[TSilant]

Ive been exploring some alternatives to striking with a closed hand (not because i think theres anything wrong with doing that - im trying to not reinjure a metacarpal for a while and i dont like the idea of being one handed if i had to defend myself until thats done).

The biggest obstacle for me is a lack of reference material. Ive found a grand total of two people, one saying theyve used a palm strike the other saying theyve used a chin jab, out of everywhere ive looked today. Im having trouble developing faith in something the validity of which seems to hinge on a tiny number of people saying theyve used it, and loads of people preaching what their teachers have told them.

I dont know anyone whod let me hit them and see what happens, so with that out of the way, has anyone here, for real, not in training, hit someone with any kind of palm strike and what did it do?

 

[TachMed]

You mean a slap?

Sorry couldn't resist.

 

[TSilant]

You mean a slap?

Sorry couldn't resist.

Well, apparently power slapping exists, and ear slappings a thing. So... sure. :

 

[RPh]

About 13 seconds into this video is a sweet palm strike.

 

[TachMed]

OK to be serious, a palm strike can be very devastating. Stirking with the palm is using the heal of the hand which is backed up with the bones of the forearm. This can be a more solid strike than a closed fist when done right.

 

[BJJ_Grappler]

Yes, I have on resisting suspects, but never to the head.

 

[jonny2mad]

I broke the bones of my palm doing a karate demonstration once breaking wood, Ive never palm striked anyone to the head either that I can remember . My mother who did karate till she died at 84, once split my lip with a uraken back fist not really that hard a one

 

[TSilant]

About 13 seconds into this video is a sweet palm strike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiGQIh-6Kdo

Upon further reading, it looks like he did a grand job in Pancrase. Although, his future work seems to be more punch eccentric. Still good to know its been used in some arena

OK to be serious, a palm strike can be very devastating. Stirking with the palm is using the heal of the hand which is backed up with the bones of the forearm. This can be a more solid strike than a closed fist when done right.

That makes sense. Firsthand experience is more what im after though

Yes, I have on resisting suspects, but never to the head.

Thankyou!
Where to, if you dont mind my asking? Chest? Solar plexus? Kidneys?

I broke the bones of my palm doing a karate demonstration once breaking wood, Ive never palm striked anyone to the head either that I can remember . My mother who did karate till she died at 84, once split my lip with a uraken back fist not really that hard a one

Duly noted. Ill try not to get into board breaking while im trying not to injure myself

 

[Mountain]

I had a friend in HS that would just reach and palm people on the forehead out of the blue and yell be saved as he did it.....

The guy was a complete nut.... I am really surprised no one kicked his a**, but everyone was so surprised by it they never really reacted.... I reacted, I about cra**ed my pants....

 

[MonsterMash]

I'm showing my age here but back in the day, we called it a Gerber slap. Now its known as a brachial stun. You can do them either with a ridge/knife hand strike, or a back of the hand/palm/open strike.

Knife hand:

Flat strike/open hand:

Sorry for the sideways video. It was the best I could find. Anyway...should you use the good old Gerber slap, I'll give you the same warning I was given when I was taught it. If you decide to go with a ridge hand, you're putting more force into a smaller area and you risk giving someone serious injury or even death with a hard enough strike. So make sure you can articulate why you used it if you did.

Its a very effective strike though.

 

[LuniticFringeInc]

OK to be serious, a palm strike can be very devastating. Stirking with the palm is using the heal of the hand which is backed up with the bones of the forearm. This can be a more solid strike than a closed fist when done right.

I worked several years as a bouncer part time towards the end of my 20 year navy carrer, when done correctly, its brutally devastating in no uncertain terms!!! I lost count of the number of times I used that technique against someone who wanted to fight at the bar and knocked a surprising number of them out to boot in the process. Its the technique I used almost everytime someone decided they were gonna throw a "hay maker" at me. I would just slightly crouch down while leaning into them with my left arm up beside my head just incase they were able to make a quick adjustment, taking a lot of the force out of their swing in the process and then with an upper cut motion raising up from a squat (kinda like Mike Tyson throws his knock out upper cut punches in a boxing ring) to add more power behind it, deliver a solid palm thrust under the chin or side of the chin. Anytime I got a decent shot like that in, it was over for bozo! The best part is if they attempt to move their left hand or arm in the way to block it, it rarely did them much good.

