Palm Heel Strike Overrated?

[White Warlock]

As 'elbows_and_knees' (hereon on to be called EaK) indicated, there's the old statement of 'soft vs hard' and 'hard vs soft,' but probably the most important reason for this statement was not indicated.

Take your open palm and strike a brick wall as hard as you are 'willing.'

Now, strike that same brick wall, as hard as you are 'willing,' with a fist.

Notice how your 'mind' prevents you from hitting as hard when you use the fist?

Perhaps because you dont want to shatter your hand against a brick wall.....

Most people dont take into account they can break their hand over someones head until its already happened.

That's what i was inferring, by the above-noted 'tests' and by the comments i wrote, such as, "You fight the mind, you injure the body" and, "learn how to work with the mind to do the most with the body, safely," in the paragraphs that followed. Then again, it's possible my post wasn't 'obvious' enough in its message.

[TSDforChrist]

I thought causing the jaw to tap the base of the brain was done by striking along the jawline, to either side of the point. To break the jaw, you're better off striking the Tempero-Mandibular joint, or directly below the ear (on the "curve). Ah, wait, I just reread your post and understand what you are talking about (I thought you were talking about coming straight on to the chin). Anyway, the jaw-breaking statement is still true.

In Christ,

Phil Stewart

[USCMAAI]

The palm-heel strike is one to the most versatile strikes in karate. The power generated from this strike can be devistating. This strike can be delivered with the speed of a jab, and from various angles of attack. I would recommend that if you are having difficulty with it, try opening your hand a little, make a claw instead of putting your fingers together. Then when you do the strike, you have a downward claw as a follow up technique when attacking the chin/face area of an opponent.

[Enviroman]

Has anyone here done any iron palm training? I've seen some incredible breaks done with palm strikes.

If I can find the clip of a guy busting a coconut I'll post it.

[Belasko]

The heel palm strike is an excellent technique, but like was mentioned, it has certain applications. The general rule of thumb of hard soft has been mentioned. Also consider, is it easier to stitch knuckles that are stretched just by making a fist or the palm after teeth have been removed? As far as using it on hard targets I have used it for my last test where I did a 4 board (1 inch pine each) break with this technique. I have also done what we estimate to be 5-6 board equivilant with rebreakables using this. When done right it can be truly devastating.

[White Warlock]

Do be aware, however, the 'very common' injuries in using palm strikes are damage to the metacarpals, tendonitis about the lower thumb joint, and inflammation about the carpal tunnel that could encourage the development of CPS.

I.e., it's not indestructible.

[superfighter]

hell no! as this is from watching one personaly, this big guy randomly attacked a guy in the pub way smaller than he was. 6 seconds later, he upwards palmheeled this guy in the nose, smashed his nose in to his skull, and the big guy ended up in intensive care for months. he went to jail for it, but he proved that it worked

[UseoForce]

I've been working on it, and mine is functional now. Thanks for the replies, I think we are mostly in agreement.

[Daedalus]

I think its a good strike to protect you from breaking your hand, but natrually you sacrifice power you would otherwise have in a closed fist attack.

The only instance I saw a palm strike work rather effectively was Keith Hackney vs the Sumo giant in UFC 3. Other than that, Pancrase had rules restricting strikes with a closed fist to the face, and as a result you didnt see KO's when people were given a shot to the jaw.

seen in more places than that. in pancrase, closed fist strikes aren't allowed. watch some of those. Specifically, watch some of bas rutten's matches. He is a master of the palm strike.

No actually Pancrase no longer has a no closed fist striking rule. That is from very old matches(back in the Ruten and Shamrock days).

P.S. The palm strike is HIGHLY overrated because any situation that allows for a palm strike would be better served with a liver shot with the fist or a punch to the jaw.

[Shorin Ryuu]

I see a lot of people are discussing the use of the palm heel strike in a manner where it looks exactly like a "regular punch" only the hand is bent back and the fingers are curled. In effect, it is described more like a palm heel thrust (if that makes sense).

When I do mine, I tend to have my hand and arm completely relaxed (nothing bent back or curled). When I bring it to bear, it strikes more with a whip action where my focus is more upon bending the heel of the palm forward rather than bending the wrist back (subtle difference). At no time is there ever any tension. I find this makes it easier to transfer force (whip action) and use the entirety of the body in generating the force. Nor do I have to worry about my fingers or anything.

Is this simply called something different? Am I way out in left field eating a ham sandwich, as my old English teacher used to say?

For example, I find this an even more effective strike to the side of the jaw because the reverberating strike against a "floating" target like the head really facilitates the necessary rocking of the brain for a KO. For a more "fixed" target like a person's chest or something like that, it still gains penetration and is capable of literally knocking someone down with the generation of force as the energy is transferred efficiently from you to your opponent.