VT USA
10-05-2012, 15:19
A good article for bare hand fighters as VT. I would translate but google is not so good ; ) maybe someone can translate to German ?
Horizontal v. Vertical Punching History of Punching
Little is known about the guard used by fighters and fighting rules before the great English pugilist Jack Broughton, a student of James Figg, devised the Broughton Rules in 1743. Broughton also invented "mufflers" (padded gloves), which were used in training and exhibitions. Under the Broughton Rules, not much was considered illegal when compared to the London Prize Ring Rules so a higher guard and quicker stance was necessary. There were no limitations against butting, gouging, kicking, or hitting below the belt. The rules mostly just kept a boxing match from becoming a wrestling match.
Until the use of gloves became common, pugilists struck mostly with a vertical fist because it was considered less injurious to the fist to hit with a vertical fist than a horizontal one, especially when using hooks or swinging punches. However, they used a horizontal fist when the target warranted it, such as to the side of the neck. The vertical fist was thought to have a greater range, but, in fact, the arm's reach does not get longer just because the fist is rotated 90 degrees, unless you make some other body adjustment.
Due to the confrontations American soldiers had with Filipino natives in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War in 1898, the guard was raised from the low knuckles downward position to the higher knuckles forward position. When engaged in hand-to-hand combat, the Filipinos would slash the wrists of the extended arms of the American soldiers.
The wearing of gloves in a boxing match is a fairly modern innovation. Prior to 1866, when the Marquis of Queensbury Rules made the wearing of gloves mandatory, boxers fought bare-knuckled. Gloves, or “mufflers” as they were called, were used only in sparring. One may think that fighting bare-knuckled, would cause significant damage to the fist. A common injury among modern boxers is the “boxer’s fracture,” in which the outer two knuckles, and sometimes the outer metacarpals of the hand are broken from the impact of an unprotected punch. Many boxing greats have broken their fists in this way when engaging in street fights.
However, the risk is significantly reduced through the biomechanics of throwing a bare-fisted punch. Old style pugilism, which was built primarily on linear action and emulated the thrust of a sword used a vertical fist, rather than today’s horizontal fist.
With a vertical fist, the entire arm is extended in one line from the shoulder through to the fist. The elbow is tucked beneath the arm as opposed to jutting outward, and the wrist is kept straight. This changes the angle at which the fist connects, and maximizes the striking surface by using the whole fist and not just the first two knuckles. Even when throwing a “rounding blow,” which is the ancestor of today’s hook, the vertical fist was used – either normally or inverted. Punching with a vertical fist provides fewer places in the arm for energy to “get lost” (like a bent elbow or wrist), and it provides more protection for the arm as a whole. The result is that that more kinetic energy is realized as force, and is distributed evenly across the fist. This protects the hand better than if the force was concentrated in one area, while still providing a powerful blow.
Professor Mike Donovan, an ex-middleweight champion, in his 1893 book The Science of Boxing, advocated using a three-knuckle landing, vertical punch. Jack Dempsey was an advocate of the three-knuckle, vertical punch, as it worked well with his "power line" theory (similar to the Wing-chun centerline theory).
However, the benefits of punching with a vertical fist are neutralized when wearing gloves. The hand is already protected so linear blows may be replaced by more circular blows like the “corkscrew” jab and, of course, the hook. These blows may be thrown with more power because they have the increased energy of momentum behind them, as well as the weight of the gloves themselves, which may weigh anywhere from 8 to 20 ounces. Additionally, because boxers need not worry about breaking their fists, they may throw punches that are more powerful Gloves, due to their size, act much like small shields around the hands, and may be used to block incoming blows. Modern boxing guards reflect this, with the hands are held close to the body to easily tuck and cover. Gloves also make getting through a modern guard with linear punches more difficult, which works to the defender’s advantage when blocking shots to the stomach or sides with the elbows, forearms, and biceps.
The older guards, or “attitudes,” were far more extended because the fighters could not rely on the extra protection gloves provide. They needed to block many blows further away from their bodies. This is particularly true for shots to the head, which could not effectively be blocked with the modern tuck and cover. Combatants needed time to react and parry, having little protection close in. Therefore, the distance in bare-knuckle pugilism was considerably longer than in today’s boxing, being fought just outside the range where each antagonist could hit the other without moving his body or feet.
