How to Throw a Punch Correctly
If you're lucky, you'll never have to defend yourself
through physical violence. But if that time ever comes, or if you're
ever enrolled in a Fight Club against your will, would you know what to
do? You've seen punches thrown on TV plenty of times, but do you
actually know how to throw one correctly?
Warning: Although knowing the fundamentals of punching is useful, it's also not enough to properly defend yourself
without practicing. It's definitely not for you to go out and pick
fights, but you all should be smart enough to figure this out on your
own.
We've asked a few experts to help us learn the proper method of
punching. We have martial artists Aiman Farooq, Christopher Waguespack,
Keith Horan, and boxer Pete Carvill. Our pros will show you the right
way of making a fist, the proper way of orienting your wrist, what part
of the person you should hit and what you should do after the punch. The
goal is to throw an effective punch without injuring yourself in the
process.
How should my hand look and what part of it should make contact?
When you're punching, the fundamental thing you should know is that your thumb needs to be on the
outside
of your fist, between your first and second knuckles on your index and
middle finger. "If the thumb is on the inside upon hitting a hard target
you WILL break your thumb," says Farooq. Horan says to make sure your
thumb is tucked below your curled fingers, to be out of the way of the
impact. Chris Waguespack adds:
You do NOT want to keep your thumb on the side of your index finger
(like you're keeping a frog or something in your hand). Instead you want
to take your thumb and wrap it down across the bottom of your curled
fingers. You also want to keep your fists tight, "but not so tight that
you start cutting off circulation. It is important, in martial arts, to
remain fluid and yet still powerful."
As for your knuckles:
There are varying schools of thought on whether you should have the
knuckles of your index and middle finger out a little farther when
punching in order to drive them in farther (this is typically emphasized
in more traditional styles). I would say this is more of a personal
preference issue and you should do whichever feels more natural.
Technically speaking though that may work slightly better when punching
specifically at certain pressure points as opposed to going for strictly
for impact.
Horan recommends a linear punch, which most martial artists do, that looks like a "cross" punch in boxing.
[It's] known as a Front Punch, or a Front Two Knuckle Punch. It is
extremely important that you align the first two knuckles in your hand
with the bones in your forearm for maximum structure so you don't hurt
yourself. Commonly people will hit with their ring/pinky knuckles and
break their hand (known as a boxer's break) and that obviously impedes
your ability to fight.
Waguespack says that the main reason why people hurt their hands when
they punch someone is "because they punch with the flats of their
fingers instead of their knuckles."
When you see people shaking their hands after a punch, it is usually
because they impacted, more often than not, with the wrong part of their
hand. Many people think that you punch with your fist straight. The
truth is, you aim to punch with the first two knuckles. In order to
achieve this, you need to slightly tilt your wrist down (which actually
strengthens your punch as well). By tilting your wrist down slightly,
you put your knuckles in front of your fingers. You also align your
wrist with your forearm, so you are less likely to bend your wrist back
or down and break it.
Farooq agrees that you should pay attention to how your wrists look as well.
The part of the fist that should be taking the impact is the flat
area between the second and third knuckles. You want to keep your wrist
straight while making impact there to maximize the force. The most
common mistake I see with newer students is that they are bending their
wrists either forwards or backwards and hitting with the top of the hand
or the area between the first and second knuckles and the heel of the
palm.
What types of punches should I throw?
If you've seen any boxing movies or played any type of fighting game,
you'll know there are different types of punches thrown with varying
speeds and angles. You might be tempted to throw the largest, heaviest
punch you can, because you want to finish off your attacker quickly and
get out of there, but Carvill says that's not the best idea. (It's
probably the worst idea.)
Instead, it should be the basic one-two (also known as the jab-cross)
that gets thrown. The reason for this is that one-two punches travel in
a straight line and, therefore, are harder for your opponent to detect.
For a beginner, your defense will also be tighter. And it should be
thrown from the correct stance—a good example is the video above. You
should throw any punches so that your arms stay level with your
shoulders. If you have your chin down and the punch comes out straight,
the shoulder will rise automatically and further protect your chin.
