Finger strikes

[Johnlogic121]

I had a friend who trained in a hard karate style that avoided using open hand knifehand strikes because a misjudgment of distance could potentially break your fingers if the fingers hit the target instead of the edge of your hand. I trained in Isshinryu karate for 11 months and that style does incorporate the use of the spear hand, but for maximum effectiveness against all availible targets for that hand strike, you need to train the spear hand every day for about six years. The spear hand can be directed towards the windpipe of the throat or the navel area of the belly or the armpit area under someone's punching arm as well as the eye. A hand with fingers spread usually is used against both eyes. Ninjutsu has a substyle called Gyokyo Ryu that utilizes a shito ken as its primary hand weapon. The shito ken is an extended thumbtip, and because it is reinforced by the fist, it is the strongest of all the fingertip striking hand positions. Fifth degree black belts in Ninjutsu also condition the little finger of the hand so that they can protect it from breaking against the forehead when attempting eye gouge strikes. To some degree, the tendency for Kung Fu styles to favor palm strikes and open hand strikes may be a aesthetic choice related to Chinese traditional fighting forms that would often go from striking with the hand to seizing and grappling with the hands. The hands can close faster than they can open, thus having them opened in preparation for potential moves can be a slight advantage.