I favored this technique when I started doing that line of work, cuase I am not an overly big guy, but I am definitely no metrosexual. While I have been in a number of fights I was never really one to fight if it could be avoided. Two grown men can do some serious damage to each other in a matter of seconds if they are serious about it! In many previous fights I sustained hand injuries to one degree or another, using a closed fist a lot and went to this technique due to it being much less riskier and due to the fact that it lands a lot of force and does it with authority if you practice it a bit on a heavy bag. The throat, the chin, the jaw, coller bone and the side of the head can be very effective targets and at least one is available to you when your scrapping with some moron that hasn't learned to quit being a Frat Boy and just grow up.
I do executive protection today for a living even at the age I am getting to be. I still use this technique and I still teach it to the guys I work with just getting into this line of work.

Doubt it works...have you and one of your buddies put on some head gear and then have him throw one on you as you mix it up with some light weight gloves on. If its done in the proper form even if at half power...I guarantee it will get your undivided attention if it connects!

 

[LuniticFringeInc]

OK to be serious, a palm strike can be very devastating. Stirking with the palm is using the heal of the hand which is backed up with the bones of the forearm. This can be a more solid strike than a closed fist when done right.

I worked several years as a bouncer part time towards the end of my 20 year navy carrer, when done correctly, its brutally devastating in no uncertain terms!!! I lost count of the number of times I used that technique against someone who wanted to fight at the bar and knocked a surprising number of them out to boot in the process. Its the technique I used almost everytime someone decided they were gonna throw a "hay maker" at me. I would just slightly crouch down while leaning into them with my left arm up beside my head just incase they were able to make a quick adjustment, taking a lot of the force out of their swing in the process and then with an upper cut motion raising up from a squat (kinda like Mike Tyson throws his knock out upper cut punches in a boxing ring) to add more power behind it, deliver a solid palm thrust under the chin or side of the chin. Anytime I got a decent shot like that in, it was over for bozo! The best part is if they attempt to move their left hand or arm in the way to block it, it rarely did them much good.

I favored this technique when I started doing that line of work, cuase I am not an overly big guy, but I am definitely no metrosexual. While I have been in a number of fights I was never really one to fight if it could be avoided. Two grown men can do some serious damage to each other in a matter of seconds if they are serious about it! In many previous fights I sustained hand injuries to one degree or another, using a closed fist a lot and went to this technique due to it being much less riskier and due to the fact that it lands a lot of force and does it with authority if you practice it a bit on a heavy bag. The throat, the chin, the jaw, coller bone and the side of the head can be very effective targets and at least one is available to you when your scrapping with some moron that hasn't learned to quit being a Frat Boy and just grow up.
I do executive protection today for a living even at the age I am getting to be. I still use this technique and I still teach it to the guys I work with just getting into this line of work.

Doubt it works...have you and one of your buddies put on some head gear and then have him throw one on you as you mix it up with some light weight gloves on. If its done in the proper form even if at half power...I guarantee it will get your undivided attention if it connects!

 

[Threepercenter]

no

no it is too deadly

 

[dontbuypotteryfromme]

I never had as much luck with it as hitting.

 

[Jaqhama]

Yes, I have on resisting suspects, but never to the head.

Yes, I have on resisting offenders, once to the side of the face of a teenaged girl who had her teeth buried in my thigh.

 

[TSilant]

I had a friend in HS that would just reach and palm people on the forehead out of the blue and yell be saved as he did it.....

The guy was a complete nut.... I am really surprised no one kicked his a**, but everyone was so surprised by it they never really reacted.... I reacted, I about cra**ed my pants....

Well, thats certainly something :

I'm showing my age here but back in the day, we called it a Gerber slap. Now its known as a brachial stun. You can do them either with a ridge/knife hand strike, or a back of the hand/palm/open strike.

Knife hand:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcaOr1TBA1w

Flat strike/open hand:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7JKBQPGUUc

Sorry for the sideways video. It was the best I could find. Anyway...should you use the good old Gerber slap, I'll give you the same warning I was given when I was taught it. If you decide to go with a ridge hand, you're putting more force into a smaller area and you risk giving someone serious injury or even death with a hard enough strike. So make sure you can articulate why you used it if you did.

Its a very effective strike though.

