5 Reminders on Fists

Punching is one of the first and most basic techniques you will learn in martial arts. Because we learn punching early in our training careers we also have the most opportunity to practice wrong or get sloppy while performing. Here are 5 points to keep in mind when practicing.

1. Your contact point on a punch should be your first two knuckles
2. At the point of impact, you should be forming a straight line from your striking point, through to your elbow. The biggest mistake is to have a bent wrist at the point of impact.
3. Try to save your torque of your arm until just before impact.
4. Your fist should be clenched tightly at the point of impact, even if you are just practicing and not making any impact. Practice correctly to avoid accidentally striking with a partially open fist.
5. The forming of your fist should be 3 steps. Fold the tips of your fingers down, fold your knuckle joints, and finally fold your thumbs in. To experienced martial artists, this should be natural but for new martial artists, this sequence will prevent you from folding your thumbs inside your fists.

Those that practice correctly should not have to think about these things after a short period of training correctly as your body will start to naturally perform correctly.