Saturday, June 18, 2011

Learn Self Defense in a Street Fight by Learning How to Punch

By Jeff Anderson


The first self defense move everybody learns probably consists of how to punch. Your father might have taught you how to punch while you were growing up, or you might have learned how to do it in fights at your school. It might even have been the first thing you learned in your martial arts dojo. It doesn't really matter where you learned to punch, though, because it's the single self defense move that is most frequently taught. Unfortunately, punching can cause a problem ...

Will a Punch Help You in a Real Street Fight?

In a real fight, most people punch instinctively at their opponent's head. In the back of our minds, we know this gives us the best chance of taking out an attacker. Unfortunately, although your opponent's brain is inside his head, it's well-protected by a very hard, bony skull. That's bad enough, but your attacker will have his own instinctive response when he believes his head is being threatened with danger. When he realizes a punch to his head is on the way, he'll instinctively tuck his head and chin to protect his eyes and throat. This move also places more of his hard skull in the way of your much more delicate knuckles. There's not a more "bulletproof" part of the body than someone's skull.

The Real Danger Of Punching In A Real Street Fight

A traditional punch thrown to your opponent's head during a street fight means you'll probably hit his skull. Your fist will be clenched during the punch, and when your knuckles hit something as hard as a skull during a street fight, they'll probably break. Broken knuckles will decrease your ability to defend yourself because now, any blows you strike with your injured hand will be less powerful. Unfortunately, you'll also lose more than just your ability to throw a hard punch if your knuckles are injured.

Weapons and Broken Knuckles Are Not a Good Combination in a Real Street Fight

It's possible that you carry a weapon - something like a gun or a knife - for self defense. Or, maybe your attacker is carrying a weapon and you're able to take it away from him and use it for your self defense. However, if your knuckles are injured by punching, you might not be able to use a gun or a knife nearly as effectively, if at all. Your hand will be crippled so you won't be able to open or hold a knife very firmly. Basically, you won't be able to aim a gun, much less pull the trigger, after you've broken your knuckles by punching your opponent's head. That means that knife or gun, which could have been an effective self defense weapon, is now useless!

Three Self Defense Techniques Better Than Punching

While there are many strikes that can be used for self defense, the three that are better choices in a street fight are the palm heel, the hammer fist, and the edge of hand blow. All three pack more power than a traditional punch and are very easy to master for self defense. But just as importantly, you can strike with any of these methods with much less danger of injuring yourself than if you used a punch.




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