To punch or not to punch, that is the question

When knuckles meet skull during a confrontation, the skull will always win. So, maybe the fist is not the best hand striking tool. The palm heel strike may be the better choice.

To execute a palm heel strike, the hand is pulled back as far as possible, locking the wrist, and the fingers curl slightly forward. The palm and finger tips should face the target. Contact is made with the very bottom of the palm just in front of the wrist. The palm heel strike is quite effective. If used on a slightly upward angle, it has a tremendous amount of leverage.

A punch to the head will usually only affect the area where the knuckles make contact. Palm heel strikes have a secondary effect. A palm strike to the head probably will not cause much damage to the contact point, but it will have an effect on the neck and usually will jolt the body. A palm heel strike the underside of the will often produce a knock-out due to the whip lash effect. A palm heel strike anywhere to the head area will almost always affect balance, because the it will take the assailant's ears out of line with the hips, which will expose other parts of the body to combinations or a takedown. The palm heel strike may be used effectively to the hard parts of the body. Punches are best used against the softer muscular parts of the body to avoid injury to the puncher. Palm heel strikes do not appear as violent as clenching your fist and striking someone. To a witness, an open hand strike may appear as a push.

The most common injury in punching occurs when the fist strikes with the last two knuckles. The 5th metacarpal (between the knuckles of the middle finger and pinkie) usually breaks, commonly referred to as a boxer's fracture, which is why boxers always tape their fists prior to training or fighting. A fracture will take 6-8 weeks to heal, while a sprain (tear in ligament) could take up to 6 months to heal, and then rehabilitation could take another 3-4 months.

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