Nonsense and Punching

Ordinarily, I make it a point to politely ignore Black Belt Magazine columnist Jim Wagner, the self-proclaimed, young inventor of reality fighting in the late 1990s, oh, say 1997 (my God, where would we all be without him?). But, this last issue I read his remarks on "Closed Fist vs. Open Hand, and I simply could not bite my lip yet again.

Former Sky Marshal Wagner makes his main points:

- "Men tend to close their fist under pressure."

- "Advocates of the open hand techniques say that a person runs a higher risk of breaking his hand if he strikes an opponent with a closed fist. This is nonsense."

- "When I hit someone with my fist, the last thing I worry about is injury. I can get it fixed later at the hospital." (if its such nonsense, why even mention a trip to the hospital?)

To suggest that humans are genetically predisposed to fighting with balled-up fists is one thing, but to say that we therefore should be stuck fighting with fists is something else. Wouldn't this "punching gene" also mean we should also de-emphasize grabbing and grappling and have natural troubles striking with eye attacks, hammer fists, forearms and elbows? Somehow, with a little very training, people do these other things.

The open palm strike or palm heel strike was placed into military and police doctrines for a some good reason. Whenever the closed fist accidentally hits the ducking forehead/skull, there is an increased chance for injuries. Even some classical oriental systems prefer strikes with the so-called "knife" edge of the hand. Otherwise they spend decades "toughening" the fist to counter-attack the harsh reality of injuries.

Ducking skulls? The human head has a predisposition to duck down versus incoming attacks. The so-called slap or palm heel was emphasized to keep the soldiers from debilitating or incapacitating their hands in the middle of a fight for their life. One such modern, recognized source for the heel palm strike is the British military during World War II. The program called for restricting punches to the jaw-line and below to avoid striking the dense, ducking, bobbing and weaving bowling ball called the skull.

All this in an effort to avoid the several levels of hand injuries which may result:

- First: your hand could be injured and still function. This has happened to me, and many others I know.

- Second: your hand could be injured and somewhat incapacitated. This also has happened to me, and others I know. You can still use your hand somewhat but it becomes swollen and only partially dexterous. In the middle of a fight, I could not grab the suspect in any way. Nor cuff him. My hand became a dull, heavy slab. Plus, a second or third punch with this partially wounded fist might finish your hand.

- And lastly: you may suffer an injury with such electric pain that it shuts the fighter right down. This has not happened to me but has happened to co-workers right before my eyes, as well as numerous assault cases I have worked on.

In three decades of police work, I can hardly think of a time, I didn't have a friend or complainant with a hand cast from punching someone.

In terms of sport fighting, it is not uncommon for NHB, UFC rage-cagers, even when wearing some thin gloves and wraps, to damage their hands on the ocular cavity, forehead and skull of an opponent. Mounted ground-pounders sometimes break their hands punching heads pinned on the ground. Least we forget that Mike Tyson punched a mugger one night and broke his hand. Sadly some of the biggest names in modern martial arts have broken their hands doing their vertical fist battle punches and closed fist strikes in real encounters, against the cursed ducking skull.

The U.S. Department of Justice advises us that we (citizens and police) are attacked by two or more people, some 40% of all encounters. In dissecting this information, the stat holds up better versus the police, but could be even worse for citizens. Incapacitating your hand on the skull of one opponent could leave you in serious danger when in the midst of finishing off one person, and then fighting the others. Plus and even worse, some 40% of the time, the opponent is armed with an edged weapon or firearms. Common sense strategy calls for fully functional hands for as long as possible, to deal with these and other problems, such as disarming, grappling, handcuffing, operating your weapons, telephones and radio equipment. It is under these real-world problems that the palm-heel strikes were introduced.

I want to make two last notes; you can develop a wicked, wicked palm heel strike and/or slap with little work. Plus/secondly, keep in mind there are Neanderthal fighters out there with thick fists the size and density of sledgehammers. Instructors refusing to recognize the frailties of the hand, often use these cavemen as anecdotal examples to maintain the their status quo;

"Billy hits people in the skull!"

Well…Billy ain't you. Nor is he most of the student population. These monster hands can punch titanium and laugh out loud. Don't let them teach you their way of fighting and punching. If they can do it, doesn't mean you can do it. However, should you, as a professional instructor get such a caveman in your class? Maximize his uniqueness and let him punch away as his personal, primary tool. It is hard to imagine that Hulk Hogan would break his hand punching anywhere on Pee-Wee Herman. But this is an extreme example.

just today I met a black belt who threw a hook punch at a guy's head in a fight. The guy reflexively ducked his head sideways. The punch glanced off the skull, separating the black belt's pinky knuckle from the hand, split to the wrist. His hand was ruined for the rest of the fight. He said it was crippling pain and to this day he cannot put his fingers together.

Nothing is perfect, and nothing is imperfect. Everything is situational and positional. The smarter systems have embraced this reality advice "hit something hard with something soft. Hit something soft with something hard." I don't think anyone suggests that fighters should give up punching completely. I also don't think reality fighting systems should suggest you should punch anywhere, all the time as if you were a gloved boxer, and then report to the hospital later. You might not make it to the hospital. Strategic survival fighting also means surviving the fight, with as many body parts intact as possible, to keep on fighting.

Courtesy of www.hockscqc.com