Well thats interesting - Just from playing with it im a bit more comfortable with a hacking motion like that with an open hand than i am with thrusting. Thanks for that

I worked several years as a bouncer part time towards the end of my 20 year navy carrer, when done correctly, its brutally devastating in no uncertain terms!!! I lost count of the number of times I used that technique against someone who wanted to fight at the bar and knocked a surprising number of them out to boot in the process. Its the technique I used almost everytime someone decided they were gonna throw a "hay maker" at me. I would just slightly crouch down while leaning into them with my left arm up beside my head just incase they were able to make a quick adjustment, taking a lot of the force out of their swing in the process and then with an upper cut motion raising up from a squat (kinda like Mike Tyson throws his knock out upper cut punches in a boxing ring) to add more power behind it, deliver a solid palm thrust under the chin or side of the chin. Anytime I got a decent shot like that in, it was over for bozo! The best part is if they attempt to move their left hand or arm in the way to block it, it rarely did them much good.

I favored this technique when I started doing that line of work, cuase I am not an overly big guy, but I am definitely no metrosexual. While I have been in a number of fights I was never really one to fight if it could be avoided. Two grown men can do some serious damage to each other in a matter of seconds if they are serious about it! In many previous fights I sustained hand injuries to one degree or another, using a closed fist a lot and went to this technique due to it being much less riskier and due to the fact that it lands a lot of force and does it with authority if you practice it a bit on a heavy bag. The throat, the chin, the jaw, coller bone and the side of the head can be very effective targets and at least one is available to you when your scrapping with some moron that hasn't learned to quit being a Frat Boy and just grow up.
I do executive protection today for a living even at the age I am getting to be. I still use this technique and I still teach it to the guys I work with just getting into this line of work.

Doubt it works...have you and one of your buddies put on some head gear and then have him throw one on you as you mix it up with some light weight gloves on. If its done in the proper form even if at half power...I guarantee it will get your undivided attention if it connects!

This is just the stuff ive been needing too. Its nice to get it validated that this stuff actually works Thankyou kindly.

no it is too deadly

Citation needed

I never had as much luck with it as hitting.

Yeah, im not expecting to reinvent the wheel. Just supplement. Seems like a good supplement so far

Yes, I have on resisting offenders, once to the side of the face of a teenaged girl who had her teeth buried in my thigh.

Thanks for sharing :thumb: It helps!

 

[LuniticFringeInc]

Learn to throw "it" and you will be amazed at how effective it can be. You aint got to be so good with it you can knock 'em out you just need execute it well enough to rock their world and make them reconsider if they really want to keep being a terd to you.

Once you snap it out there push through it stepping into it and follow thru with the momentum or in my favorite scenario raise up as you throw it. That's where the power is in this technique! You want that head to move back as far as it will go when you make contact. Not only will they probably be in the ER getting their trap wired back in place and they are liable to be walking around with a neck brace for a few days too if the chin/jaw is your target. If they don't go down then you have at least stopped their forward momentum coming at you and have them off balance or close to it and you should easily be able to man handle them from there. The palm of your hand will allow you to throw a much more devastating blow than you will probably ever be able to with a fist and do so with minimal risk of injury to your hand/wrist.

There are a few more easy techniques I favor, this is just one of the more effortless ones that's proven effective for me time and time again. Different situations call for different techniques sometimes and all confrontations are not equal. Like I said I don't like to fight, and I will be the first to try and walk away from one even if I have to loose some face in the process, but if I have to Im not looking to just defend myself, I am looking to take your head off, do it as quickly as possible so I can be ready to deal with one of his buddies if they decide to "jump in and help".

 

[BJJ_Grappler]

Where to, if you dont mind my asking? Chest? Solar plexus? Kidneys?

Both times were during bar closing, breaking up fights. One time was to traps, the other time to the lats. Each time I used multiple blows and they didn't seem to feel it (drunk, fighting, drunk). Although to the abdomen, neck, or head, I would imagine it could be rather painful or produce a knockout.

After I found out we are allowed to use elbow strikes and closed fist strikes as well, I switched to those.

I rarely strike unless it serves the purpose of allowing me to secure a submission hold. I have however used knees very effectively (again not to the head though).

Our use of force policy allows strikes to any major muscle group on a person actively resisting or attacking. We are only allowed to strike from the neck up when deadly force is justified.

 

[Jaqhama]

B

Our use of force policy allows strikes to any major muscle group on a person actively resisting or attacking. We are only allowed to strike from the neck up when deadly force is justified.

She could have had rabies.
Nodding wisely here.

 

[Jaqhama]

The only problem with upward, under the chin palm strikes is the very real possibility of you catching the bottom of your palm or your wrist, on their teeth.

That would not be a good day out.