Palm strikes or fists?

[PaHulkster]

Unless I'm wearing bag gloves I definitely prefer palm strikes for heavy bag work. I also prefer them in a real life situation because one bad punch will destroy your hand. For some reason I was doing bag work today in my lifting gloves, and now my hands are black and blue! Haha, what a mess. Do any of you condition your hands do take more damage? Anybody else prefer palm strikes to fists?

[GenTDuke]

Palm strikes are the best option, if you are gonna use extreme force to defend your self, there is less chance of injuring your self. I practice forarm strikes just incase I injure my hand in combat as a back up.

Also if you are gonna hit someone; palm strikes wont bruise as bad as fist strikes, so it looks better for you.

I use a canvas coverd board to condition my hands, that being fist, back hand, palm and sides

[Prodigy]

As most of my training is Vale Tudo, I tend to use either MMA gloves which are very thin or, less freqeuntly, bare knuckle sparring (obviously we hold back on head punches, but we got got hard with body shots). Used to get sore hands at first, but am used to it now. Indeed I haven't had any trouble with my hands for years.

My preference is definitely for fist strikes, however I agree with GenTDuke that palm strikes are more suitable in some situations.

[prenna]

Finger jabs

[GenTDuke]

Finger jabs

Amen, my finger his eye. Also a nice spear hand to the throat.

Its natural to prefer fist strikes, I have to force my self to train spear, ridge and palm, I believe it gives me an edge.

[Daniel]

I've been training in five basic strikes:

*Front Two Knuckle Punch
*Back Two Knuckle Punch
*Spear Hand
*Middle Knuckle Strike (aka "Phoenix Eye")
*Palm Heel

Never real realized it until now, but we never hit square on with our fists.

[Mary]

You psychotic nutters. How could you?

Gather your fingers around the central finger, in a spear shape, and aim for the voice box or even better the eye...

What? I didn't say a thing...

[GenTDuke]

Gather your fingers around the central finger, in a spear shape, and aim for the voice box or even better the eye...

What? I didn't say a thing...

LOL, theres only 3 things you have to remember when in a situation:

1) EYES
2) THROAT
3) GROIN

[Daniel]

One of the great things about palm strikes is that you are less likely to look like the aggressor. Someone can come at you with their fists clenched and you just hold your palms up saying, "Hey, look I don't want to fight." Then when they come in to hit you give hit them with a palm strike. People will say the other guy was swinging and you just had your hands up to defend yourself. Always a plus in a litigation society like America.

[sensless]

I think palm strikes and finger jabs are useful if you can hit the location. Some people are hard enough to hit as it is, and if you misplace a finger jab you can crush your fingers quite easily. The palm is pretty durable, but it seems to be an awkward strike for me to use unless I am striking in an upward motion. I prefer fists, knees and headbutts, but I'm a power guy not a technical fighter.

Regards,
John Jr.

[Prodigy]

I agree about the finger jabs. They may work in theory on a stationary target in a karate dojo, however in a reality fighting scenario against an opponent who knows how to strike properly (boxing or kickboxing background) your chances of landing a blow to their throat or something without getting KTFO'd yourself are minimal. As you also mentioned, you have to be careful of putting fingers out there too... will often get broken.

Unlike yourself, I'm not a power fighter. I rely on technique, however I also prefer fists, knees, elbows, etc. I would only use open palm in limited situations.

If open palm were more effective, you'd expect guys to use them in no-holds-barred comps! Can you imagine Fedor Emelianenko, Wanderlai Silva or Mirko Filipovic using a palm strike?!?! Unlikely...

[funfetus]

But in NHB/MMA, you're wearing gloves. Palm strikes definitely don't do the damage a fist does, but you're also a lot less likely to break your hands, which is important in a self-defense scenario.

I haven't really decided what I'd use in a real fight...if I were surprised, I'd probably instinctively go with the fists, but either way, I'd probably just try to use punches to get in close, clinch, and knee their brain out.

[Prodigy]

You'll find some of the early UFC's were bare-knuckle and if you want to see some real hardcore stuff get your hands on some of the Vale Tudo fights from Brazil. No gloves, no rules, anything goes. Really brutal stuff!

Your right about the injuries though. A lot of guys used to break their hands in these matches.

Did you catch last nights Pride? If so, what were your thoughts on the results?

[funfetus]

Yeah, I've seen some of the early UFCs, and I'd heard that a lot of guys had to drop out due to broken hands. Also seen some Brazilian Vale Tudo stuff, and yeah, brutal.

I don't have cable, so I can't get pay-per-views, and I rarely get to see any Pride. Silva fought Rampage, right? I haven't heard the results yet...

edit: Just looked it up. Goddamn!

[Skott!]

I prefer elbows and knees if i can get in close. I had to use a flying knee in one fight that involved three people against myself (because i wouldn't let them take a girl who was passed out drunk home with them. Awesome guys.)