karate chop

[bushido_man96]

I have always wondered why the chop isn't used in MMA. I still think it might be useful if applied to the neck region where knock-outs could occur.

I am not sure a chop would work as well as say a back hand strike in that case. When you strike with the back of the hand, you cover more surface area, and tends to make the knockout more effective than the edge of the hand would.

Wouldn't it be more effective to cover less surface area? That way the same amount of force is concentrated on a smaller target, say for instance, the jugular? You'd have to be precise but it would cause greater damage to your target.

I would still go for a back hand strike over a chop personally. Just feels stronger.

Yes, the smaller surface area does displace the power more effectively, but in order to affect a knockout in that way, you want to do the strike to that area with a larger surface, like the back of the hand, to make the knockout happen. I have heard it called a brachial stun before. If you strike the are with the knifehand, it doesn't mean the strike won't be effective; it will just have a different result.

[Daisho]

i never thought about it, but it is interesting how infrequent you see an open hand strike in MMA. I mean i like the utility, being as when sparring most of my strikes don't go exactly as planned, and it allows me to grab easily on a strike that would otherwise land ineffectively.

however i've notcied that in the heat of sparring, my instinct is to close my hand into a fist after maybe an initial chop. I wonder if people that train more extensively in open hand striking are easily able to overcome that.

as far as a spearhand into a board, ouch. that is not something i'd want to attempt.

[username8517]

Wouldn't it be more effective to cover less surface area? That way the same amount of force is concentrated on a smaller target, say for instance, the jugular? You'd have to be precise but it would cause greater damage to your target.

Assuming your talking about a strike to the throat in a MMA bout (as that's what the discussion on the chop was previously), strikes to the throat are illegal im MMA.

[Treebranch]

Well MMA is basically Mixed Sport Martial Arts. No one is really mixing anything that has not been ring tested. Maybe someday we'll see an innovator who comes in with a different method of fighting and will surprise everyone, but they will probably write it off as "unorthodox".

[ravenzoom]

bearich wrote:

Assuming your talking about a strike to the throat in a MMA bout (as that's what the discussion on the chop was previously), strikes to the throat are illegal im MMA.

Thanks for the info. This is the reason why they don't use it. For I'm sure if allowed it would sometimes be used. There's a video on the net somewhere where this karate guy knocks out a pimp using a chop. seemed pretty effective.

[DWx]

I have always wondered why the chop isn't used in MMA. I still think it might be useful if applied to the neck region where knock-outs could occur.

I am not sure a chop would work as well as say a back hand strike in that case. When you strike with the back of the hand, you cover more surface area, and tends to make the knockout more effective than the edge of the hand would.

Wouldn't it be more effective to cover less surface area? That way the same amount of force is concentrated on a smaller target, say for instance, the jugular? You'd have to be precise but it would cause greater damage to your target.

I would still go for a back hand strike over a chop personally. Just feels stronger.

Yes, the smaller surface area does displace the power more effectively, but in order to affect a knockout in that way, you want to do the strike to that area with a larger surface, like the back of the hand, to make the knockout happen. I have heard it called a brachial stun before. If you strike the are with the knifehand, it doesn't mean the strike won't be effective; it will just have a different result.

Well yes, with a brachial stun it would be more effective to use a larger attacking tool as you want to hit a large amount of nerves to cause a brain overload. From what I've heard, brachial stuns are often done with the forearm because of this.

Wouldn't it be more effective to cover less surface area? That way the same amount of force is concentrated on a smaller target, say for instance, the jugular? You'd have to be precise but it would cause greater damage to your target.

Assuming your talking about a strike to the throat in a MMA bout (as that's what the discussion on the chop was previously), strikes to the throat are illegal im MMA.

In that case the knifehand is pretty redundant in MMA then, maybe it would work across the bridge of the nose? if you were to one side that is.

[Ace2021]

I myself prefer the Ridge Hand strike over the Knife Hand. Ideal targets being a sidestepping motion striking the Throat or Solar Plexus. Can be very effective in a Street Encounter.