The following topics discuss horizontal and vertical punches and, since twisting or the lack of twisting is a part of the performing the punches, it is included in the discussion.
Vertical punchers say the twist causes a weak wrist
Some vertical punchers say that when an opponent moves in as you are punching, a twisting horizontal punch may buckle, and the wrist may be more damaged than the target. However, in reality, the opponent is always moving in one direction or another; opponents do not stand stationary and get hit. Twist punchers train to punch from any variety of ranges and movements. In 30 years of martial arts experience, I have never seen anyone injure a wrist because of twisting a punch. I have seen wrists injured because they were not locked, but that would also be a problem when vertical punching.
Vertical punchers say their thumb position is stronger
Some vertical punchers say their punch is stronger because the thumb is placed on top of the fist instead of folding under the fingers, thus making the wrist stronger. If this were true, then any gain in wrist strength is offset by a loss in fist stability. Try it yourself, make a fist with the thumb on top, and then squeeze the fist as tight and solid as you can. Then try the same thing with the thumb folded underneath in a natural position. Which fist feels more solid? If the thumb on top would prevent injuries to professional fighters, they would use it.
Boxers fold their thumbs underneath, for fist stability and because they worry about thumbing (the thumb poking into an opponent's eye) and the thumb being snagged and sprained by being pulled backward. When free-sparring, a slack thumb on top of a fist may lead to an accidental thumbing of the opponent or the thumb being snagged on the opponent's sleeve or grabbed.
In reality, wrist strength is not affected significantly by either of the thumb positions. As long as the wrist is held straight and locked, it will not be injured in a punch. The wrist is strengthened by punching, so years of punching with either method will strengthen it to perform the desired punching method.
Vertical punchers say their punch is faster
Some vertical punchers say their punch is faster because there is no twist. If we assume this is true, how much faster is it? Sparring is not drag racing or downhill ski racing, it not judged by thousandths of a second. A few hundredths of a second in speed will not make any difference in whether a punch is blocked or not blocked so the hand is quicker than the eye. Once you see a fist move, it is too late to block or avoid it. To block or avoid a punch, you must detect the punch before it moves by reading the opponent's body language. Therefore, a punch that strikes harder will be more effective than one that is a millisecond faster.
Horizontal v. Vertical Punching History of Punching
Little is known about the guard used by fighters and fighting rules before the great English pugilist Jack Broughton, a student of James Figg, devised the Broughton Rules in 1743. Broughton also invented "mufflers" (padded gloves), which were used in training and exhibitions. Under the Broughton Rules, not much was considered illegal when compared to the London Prize Ring Rules so a higher guard and quicker stance was necessary. There were no limitations against butting, gouging, kicking, or hitting below the belt. The rules mostly just kept a boxing match from becoming a wrestling match.
Until the use of gloves became common, pugilists struck mostly with a vertical fist because it was considered less injurious to the fist to hit with a vertical fist than a horizontal one, especially when using hooks or swinging punches. However, they used a horizontal fist when the target warranted it, such as to the side of the neck. The vertical fist was thought to have a greater range, but, in fact, the arm's reach does not get longer just because the fist is rotated 90 degrees, unless you make some other body adjustment.
Due to the confrontations American soldiers had with Filipino natives in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War in 1898, the guard was raised from the low knuckles downward position to the higher knuckles forward position. When engaged in hand-to-hand combat, the Filipinos would slash the wrists of the extended arms of the American soldiers.
The wearing of gloves in a boxing match is a fairly modern innovation. Prior to 1866, when the Marquis of Queensbury Rules made the wearing of gloves mandatory, boxers fought bare-knuckled. Gloves, or “mufflers” as they were called, were used only in sparring. One may think that fighting bare-knuckled, would cause significant damage to the fist. A common injury among modern boxers is the “boxer’s fracture,” in which the outer two knuckles, and sometimes the outer metacarpals of the hand are broken from the impact of an unprotected punch. Many boxing greats have broken their fists in this way when engaging in street fights.
However, the risk is significantly reduced through the biomechanics of throwing a bare-fisted punch. Old style pugilism, which was built primarily on linear action and emulated the thrust of a sword used a vertical fist, rather than today’s horizontal fist.
