The Art of Punching
The first thing to remember when punching is to keep your wrist straight and your fist tight. Keep your fist unclenched as it travels toward the target. Don't tighten your fist until a moment before impact. This will increase speed and power in your punches. What part of your fist makes contact is something for you to decide.
Three Knuckles or Two?
When punching, I see two ways of making contact. Either hit with the knuckles of the first and middle, or with the middle, ring, and little knuckles. Which every you use, make sure the knuckles are straight with the wrist. If your fist is held one way, The first two knuckles line up with your wrist. If your fist is turned toward your thumb from that first punch position, the last three knuckles align with the wrist. So what's the real difference?
I think all comes down to a preference thing. Traditional martial arts, in my view, tend to use two knuckles while punching. While with the introduction of Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do to the world, the three knuckle punch has gained recognition (that's how Bruce punched). I find that the major difference is how the fist is held. For instance, in a straight lead punch, the two knuckle punch is generally held with the knuckles horizontal, the three knuckle punch is usually held with the knuckles vertical.
A Happy Integration?
While I generally use and prefer the three knuckle punch (feels more natural to me), both punches can and should be used. I feel the 3KP is more natural when throwing hooks because your'e already turning your fist in the path of the punch. For straight punches, like I said before, the 3KP feels more natural. So what's left for the 2KP? I find that the 2KP is useful for straight punches but not for any hooking punches in my opinion. So why even use the 2KP?? You said you could use the 3KP for straight punches as well. Well, well, well it comes down to accuracy in targeting (now this is some advanced shit here!)
How to Hit 'Em Where it Hurts
When punching with the two knuckles, you have two distinct points that are prominent in the punch. These two points on your fist should be aimed a pressure points. Huh? Whta? Yes you heard me, pressure points, the secret (somewhat) of hittin' so it hurts. The two fist points (your knuckles) can be lined up with one or two pressure points on the human body to produce some pretty bad effects. Yes the 3KP can be used for the same purpose, but the knuckles aren't as prominent. I hope that people reading can see the usefulness of both and find what suits them in different situations. One person I talked to once had the fear that the 3KP could break your wrist bones. I don't think this is true at all, otherewise the 2KP would also break your wrist. Normal punching with the correct form (wrist straight, etc.) will not break your hand. There are only a couple of things that will break your hand (besides bad form) . . .Where NOT To Hit
Learning where not to hit is as important as learning where to hit. While you should aim for your opponent's weak spots (pressure points), you should avoid your opponent's strong spots. Sounds simple right? Well how many people do you think have lost fight because of a broken hand, or won a fight but were badly injured due to ignorance in targeting? Number one spot NOT to hit, the head. The head?? I mean the head, NOT the face. The face is a good spot to hit, many weak spots, but the head is generally a bad place to hit. Yes, there are many pressure points on the head which can be struck (most useful are closer to the neck than the head though), but by all means know what you are doing. Blind rage punching to the hard bone of the head will screw your hands up quicker than anything. Don't believe me? Go out and rent UFC 3: The American Dream. Keith Hackney won his first fight against a sumo wrestler. Great for him, but he then had to drop out due to injury to his wrist/hand. How did he do that? With punches and forearm chops to the back of the sumo's head. He won the fight, but lost the UFC. Other points not to hit are generally easy to tell, any bony part like a knee, elbow, or shin (don't knock shins either, nobody will enjoy that unless you've conditioned yourself).That's it for punching for now. Have any comments, additions, ideas? E-mail me!