Throw out the jab but don't throw it too hard—it's a range-finder. Then
detonate your cross.
Where should I aim?
Because you want the fight to end as quickly as possible—you're not
fighting just to fight—you want to incapacitate your opponent as quickly
and efficiently as possible so you can escape. So where should you aim
to do so?
Keith Horan says that, unlike what you might think, you should not
punch the face. "You'll either miss, or commonly punch wrong and hit the
jaw and break your hand. The punch for the beginner is best used on the
body, towards the chest, or if you're on the side, to the ribs."
Pete Carvill suggests a slightly different tactic, but also advises against the head.
If you want to knock someone out cold, aim for the throat. When they
see the punch coming, they'll automatically drop their head, bringing
their chin in line with your fist. If you want to piss them off, hit
them in the nose. However, knocking people out cold in the street (been
there and done that, and I've never been as scared before or since) is a
terrifying experience for the person throwing the punch. If you know
how to and can, throw a left or right-hook to the body. With the
left-hook, you're trying to hit the liver. With the right, you want to
get it under the heart. Hitting somebody in the body is a lot more
effective, and safer, than hitting them in the head. Plus, heads are
solid and made of bone.
Waguespack explains further why you should mix it up and go for body shots.
People always think that aiming for the face is a one time knock out
blow. What they fail to realize is that, knock outs are usually lucky
shots. You don't throw a punch and intend to knock the man out. If it
happens, then great, but you got lucky. You throw a punch with the
intent to cause your opponent to stumble/shake his head/blind him/etc.,
so on the street in a fight, keep your composure and remember that you
are causing him pain in order to make him back down. Look at what he has
open, take pot shots at his face, don't be afraid to punch a rib or a
stomach. Remember that an untrained opponent knows nothing about
breathing right when taking a hit, so one shot to the stomach could be
more effective than a shot to the face.
As for your followthrough, don't think of it as a baseball pitcher.
By using your hips, your follow through will be natural, even if you
snap the punch back after punching him (like a boxer). This will also
keep you from the "from the country" swings again.
Aiman Farooq, on the other hand, says that there are instances where you can go for the head, or more specifically, the nose.
When we are talking just an average fight you're going to want to aim
for the face, however don't go straight on directly in. You want to
come in at a slight angle where you are actually hitting the cheek bones
first and moving in towards the nose or similarly from just above the
jawbone moving inwards. The reason for this is that punching straight
into the nose can be quite painful if you hit it incorrectly. This
method maximizes damage and minimizes risk.
In more brutal situations (i.e. self defense) areas I would recommend
hitting are the throat and the sides of the neck (close to the carotid
artery). These strikes will severely disrupt the assailants breathing
allowing for a much easier escape from a situation. If the situation
somehow prevents you from hitting that high on a person points of
contact I would recommend are the sternum (using the two knuckles
extended like I had mentioned earlier to drive in) this is a style of
punching very common in forms of Karate, it can knock the wind out of a
person. However another point that would be very helpful is the kidneys.
Hitting the kidneys can cause severe flinching and is very common in
boxing.
If for some reason you find yourself knocked to the ground, the best
point to strike would be the middle of the inner or outer thigh. While
it may not be as vulnerable to a punch as many of the other previously
outlined points the pressure points here are very sensitive and hit hard
enough they can be very surprising to an opponent and cause them to
drop. The typical attack to these parts however, is a kick.
What shouldn't I do?
If it hasn't been clear by now, your punches should be quick and
compact, rather than crazy wild swings that you see drunken brawlers
execute. Waguespack says:
Another important part about a punch, is to remember that you need to
use your hips to maximize the power. What i mean by this is, as you go
to throw your punch, roll your hips into your punch. This also forces
your shoulder to support the punch, as well as engaging your core and
causing more torque and power through the punch. Rolling your hips, also
causes you to stray from the "from the country" swing that you see so
many people do. This is a BIG no-no to throwing a punch. A) it's obvious
B) it's wild C) it leaves you WIDE open if your opponent is faster and
D) it's just not very effective.
