Ridge Hand

[bushido_man96]

few variations of the ridge hand being thrown around here:

Oyama was a frickin' animal. Those are some good clips.

[marksmarkou]

The way people generally use it towrads the upper body area, I personally feel there are much better weapons (knife hand, fist).

However used as un uppward cutting blow towards the groin can make this a very powerfull and dangerous technqiue.

[straightblast]

My old instructor used a an upward ridge hand up into the groin from an attack out side a bar. He was grabbed from behind on the shoulder and he spun around low because he was expecting the punch and slammed the ridge hand up into the groin. followed by a down elbow to the back of the neck.

[joesteph]

sed as un uppward cutting blow towards the groin can make this a very powerfull and dangerous technqiue.

My old instructor . . . was grabbed from behind on the shoulder and he spun around low because he was expecting the punch and slammed the ridge hand up into the groin.

 

I remember having a discussion some time ago about the high or rising block, that it's really force-against-force, and the taller height of an attacker would just pass right over it. Then it came up about being grabbed by the shoulder from behind, that you could be pulled 'round and get it in the face.

 

The proposed answer was to duck your head while using a "high" block. If you're bent over, it doesn't look high at all, but if you pause during practice and straighten up, you see you're doing a rising or high block motion. We tried it, and were surprised at how well the duck-and-high block worked. We then worked on what the follow-up would be, but never did we think of the ridge hand strike to the groin, rising up with it with the non-blocking hand.

 

It makes sense, too, since you've ducked and you've got him paused standing upright at your block, that you can spin around and slam him in the groin. It's using the power of the biceps, and it's like an uppercut movement.

[kansascityshuffle]

I don't know how many kinds of hand strikes there are, but I'm certain that some are used more--and others much less--than others. I'm asking about the ridge hand strike, because I've never thought of it as an especially strong one, although it was taught to me in the past as a fast way to strike the temple.

In doing a certain self-defense exercise, the first two hand strikes, a backfist to the nose and a hammerfist to the groin, speak for themselves in terms of impact on the target. But the third and final strike is a ridge hand, performed in such a manner that there's an arc as the blow strikes the side of the neck. If I were to the side of the opponent, and the ridge hand went to the front of the neck, I can see it being used to damage the throat but, as I said, it's to the side.

I just received the Fall Catalog from Century, and there on the cover is a martial artist striking the new BOB--with a ridge hand, this one performed with the palm up. He's at the side of BOB, so it is a throat strike, but I focused on that it was a ridge hand one.

How do you feel about using the ridge hand? Do you believe it to be genuinely effective? Do you actually use it, or is it something that's traditionally taught, but not expected to be used?

When I was a bouncer I used a ridge hand in defense to the side of someone's neck which knocked him out. It has a lot of power, but it depends on how you're delivering it. I've trained at some schools that throw it like a little quick snappy motion and at others that throw it more like a hook punch that follows through. I honestly get more power on my ridge hand than I do with my hook punches.

The side of the neck is also a very good target to aim kicks for too, instead of for the head even though the temples are a very good target(have seen flashes of white from being struck there a few times myself).

Like I said, it depends on how you're delivering your ridge hand

[kenpo4life]

A guy named Ridge from the BKF used to knock out people all of time it. And that is when they had on headgear.

[Prostar]

A guy used a ridge hand on my ribs at a tournament back in the 70s. I won the match but he beat me up.

Next tournament was in York a month later. I was almost healed up from the last guy. Then I saw this guy I was fighting first. He had Somebody's Dynasty on his back and it turned out he was the Somebody. Oookaaaaaay! That was all the reason I needed to go pound on somebody. I used all the stuff the guy in Baltimore used on me.

A lot of it was to move to the side of the guy, get his guard up and pound a ridge hand up and into the floating ribs. Works rather well.

[joesteph]

A lot of it was to move to the side of the guy, get his guard up and pound a ridge hand up and into the floating ribs. Works rather well.

I believe you're the first to post striking to the ribs, Prostar, and you say that you used it by going "up and into" the target.

Did you find that the ridge hand, by being "slim" compared with the fist, was able to get in there without worrying about his elbows getting in your way? Did you drop down a bit for the strike, or that wasn't necessary?

[Prostar]

A lot of it was to move to the side of the guy, get his guard up and pound a ridge hand up and into the floating ribs. Works rather well.

I believe you're the first to post striking to the ribs, Prostar, and you say that you used it by going "up and into" the target.

Did you find that the ridge hand, by being "slim" compared with the fist, was able to get in there without worrying about his elbows getting in your way? Did you drop down a bit for the strike, or that wasn't necessary?

Good call on the slim nature of the ridge hand compared to the fist. Ever notice that you have taken lots of kicks to the ribs. They generally spread the force around or else the kick slides down. "Up and into" has them sucking wind rather quickly.

I would typically keep moving in deeper till my trailing foot is almost even with the other guy's body. Not so much down. In fact, the momentum doesn't stop till I'm completely clear and looking at his back. This has always been one of my favorite hand techniques.

[SaxonPig]

We used to practice ridge hand strikes on an 80 pound bag.

I would not want to get with one thrown by someone who knew how to do it.

Temple? Forget it. Side of the jaw. Will unhinge the jaw causing unconsciousness or will fracture the jaw causing severe pain and mental distress.

My favorite ridge hand usage is when side-stepping a charging opponent. Lay the strike across the area above the upper lip and below the nostrils for good effect.

Be careful not to fully lock the elbow when delivering the strike or you could injure the joint. Keep the elbow slightly flexed at impact.

JMHO