With a vertical fist, the entire arm is extended in one line from the shoulder through to the fist. The elbow is tucked beneath the arm as opposed to jutting outward, and the wrist is kept straight. This changes the angle at which the fist connects, and maximizes the striking surface by using the whole fist and not just the first two knuckles. Even when throwing a “rounding blow,” which is the ancestor of today’s hook, the vertical fist was used – either normally or inverted. Punching with a vertical fist provides fewer places in the arm for energy to “get lost” (like a bent elbow or wrist), and it provides more protection for the arm as a whole. The result is that that more kinetic energy is realized as force, and is distributed evenly across the fist. This protects the hand better than if the force was concentrated in one area, while still providing a powerful blow.
Professor Mike Donovan, an ex-middleweight champion, in his 1893 book The Science of Boxing, advocated using a three-knuckle landing, vertical punch. Jack Dempsey was an advocate of the three-knuckle, vertical punch, as it worked well with his "power line" theory (similar to the Wing-chun centerline theory).
However, the benefits of punching with a vertical fist are neutralized when wearing gloves. The hand is already protected so linear blows may be replaced by more circular blows like the “corkscrew” jab and, of course, the hook. These blows may be thrown with more power because they have the increased energy of momentum behind them, as well as the weight of the gloves themselves, which may weigh anywhere from 8 to 20 ounces. Additionally, because boxers need not worry about breaking their fists, they may throw punches that are more powerful Gloves, due to their size, act much like small shields around the hands, and may be used to block incoming blows. Modern boxing guards reflect this, with the hands are held close to the body to easily tuck and cover. Gloves also make getting through a modern guard with linear punches more difficult, which works to the defender’s advantage when blocking shots to the stomach or sides with the elbows, forearms, and biceps.
The older guards, or “attitudes,” were far more extended because the fighters could not rely on the extra protection gloves provide. They needed to block many blows further away from their bodies. This is particularly true for shots to the head, which could not effectively be blocked with the modern tuck and cover. Combatants needed time to react and parry, having little protection close in. Therefore, the distance in bare-knuckle pugilism was considerably longer than in today’s boxing, being fought just outside the range where each antagonist could hit the other without moving his body or feet.
The following topics discuss horizontal and vertical punches and, since twisting or the lack of twisting is a part of the performing the punches, it is included in the discussion.
Vertical punchers say the twist causes a weak wrist
Some vertical punchers say that when an opponent moves in as you are punching, a twisting horizontal punch may buckle, and the wrist may be more damaged than the target. However, in reality, the opponent is always moving in one direction or another; opponents do not stand stationary and get hit. Twist punchers train to punch from any variety of ranges and movements. In 30 years of martial arts experience, I have never seen anyone injure a wrist because of twisting a punch. I have seen wrists injured because they were not locked, but that would also be a problem when vertical punching.
Vertical punchers say their thumb position is stronger
Some vertical punchers say their punch is stronger because the thumb is placed on top of the fist instead of folding under the fingers, thus making the wrist stronger. If this were true, then any gain in wrist strength is offset by a loss in fist stability. Try it yourself, make a fist with the thumb on top, and then squeeze the fist as tight and solid as you can. Then try the same thing with the thumb folded underneath in a natural position. Which fist feels more solid? If the thumb on top would prevent injuries to professional fighters, they would use it.
Boxers fold their thumbs underneath, for fist stability and because they worry about thumbing (the thumb poking into an opponent's eye) and the thumb being snagged and sprained by being pulled backward. When free-sparring, a slack thumb on top of a fist may lead to an accidental thumbing of the opponent or the thumb being snagged on the opponent's sleeve or grabbed.
In reality, wrist strength is not affected significantly by either of the thumb positions. As long as the wrist is held straight and locked, it will not be injured in a punch. The wrist is strengthened by punching, so years of punching with either method will strengthen it to perform the desired punching method.
Vertical punchers say their punch is faster
Some vertical punchers say their punch is faster because there is no twist. If we assume this is true, how much faster is it? Sparring is not drag racing or downhill ski racing, it not judged by thousandths of a second. A few hundredths of a second in speed will not make any difference in whether a punch is blocked or not blocked so the hand is quicker than the eye. Once you see a fist move, it is too late to block or avoid it. To block or avoid a punch, you must detect the punch before it moves by reading the opponent's body language. Therefore, a punch that strikes harder will be more effective than one that is a millisecond faster.