Before and after the punch
KEITH HORAN IS A VOCAL ADVOCATE FOR MAKING A LOT OF NOISE WHILE PUNCHING.
The most important part of throwing any punch: You've gotta yell.
There's a reason karate guys yell: It's ferocious, gets the adrenaline
pumping, and awakens that animalistic nature in us that will drive us to
overcome our fears of the fight. So yell and punch, and don't stop
punching until they're on the ground. But don't follow them there, leave
it at that and get out.
As for after the punch, Carvill's tip helps you have the proper
followthrough. "Wherever you punch, aim for two inches beyond so you're
punching through it." Farooq expands on this.
Followthrough is VERY important. Followthrough is actually, contrary
to what one might believe, what will minimize the pain you experience
when throwing a punch. The punch should follow a straight path in
towards the target and out away from the target This is not to say that
the punch should be slow, but there should be a full extension of your
arm which allows for follow through followed by the hand coming back
straight towards your face ready for blocking.
He also says that the stuff you do
before you throw a punch is equally important.
Another key to punching is how the punch is prepared. Think of any
fights you've seen. Compare a boxing match to a drunken brawl. The key
difference in the punches is the part before the punch. Boxing has
mastered the art of the effective and efficient punch. Typical untrained
people will bring their hands as far back as possible in order to "wind
up" their punches. This is extremely counter productive as it will
actually lower the power of your punch and make it extremely
telegraphed. You want to start your punches from right by your face and
keep your motions tight. The way to maximize power is to engage the full
body though and this is done by twisting your back foot and hips in to
the punch. With a power punch (typically a right cross) you'll pivot
your right foot up to the ball of your foot as you extend the punch
outwards and twist your hips as well, this allows you to push up from
the floor and use that towards the power of your punch. Similarly with a
jab (more of a speedy punch off of the front hand) you can do a lighter
twist with your front leg in order to get a little more power.
While this is less related to the actual punch itself and more of a
general fighting tip, it is VERY important to keep your hands up by your
face, basically bringing the top of your knuckles to just below your
eye level. When punching you want to punch from there and snap the hands
straight back to there after the punch.
The philosophy of punching
I want to emphasize that even though you may know
how to punch, it doesn't mean that you should, because once you do, things are out of your control. Pete Carvill explains:
The most important thing about punching is that it should be the LAST
thing that you do. If you can walk away from a fight, do so. If you are
being mugged and they just want your possessions, let them take them.
There's no sense in trying to be a hero or thinking you can take on the
world. When a punch is thrown, the game changes—you could get a
beatdown, or worse. You could even land a punch on someone and kill them
if they fall badly or there's something wrong with them (I know of two
separate incidents in which people were hit once and lost their lives,
and it's not worth it).
And when you've thrown your punch and your opponent is either down or recovering,
Run. Outside the gym, I've only ever had one street fight where
punches have been thrown. I was seven years old and was stopping this
bully from pushing another seven-year old around (it was a girl as
well). I pushed him away from her, he attacked me and I knocked him on
his backside with one punch. I then ran like hell. Unless you want or
have to stay there, there's no point in sticking around.
Acting!
But what if you just want to look like you know how to throw a punch,
say, if you're filming a new fan-made Street Fighter series for
YouTube? Jenn Zuko Boughn, stage combat instructor, shows us exactly how
to do that.
For a real punch, the alignment not only is necessary for efficiency,
but also so that the punch-er doesn't get just as hurt (or more so)
than the punch-ee.
We stage combatants are in the business of effective illusion,
however, and as such don't want to land our punches on anything solid.
