“Throwing punches to the head will break your hand.” No. No, they will not. Throwing punches with poor form and technique will. Nobody wants to hurt their hand in a fight. So, in today’s article, I will discuss how to throw a proper punch. This includes proper form and hand positioning to avoid self-inflicted damage to your mitts when caught in a self-defense scuffle.

Learn How to Throw a Proper Punch

I have said it many times before, and I will say it again, “Your hands are your god given weapons. Just like any other weapon, you have to train in the mechanics of how to use them to get them to work at full capacity.”

Sprained fingers, broken knuckles, and jammed wrists are common self-inflicted hand injuries, occurring when a person throws a punch incorrectly. Proper form and techniques generate striking power and target penetration. Poor form and technique generate minimal striking power and energy that can “bounce” back into the hand and wrist. This creates injury and changes the dynamic of a fight.

Some people have a naturally hard fist, while others have extremely fragile hands and have no business punching anything. Then you have those who wrap their fingers around their thumb like a toddler, without learning how to ball a proper fist. They are just asking to get hurt.

Either way, the goal of today’s article is to demonstrate three to four hand strikes with proper form. Basically, tips on how to throw a punch and NOT destroy your own hand.

How To Ball a Basic and Proper Fist

I started off as a kid’s martial arts instructor 39 years ago at our family’s chain of schools. One of the first things taught was how to ball a fist, because we didn’t need kids getting hurt.

The basics of making a correct fist are easy to learn. Roll your first set of knuckles. Then, roll your second set of knuckles. Next, wrap your thumb underneath. Finally, lock your wrist straight and hit with the first two knuckles. That is all there is to it.

Yet, I have watched guys time and time again throw rabbit punch hammer fists. They connect with their pinkie knuckles, of course, hurting their hands.

This information may appear beyond basic. However, I was at a SWAT instructor certification class at a police academy not long ago. While there, I witnessed a SWAT commander make a limp wrist fist with his fingers wrapped around his thumb. That is a true story. I wish that I could say that I made that up.

The following photos will show the step-by-step breakdown on making a correct fist and how to lock your wrist straight.

Targets That Won’t Hurt Your Hands

Think like a doctor—eyes, ears, nose, and throat. As seen in slapping contest videos, a solid open palm strike to the side of someone’s head can drop them.  However, let’s focus on basic punches.

Again, the focus is to lock your wrist straight. There is a reason boxers wrap their wrists.

Strike With Your First Two Knuckles

Practice punching a partner in the palm. Focus on your middle knuckle sinking in, fist tightening, and wrist locking straight on impact. If your wrist is bent, it will buckle, and all the energy in your strike will return into your wrist. This can cause possible damage.

Sam demonstrates how to “sink” his energy with his first and second knuckle into Thomas’s hand. Do NOT strike with your last two knuckles.

Basic Punching Combinations Work

Not everyone is a professional boxer, nor do they need to be. It can be argued that some professional UFC fighters have sub-par and amateurish-level boxing skills. Many of those pro-fighters would get demolished at local AAU boxing tournaments. However, they practice the very basics that, on many occasions, get them to the finish that they are looking for.

The Classic One/Two Punch Combination

Two Strikes That You Can Use That Are Not a Fist

Some people are unable to ball their hand enough to make a proper fist—for example, ladies with long fingernails.

Here are a couple of open-hand strikes that can replace a fist and be used quite effectively in self-defense scenarios. In fact, these two strikes are the meat and potatoes in many women’s self-defense classes worldwide.

First off is the knife-hand strike. Basically, stick your hand and fingers out straight and press them together. Then, tuck your thumb underneath your palm and lock your wrist straight. Finally, strike with the bottom, meaty edge of your hand, under your pinky.

The second strike is the palm heel strike. Basically, extend your arm with a knife hand. Now, roll your first set of knuckles and pull your hand back so that your palm heel (the meaty bottom of your palm) is forward. Don’t forget to tuck your thumb and lock your wrist.

Alternative Open-Hand Strikes

Punch Focus Mitts Until You Can’t Get It Wrong

Hurting your hand in a fight is not an option. If you can, go online and order a set of focus mitts. Then, call up a friend or someone you know, and practice light strikes with proper form. The better you get, the harder you hit the pads.

Punching something ten thousand times will develop a solid strike that hurts the other guy, not yourself. And that, after all, is the goal.