How to punch! It's the first self defense technique everyone learns, right? Perhaps you learned it from school yard fights. Maybe your father taught you how to punch when you were growing up. Or maybe it was the first martial arts move you learned in the dojo. No matter where or when you learned it, the punch is the most common method taught anybody for self defense. But there's a problem here...
Is A Punch Worthless 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
When you go for a traditional punch to the head when fighting, chances are very good that you're going to hit the skull. When the knuckles of your clenched fist strike a hard surface like the skull in a street fight, they're very likely to break. With broken knuckles, you're now less able to protect yourself because your follow-up blows will lack power coming from your injured hand. However, you're losing more than just the ability to punch hard if you injure your knuckles.
Weapons and Broken Knuckles Are Not a Good Combination in a Real Street Fight
Maybe you carry a gun or a knife as a self defense weapon. Maybe your attacker is and you're able to disarm his weapon and use it to protect yourself. If you damage the knuckles of your hand from punching however, you may not be able to wield either a gun or a knife as effectively, if at all, with a crippled hand. You can't open a folding knife or hold it firmly because your hand is broken. You can't aim a gun or pull the trigger when you smashed your knuckles punching the other guy in the skull. What could have been a great self defense weapon has now been rendered useless!
Three Techniques Provide Better Self Defense than a Punch
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.
Is A Punch Worthless 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
When you go for a traditional punch to the head when fighting, chances are very good that you're going to hit the skull. When the knuckles of your clenched fist strike a hard surface like the skull in a street fight, they're very likely to break. With broken knuckles, you're now less able to protect yourself because your follow-up blows will lack power coming from your injured hand. However, you're losing more than just the ability to punch hard if you injure your knuckles.
Weapons and Broken Knuckles Are Not a Good Combination in a Real Street Fight
Maybe you carry a gun or a knife as a self defense weapon. Maybe your attacker is and you're able to disarm his weapon and use it to protect yourself. If you damage the knuckles of your hand from punching however, you may not be able to wield either a gun or a knife as effectively, if at all, with a crippled hand. You can't open a folding knife or hold it firmly because your hand is broken. You can't aim a gun or pull the trigger when you smashed your knuckles punching the other guy in the skull. What could have been a great self defense weapon has now been rendered useless!
Three Techniques Provide Better Self Defense than a Punch
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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Also, there's a short and awesome "self defense" video you should see (it's a killer self defense "trick"), and then stop by Jeff Anderson's site at survive-the-street.com that's loaded with even more powerful tips on how to defend yourself.
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