As a teacher of a teacher of mine once said, "Air don't bleed" (1). Now
we are not throwing "real" punches on stage or film, true, but it has to
be an accurate illusion. As I always say to my stage combat students:
we want to be safe first, but we also want to look awesome. A
fake-looking punch is not awesome-looking, so I do think it is important
for stunt fighters to know what it's like to land a punch, so they know
what it feels like and can thenceforth act it well. This, however, is
where martial artists who begin stage combat come into issues. What they
do in stunt fighting feels fake to them. Sometimes, they'd rather "just
spar," which is the worst thing you could do on film or onstage, for
several reasons (2).
The main point, though: stage combatants want to a) be safe, i.e. never
land a punch on their partner, and b) look as though they really have
landed a punch on their partner.
This
punch looks like your basic clock across the face. It can be as big as a
haymaker, or as small as a close-in-looking rap across the cheek. The
illusion we're creating for an audience is that of one pretty powerful
punch sideways across the face. Since our actors' faces are often their
resumes, however, we don't really want to do this (even to a stunt
double). So here's what we do instead. First, the actors measure their
distance from each other to make sure the attacker's extended fist is at
least 4 inches away from touching the victim's face. Then:
Attacker: Wind up arm: forearm parallel to floor
Victim: Place hands for sound effect
Attacker: Pivot hips, push fist in a straight line in the air
Victim: React with face sideways, sound effect
Attacker: Drift fist down towards floor
Victim: Act the pain
Obviously, in film the sound effect isn't done by the actor, it's
done by the post-production crew. But the main idea is that the actors'
fist and face end up nearly a foot apart, though because of the
flattening of perspective of an audience member's perception (or a
camera's eye), it looks as though the actors are much closer and the
punch hits home.
Another note: this punch looks good when either of the actors' backs
is facing the audience. From the side, the space between the actors is
clearly visible. So cameras must be placed strategically, and a
proscenium stage is best for this type of punch. The victim's "selling"
of the reaction is the key to maintaining this illusion.
Funny/sad stage combat story: This involved a stage slap, not a punch, but it's a similar idea.
I was part of the Chorus in a musical a while back (I won't name names
or I may insult someone). The director knew I had stage combat
experience, so he asked me to show a safe stage slap to the actor and
actress playing the leads, who needed to execute said slap as a climax
of the play. So I did. They tried it twice, maybe three times, then the
actor (who was the recipient of the slap) decided he'd rather really be
slapped, as it "felt more authentic." I of course urged him to
reconsider: with enough practice, it looks quite real and you are a
great actor, I'm sure you can…no? Okay. I washed my hands of the affair
and let him let himself get slapped four nights a week for the next
month.
Of course, you can imagine what happened: one night, the adrenaline
was especially high, or the angle was off, or well, something. All kinds
of odd little nuances happen onstage; when there's a hand smacking a
cheek, even more so. Anyway, the actor got smacked pretty hard that
night. He came backstage between scenes, red-faced, discombobulated,
hurt, and annoyed. I didn't say "I told you so" (though I thought it).
I'm just glad he wasn't worse hurt than he was (4).
NOTES:
1) Dale Girard, author of Actors on Guard, said this often as he taught/directed.
2) Real punches just don't read to an audience: they're not clear,
they're not easy to trace with the eye, they're fast. A stage punch is
really super-big, and the actor must indicate hugely. This is something
no martial artist in his right mind would do. Stage Combat is about
telling a story, not about fighting. Also, though we enjoy watching
Jackie Chan hurt himself in out-takes, or hearing about the escapades of
stuntpeople, getting hurt on the job is not anything anyone wants.
Getting hit in the face is not an easy thing to take once, certainly not
over and over, no matter how tough one is.
3) Along with this punch (often called the "straight punch"), there is
the jab (which is the illusion of a straight jab to the nose), the
cross-punch, the snake punch, the uppercut, and all kinds of variations
when ground-fighting. You can see some interesting behind-the-scenes
punches in the extras of Fight Club, as well as the student-run videos
on the MSCD stage combat YouTube channel.
4) The first chapter of my Stage Combat book relates an "Unlucky
Thirteen" bad things that can happen to a face when it's been slapped
for real.
Source: http://lifehacker.com/5829523/how-to-throw-a-punch-correctly
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