worried... lol, havent broken anything yet, and dont plan too!

and whats so good about glucosamine suppliments mike reese?

this forum is great :D

PS: sorry but I like to rant

**Moleculo** · Posted On: 5/26/2004 12:13am

http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?article=3877

**Sean Ross** · Posted On: 5/27/2004 12:30pm

In rating striking implements of the human body, using the clenched fist punch is way down on my list. Palm heel, forearm,elbow, hammer fist all are more useful than a standard punch. Try this experiment. Smash the heel of your palm into a brick wall. Ouch! Now try that with a standard punch. Notice how your knuckles are swelling up and you can't open your hand for a day or two? You might even want to see a doctor about that broken bone along the back of your hand.

Next, think about targets. Upper skull is rather hard. Lower skull has isolated targets with hard zones all around them. For example, nose is soft, but 1" away are cheekbones which are hard. If you are going to hid the head, I recommend not using a punch at all unless you have gloves on. But lets go down a few inches from the head. Try the throat and neck area. This is a nice soft target and is fairly disorienting to be hit in the neck. Just to test it, take a short stick and give yourself some medium strength taps around the neck. You will sense how disorienting it would be to get whalloped in the neck.

Most sport martial arts make attacks to the throat and neck illegal and there is a good reason for that. It is far more effective to hit someone in the neck than in the head. If you are preparing for competitive sport fighting, strengthen up those wrist bones and do knuckle push-ups etc. If you are preparing for self-defense, go for the throat/neck and work on safer striking methods such as palm heel or forearm.

**Shuma-Gorath** · Posted On: 5/27/2004 2:40pm

Quit whining and punch some iron, girlie man!

**Shuma-Gorath** · Posted On: 5/27/2004 2:53pm

Now for the serious post:

-Punching a brick wall in no way simulates hitting a human body or even live bone. It's not even the same kind of collision due to the density difference and elasticity. Most Tameshiwari (breaking) is done with the edge of the hand, but the targets are almost always set up on fulcrums or not in flat contact with the ground.

-The face is much less protected than the neck. I'd rather go for the large area of the jaw, temples and nose than try to work for a clean shot at the larynx. Any moron will tuck their chin when pressure is applied to the neck.

**Traditional Tom** · Posted On: 5/27/2004 4:43pm

Hey Sean Ross

As I am a teenager, I don't have 40 years of hand conditioning done, and my hands are relatively 'soft' and what not, that whole punching with the knuckle thing is as good as its going to get (at my age).

You say that palm heel strikes are on your list... well... the only problem I have with those is if your fingers catch on clothing/material and you break/hurt something in the middle of a fight... I think if you didn't know how to punch, you would look pretty funny (like some sort of demented chicken) trying to hit a guy with an elbow while he jabbed you in the face while moving backwards, just my opinion though.

I think that open hand techniques should be learned after you master the closed hand techniques, so at least you have something to fall back on if the open fails.

Just my opinion however (chuckles at funny chicken-elbow-flapping mental image)

Ahh I have nothing of value to add to this topic, hopefully the next person does :D

TT

**CrimsonTiger** · Posted On: 5/27/2004 9:43pm

Nope. The next person does not.

**Traditional Tom** · Posted On: 5/27/2004 11:20pm

useless! :D

**CrimsonTiger** · Posted On: 5/28/2004 9:45pm

This is news?

**Traditional Tom** · Posted On: 5/28/2004 11:20pm

lol Im just kidding, if nothing else, that is a VERY fluffy cat! Ive never seen a cat THAT fluffy... (nah I lie, just trying to save peoples feelings though!)