Anyone use/used palm strikes?

**Balloonknot** · Posted On: 2/10/2003 8:52am

Actually, palm strikes are more appropriate when hitting to the face or head. From what I've learned, you use a hard surface strike to hit a soft target (like a punch to the stomach) or a soft surface strike to hit a hard target (like a palm strike to the face or head). It's just not too smart to punch with your fist into someone's teeth. Their teeth will tear your fist up! Or worse, you can break your own knuckles. Using a palm strike will avoid all that nasty business. Besides, they kinda look cool don't they??

**k-diddy** · Posted On: 2/10/2003 9:17am

Bas Rutten used to use them a lot, mostly because in Pancrase they didn't used to be able to strike to the face with fists. He is a big proponent of palm strikes to the chin in certain situations, and I think he's knocked out at least one guy that way.

One other way I've seen them used at least a few times is when you have someone in your guard, palm striking them to the ear/side of the head (obviously this would kill your fist, plus you can generate more force from this position with an open hand.)

**SamHarber** · Posted On: 2/10/2003 9:50am

Personally, I don't have that much choice. I have arthritis in my fingers, and quite boney knuckles, so if I did punch someone, I can gaurentee that my hand will break first.

**Kempocos** · Posted On: 2/10/2003 9:58am

a palm heel to the side of the face is a nice followup to a forearm under the jaw.

Of course this hurts, after all it is not basket weaving.

**PizDoff** · Posted On: 2/10/2003 10:13am

"I hear they work well against sorceresses..." lol

i like to smash the nose or semi uppercut with palm,

i'm tempted to make hairy palm jokes

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There are only three types of people in the world; those who can count and those who can't.

**Rashomon** · Posted On: 2/10/2003 10:34am

I think BalloonKnot is correct. I have heard the same thing - "Soft weapon on a hard target. Hard target on a soft target." Someone else mentioned hitting to the head. Yeah, I think using a palm heel strike on the skull is the way to go. Otherwise, you might break your hand. Plus, if you're in close, like the mount or guard, it's probably easier to throw punches with the palm than the knuckles. Well, you can do a "Cuban uppercut" type punch to the ribs, but the head/face is more difficult.

Rashomon

**PizDoff** · Posted On: 2/10/2003 10:55am

cuban uppercut? whats that?

--

There are only three types of people in the world; those who can count and those who can't.

**Sheol** · Posted On: 2/10/2003 12:06pm

PizDoff:

I believe that Rashomon is referring to a "gancho", the "shovel" punch. It's a close-range striking method.

Regarding palm strikes, it goes back to target-awareness and proper punching. In my experience, most people don't know how to punch properly or they punch sloppily. Taking up boxing, either 'American' or French, would go a long way towards curing that problem. Also, you have to keep in mind the attributes of the strikes. You see, it's not the 'hardness' of the fist, because the palm of the hand is likewise comprised of bone, but the surface area of the strike.

A bare-knuckle punch uses very little surface area, meaning that the pressure is much higher. An improperly structured fist has a high chance of breaking should the target be a hard surface. That's why modern boxers wrap their hands, to reinforce fist structure by supporting their metacarpals. Contrary to popular belief, boxing gloves protect the opponent by spreading the blow over a larger surface area. It's the hand-wraps that protect the boxer's hands.

In contrast, a palm-strike's contact surface area is much larger than a bare-knuckle fist. It can't concentrate the force in a way that a bare-knuckle punch can, but it still can be an effective alternative to the fist. In fact, savate still uses open-hand techniques such as baffes (palm strikes) and maine oveurtes (other open-hand techniques), in addition to closed-fist strikes. Just keep in mind that it's like striking your opponent with a glove. You should target areas such as the side of the jaw, the chin, and neck. Those are areas where the force will cause a sudden rotation that might affect the central nervous system (brain, brain stem, and spine) or affect near-surface nerves, blood vessels, or the windpipe with blunt trauma. The lower body also has eligible target, but depending on the body-type and mass of your opponent, much of the force may be diffused.

Also, keep in mind that there are other striking methods such as striking with the bottom of the fist (a.k.a. as "hammer-fists"), striking with the forearm (the "manchette" in savate), and striking with the bottom edge of the hand. As you close, you can then use your elbows ("coude") and shoulders ("epaule"). Just use a strike that you are competent with against the appropriate target.

**PizDoff** · Posted On: 2/10/2003 12:09pm

raight......

"Contrary to popular belief, boxing gloves protect the opponent by spreading the blow over a larger surface area. "

don't forget the cushioning and minimizing penetration of a fist

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There are only three types of people in the world; those who can count and those who can't.

**Raging Bull** · Posted On: 2/10/2003 3:44pm

In my experience, it's a matter of preferance usually related to fighting style. I prefer using a fist, but my close friend (and foil) prefers palm strikes. We're the same height, but I'm a thicker build, so I hit harder whereas he hits more quickly. He's also better with more precise targets, like the solar plexus, jawbone, ear, etc.