When throwing a punch:
• Use the hand you write with.
• Make a fist with your thumb outside, not tucked inside. If it’s tucked inside your fist, when you punch someone, you might break your thumb. The thumb goes across your fingers, not on the side.
• Don’t be like in the movies—don’t aim for the face. Face punches don’t usually stop people, and you can miss when they duck their head or break your hand on their jaw. If you want to get away quickly, or end a fight, aim for the chest, or the ribs. If you really want to do some damage, e.g., you’re being attacked, aim for the throat, which will make it hard for your attacker to breathe for a hot minute.
• When you punch, you want to aim and hit with your first two knuckles. Not the flats of your fingers, and not your ring or pinky knuckles, which can break more easily. You can use your weight, if you’re on your feet, to add wallop, and spring into a punch with your feet and torso.
Useful information, esp. if you haven’t taken self defense.
I reblogged this once before to add this and I’ll do it again…
keep your wrist straight.
You can also risk breaking your wrist if you allow it to bend. I actually can’t believe this isn’t in there.
Other good pointers:
- if your attacker is male, go for his junk - especially if he’s wearing loose pants. There’s no sportsmanship when it comes to assault so fuck them balls UP
- punching pretty much ANYWHERE in the face is going to actually hurt you a LOT (just think - you’re punching your bones into their bones and ow). If you’re going for the face, my suggestion is to strick upwards with your palm.
see that meaty portion highlighted in red? There’s a lot of muscle and fat right there which makes it excellent for striking. Hold your hand as shown and aim for the nose or chin (though I’ve been told in extreme circumstances, doing this to the nose can be fatal but I’ve never really heard if this is true or not) and just aim upwards
- other delicate areas:
- the shin (hurts like a bitch if you kick it right - also, you can hit this spot if you’re being held in a choke-hold and if your attacker has to move in order to stop you from kicking him, he’ll have to angle his body so as to expose his stomach and crotch to the wild spastic jabbings of your elbows)
- the solar plexus (either jab while holding your hand in a sort of spear position or use your elbows - unless you’re super strong, your punch probably won’t wind your attacker. Your elbow or a spear hand will, however)
Originally in (most) martial arts, you hit the solar plexus because it supposedly contained an important chakra. Now we know that it actually also contains like a bunch of necessary organs that are exposed just below your ribs and is also (roughly) where your diaphragm lives so getting punched there is not pleasant.
- the clavicle (from experience, getting hit in your clavicle HURTS LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER. If you strike downwards with your knuckles, the person might just cry. Like I did.)
- the ear (this is probably the best place to punch besides the throat. It’s all cartilage so it probably won’t hurt you all that much and most people will be like “DUDE YOU PUNCHED ME IN THE EAR WHAT THE HELL”)
- the kidneys (this is harder to hit without training but if you somehow get your attacker’s back to face you, try to hit’em in the kidneys. Again, from experience, this FUCKING HURTS. You can’t really hit the kidneys from the front with any effect but from the back it is super painful)
- if you’re held in a choke-hold, try turning your head so the forearm isn’t pressed into your throat. If you can position yourself right, you can sort of force your chin into the crook of the elbow, making you able to still receive (limited) oxygen and provide time for you to kick some shins or elbow some spleens and shit
-Also, remember that a guy’s junk is not an off-button. Don’t think that you can rely on a swift kick to the balls to immediately incapacitate him in an emergency. Adrenaline and anger can keep somebody going for a long time even through extreme pain, and if you expect to end a fight with a single groin-attack you might be caught off-guard when he doesn’t drop. Certainly go for it if you get the chance, but keep hitting him until the fight is over.
-Draw blood if you can, especially if you can draw it from the face or the eyes. Blood in the eyes is not just a good way to impair your attacker’s vision, it’s also a really good way to freak them out and let them know that they might be getting more than they bargained for by picking a fight with you.
-Elbows and knees are really powerful weapons. Elbows are very sharp and very strong and if you are in close-range they are often more effective than trying to throw a punch.
-Yelling and shouting makes you scary.
Nothing much to add to this, it’s pretty much all there. So. Reblog. Oh, also, it’s really easy to break a nose - go for the eyes too. All it takes to avoid a shot to the throat is tucking your chin.
Also, that part about the ear - don’t punch. An open hand over the ear hurts a lot.If you’re able to get both your hands free, I’ve heard that clapping your open hands over both of someone’s ears will disorient them for a few seconds. I’ve never seen it done, but considering how important the inner ear is for things like balance, it makes sense that fucking with that would mess somebody up.
Physical recovery: six weeks. Full psychological recovery: six months.
I am not one to reblog things like this because I just don’t have a lot of followers, but, this is something I think is incredibly important to know.
The only thing I have to add is this: if they are attacking you, drop any fucks you might have given. If you fear for your safety, or the safety of someone who cannot defend themselves properly (a small child or someone already injured, for example), don’t try to just hit them.
What you want to do is try to hit through them, if that makes sense. This is called “follow through,” and without it, your force is at least halved. A good jab is fine and well, but a good jab with follow through, however brief, can be a knockout blow even if you aren’t terribly strong. It is difficult to explain, but the intent is something like hitting them so hard that they can “crumple” beneath it or be knocked back. Even if it’s just a quick strike and you draw back immediately, there should still usually be a level of follow through.
Even someone who can’t lift 50 pounds can still throw a good punch if they know how to follow through with the hit. There’s a lot to consider, like proper stances and footwork, proper bodyweight distribution, and of course what to do in specific situations… but! If you can throw a good hit, you will scare off a lot of attackers who just won’t consider you worth the risk of getting their ass beat.
And, of course, if you are honestly afraid for your safety for whatever reason; take self defense classes. They do help. I have some mild issues with those who take a few classes and think that they can take on anyone, but the important thing is that you know you aren’t weak. That you know you can defend yourself or someone you love if it comes down to the thick of it. If you want to continue your training; go for it. But never tell yourself that you can’t do something, because believe me, anyone can do anything they damn well please.
/end
With elbow strikes, make a fist with the hand of the arm you are striking with, and support it with the flat of the opposite hand. Keep the opposite hand open, and make sure your wrists are static. Even though the physical contact of the strikes will be on your extremities, your force and movement should come from your core. E.g., don’t punch with your hand, punch with your shoulders.
If you can learn how to kick, do it. Your attacker’s arms might be bigger than yours, but they almost certainly aren’t as big as your legs.
(Source: am-buh)
