Hey, guys.
Ando here.
I just got an email from Steven.
Hey, Steve.
Steven wants to know, “What is the best fist for fighting?”
Great question.
It can be confusing trying to figure out how to throw a real punch.
That’s because there is so much conflicting information out there.
You’ve got the guys who will tell you to turn your fist all the way over.
Then you’ve got the flat fist crowd.
The three-quarter crowd.
Vertical fist.
You’ve got guys who will tell you to hit with your big knuckles, guys who will tell
you to hit with your bottom knuckles.
People who curl up their thumb underneath.
Some will put their thumb on top.
Some who use knuckles punches.
How about ridge hands?
Sword hands?
Leopard fist?
Some guys will tell you that you shouldn’t even punch someone in the head because you’re
going to break your hand.
You should only use your palm heel.
So, with all that information out there, how is anyone, beginner or advanced, supposed
to have confidence in practicing their punching?
Well, today, let’s see if I can help shed a little light on how to throw a real punch.
When it comes to a real fight, the best fist is the one that hits the other guy and doesn’t
hurt you.
So, which fist does that?
All of them.
And none of them.
Cute, huh?
Look, here’s the thing…
the best fist is the one that fits.
I’ll say that again.
The best fist is the one that fits.
Here’s what I mean.
Take a look at my face.
Let’s pretend for some demented reason, you wanted to punch me right in my smug, fat-lipped
face.
You’re not the first one.
Take your fist and put it right up to the screen and imagine you wanted to punch me
right on the point of my jaw.
What does your fist look like?
Now move it up.
What if you wanted to punch me on the nose?
What if you wanted to punch me in an eye?
What about across my nose?
What about the temple?
What about the angle of my jaw?
What about the hinge of my jaw?
The corner of my eye?
Straight into my throat?
The side of my throat?
Even with just this one target area, look how many ways your hand can change its angle
to fit the target better.
What you don’t want to have happen is have a point of impact on one knuckle, leave a
gap, so that when you’re following through, it tweaks your wrist or breaks the bones in
your hand.
Now, even if you decided, okay, I’m going to use a flat fist right to the point of my
chin, great.
But what happens when I move my head as we’re fighting?
Suddenly, all those angles change.
What happens when you’re shuffling around and changing your position?
Again, all the angles change.
So, there is no one all-purpose super fist that fits every single angle of your opponent.
So, the best fist is the one that fits.
And that’s going to depend on two things.
One, your positioning, and two, your targeting.
So, how do you throw a real punch?
How do you know which punches to practice?
Easy.
Practice all of them.
Yeah.
That’s why the martial arts take so long to master.
You need to make it your goal to hit any target from any position.
But bad news.
You can’t learn how to do that punching in the air.
You need to hit something solid.
I don’t care if it’s pads, or bags, or boards, or people, hey… whatever you have
access to.
But you need to train your fists to make those last second adjustments to hit the target
well.
Even when you’re sparring, even if you’re wearing wraps and gloves, and you think you
can get away with your one size fits all super punch, I want you think about fitting, not
hitting.
That’s right.
When you’re sparring, instead of thinking about hitting, think about fitting.
Here’s why.
Let’s say you land your super punch on the other guy.
Maybe it hurts him, maybe it doesn’t.
But if you hurt your hand because it was the wrong punch, you may not be able to continue
the way you want to.
On the other hand, if you land that super punch and it was the right fist at the right
time, well, whether it hurt him or not, you’re still capable of continuing that fight.
And you may have to.
So, it’s worth the time to keep training hitting solid objects, different sizes, different
shapes, static, on the move, so you’re picking out the fist that fits.
Hey.
A little secret for you.
You know all those guys who tell you that you shouldn’t punch to the head in a real
fight because you’re going to break your hand?
Well, to be honest, I teach that same thing.
But only to beginners.
Once you know what you’re doing, you can absolutely punch to the head and your fist
is going to be just fine.
So, don’t let anybody tell you that you’re punching the wrong way.
Just make sure you’re doing the work and you’ll punch the right way.
Steven, I hope that helped to clear things up just a little bit.
For everyone else, if you dig what I’m laying down, don’t forget to subscribe.
Click over to SenseiAndo.com and get on my email list.
Until next time, go hit something, and keep fighting for a happy life.