I studied Yi Li Chuan kung fu for a number of years and we learned what they called a “dragon” or “two-point” fist. The strike was with the first knuckles of the index and middle fingers with the fist loosely held and the knuckles in line with the forearm. But this was an internal style and we were told that it was not the force of the blow that mattered but the concentration of “chi” at the instant of contact. The palm was considered more effective as a striking instrument, for the reasons you describe. Although Yi Li was not about grabbing and holding.
When you get to a certain level of proficiency and grip strength, heavy strikes are unnecessary. I’ll slap a shoulder and let fingers dig in, and that arm is no longer effective, nor can he pull away.
If you’ve ever given deep massage, you know as you work to loosen a muscle you shouldn’t press your fingers underneath it, because it hurts. All the nerve packages going down a limb are put underneath the stressbearing muscles for protection. If you grab a bicep by the lower insertion (near the elbow) in your hands, and squeeze as though you want your thumb and fingertips to meet underneath the muscle, not only is there great pain but the movement of the lower arm by the bicep is reduced almost to nil.
The object is to develop the grip and technique so seizing any part of the body...even a pec or a handful of belly skin...you’re able to hang on even if your body weight is hanging from that grip. Takes time to develop even close to that. Another part is to learn the body well enough to know what muscles and joints are vulnerable and what angles to work on them from. For instance, the hand on the shoulder move, if your L hand is on his R shoulder, your R hand grasping his throat, press your R elbow against your L hand, “straightening” his body so his free arm is away from you, and can’t reach you. His R arm is partially immobile from fingers penetrating underneath the muscle of his shoulder, and your L elbow guards against what limited motion it has. Then settling into a solid stance to guard against any wild motions, you can give his windpipe a suggestive squeeze and ask just how badly your attacker wants to continue. Catch and release, no harm done except some black fingerprints, maybe some trouble speaking if he was hard to convince.
I had problems when I was young breaking the last outer bone in my hand using a normal fist, so many years ago I started training what they call a “goose fist”. If you’ve ever made a goose shadow on the wall with your flashlight, you hold your hand very much the same, don’t even make a fist, really...just touch your thumb to the middle of your forefinger and tighten the fingers together so it cups the palm. It takes a little training, but it has advantages...your hand remains open for seizing, plus it focuses the point of impact on the middle knuckle. If you press a fist into modeling clay, you get an impression of knuckles and fingers, press a goose fist into clay and you get one deep depression from the isolated middle knuckle.
Anyway, martial arts is always great exercise, head to toe, and my favorite spiel is, if exercise is a part of your daily life anyway, why not pursue an exercise that might save your bacon someday?
When you get to a certain level of proficiency and grip strength, heavy strikes are unnecessary. I’ll slap a shoulder and let fingers dig in, and that arm is no longer effective, nor can he pull away.
If you’ve ever given deep massage, you know as you work to loosen a muscle you shouldn’t press your fingers underneath it, because it hurts. All the nerve packages going down a limb are put underneath the stressbearing muscles for protection. If you grab a bicep by the lower insertion (near the elbow) in your hands, and squeeze as though you want your thumb and fingertips to meet underneath the muscle, not only is there great pain but the movement of the lower arm by the bicep is reduced almost to nil.
The object is to develop the grip and technique so seizing any part of the body...even a pec or a handful of belly skin...you’re able to hang on even if your body weight is hanging from that grip. Takes time to develop even close to that. Another part is to learn the body well enough to know what muscles and joints are vulnerable and what angles to work on them from. For instance, the hand on the shoulder move, if your L hand is on his R shoulder, your R hand grasping his throat, press your R elbow against your L hand, “straightening” his body so his free arm is away from you, and can’t reach you. His R arm is partially immobile from fingers penetrating underneath the muscle of his shoulder, and your L elbow guards against what limited motion it has. Then settling into a solid stance to guard against any wild motions, you can give his windpipe a suggestive squeeze and ask just how badly your attacker wants to continue. Catch and release, no harm done except some black fingerprints, maybe some trouble speaking if he was hard to convince.
I had problems when I was young breaking the last outer bone in my hand using a normal fist, so many years ago I started training what they call a “goose fist”. If you’ve ever made a goose shadow on the wall with your flashlight, you hold your hand very much the same, don’t even make a fist, really...just touch your thumb to the middle of your forefinger and tighten the fingers together so it cups the palm. It takes a little training, but it has advantages...your hand remains open for seizing, plus it focuses the point of impact on the middle knuckle. If you press a fist into modeling clay, you get an impression of knuckles and fingers, press a goose fist into clay and you get one deep depression from the isolated middle knuckle.
Anyway, martial arts is always great exercise, head to toe, and my favorite spiel is, if exercise is a part of your daily life anyway, why not pursue an exercise that might save your bacon someday?