As a follow up to my last post about how to make a fist, I found a great article on GrappleArts.com about improving grip strength. Included are step-by-step exercises with photos for increasing wrist, thumb and finger strength. While most of the exercises do require some sort of equipment, it ranges from a bag of sand to run of the mill free weights, and nothing looks very difficult or expensive to obtain. The article is written by Rick Walker, who seems to have a good... grip... on the subject. 

I can't quite call it a resolution, but I am going to try to write at least one entry in here per week.  I have a feeling that the topics wil shift more towards self defense and martial arts as it's easier for me to write them since I don't have to worry about formatting code and the like.

 

To that end...

 

How to make a proper fist

The fist is one of the most basic weapons your body has to offer.  Most non-martial artists think that just balling your hand up is good enough, but they couldn't be further from the truth. Punching something with an improper fist is not only not as effective, but can lead to serious injury - possibly even destroying one of your best weapons with your first strike.

 

There is a tutorial available on FightingArts.com that is excellent, but I disagree on one very important part - thumb placement.  The author states that thumb placement doesn't really matter, and mentions how different styles go about it differently.  For the purpose of this article, I'm talking about the basic fist from American Kempo.

 

To make a fist, start with an open hand.  Your fingers should be together.

 

 

Next, bend your fingers at the first and second knuckles until your fingertips are resting on the pads just below where your fingers connect to your palm. 

 

 

Continue to roll your fingers inward until your knuckles form a 90 degree angle.  I find that my fingertips naturally align on the "heart line" of my palm.

 

 

Tuck your thumb against the side of your index finger. 

    

 

Why does thumb placement matter? 

Let's take a look at the physiology of the hand.

 

(Image from Grey's Anatomy)

Notice the muscle groups of the thumb.  When you make a fist and bring the thumb underneath, you're stretching those muscles around the side of your hand.  While it would seem that this would make the fist stronger, it actually does the opposite.  When you bring the thumb alongside the fist, all of the muscles and tendons align together rather than those of your fingers going along the top of your fist and those of your thumb going around and underneath.

 

A simple way to prove this (and one of my favorite "martial arts parlor tricks") is to have someone make a fist with the thumb underneath.  Using one hand to brace the wrist and the other to push down on the top of the fist, you can easily "break" the wrist - causing it to bend.  If you have the person move the thumb to the side of the fist, it becomes much harder to do so.  This translates directly to how strong your fist will be when you actually hit a target with substance.  If your wrist rolls during a punch, chances are you're going to sprain it pretty badly and you could even cause permanent damage.

 

An added benefit is the time it takes in making a fist.  I tend to leave my hands open while fighting unless I'm actually throwing a punch.  That microsecond difference between bring the thumb around and tucking it to the side means that I can keep it relaxed longer, only tightening it on impact.  It also helps prevent getting caught on clothing as there is no point in which your thumb is separated from your fingers.

Do you agree?  Disagree?  Does you style use a totally different type of fist?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

I know I have been neglecting the self-defense aspect of this blog lately.  I'll try to keep it more balanced.  Today, I helped one of my fellow students test for his black belt.  I received mine about 2 and half years ago.  Unlike other dojos where testing is a formality where you perform a kata in front of a panel of judges, our test are hard.  Really hard.  3 Days Long Hard.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you more about it.  Our tests are closed door.  Nobody except the people testing and black belts are allowed into the test.  No parents, no spouses, no spectators.  Today I was an uke, which translates roughly as "human punching bag".  I attacked while my partner - who was the one testing for his black belt - performed the technique.

There were 3 other people testing and they all worked hard and they all did really well.  One point, we were free sparring 3 vs 1 on the testees.  Afterwards one of the other people testing came up to me and asked if I was a black belt from this school.  I told him that I was.  He asked if I had trained anywhere else and I said no and asked why he asked.

He told me it was because I didn't fight like anyone else he's fought against in our school.  Most people come in on you quickly, take a couple shots and then get out quickly.  Very common when you train sport karate or point fighting.  You get in, score your point and get out.  It's very controlled.  He said I came in like a truck.. there was no stopping, no jumping back out.  I came in hard and just kept coming, blocking when I needed to and striking every chance I could.

I laughed and explained to him that was because of my instuctor.  Within my school, my class has a certain reputation of being the people who like to fight.  The ones who don't mind getting banged up.  We train as if it were a real confrontation.  You don't want to punch an attacker a couple of times and stop.. you want to finish that fight at any cost, and that's the mindset we train with.

Though I study Kempo and there is limited grappling involved, in my class a lot of fights end up on the ground.  Why?  Because that's how a real fight goes.  There's nobody there to say, "Stop!" when someone trips or someone grabs you around the legs and takes you down.  We try to fight each other the way we would fight in the street because we all want to have faith that if we really did have to use this stuff that it would work.

Don't get me wrong, we're not trying to hurt each other.  The punches are still pulled a little and there's good sportsmanship all around.  But the strategy and the intensity is more like a real fight than a classroom.

They (and I'm using sweeping generalizations here, there are plenty of individuals who train the same way we do) don't have that mindset in a lot of the other classes.  My class is probably the smallest in the school because it takes a certain masochism to actually want to get hit.  In helping out this morning, I got two minor bloody noses and peeled a decent chunk of skin off of pinky toe via rug burn while getting thrown.  It happens.. you need to fight through it.  I'm used to it from being a little more rough and tumble and I know that if I get in a fight and someone gets a lucky shot that I can take it.

I find that many people who study in another class will come to ours because their instructor has told them to go to my instructor to "learn how to really fight".  And they'll come in with gorgeous form and perfect technique.. and get mauled by most of the people in our class.  That mindset is all they're missing.. but it doesn't take long to beat them into it.

 

The 'Safe Bedside Table' has a removable leg that acts as a club and a top that doubles as a shield for self-defence. This is for people who are willing to take on an intruder, providing an extra sense of security whilst in bed

Here's a link to an excellent explantion of basic self defense. This has nothing to do with guns or martial arts, but is simply about being able to read what is happening around you so you can identify and respond to a threat to your personal safety and making that habit a part of your everyday life.

The Five Stages are:

1. Intent
2. Interview
3. Positioning
4. Attack
5. Reaction

1. Intent This is the first stage... the moment when a criminal decides they are willing to commit an assault. Sometimes this happens long before you ever encounter the person.

2. Interview This stage is when the person figuring out whether you are a good victim. If it's a robbery, do you seem to have money? If it's a rape, does it seem like he could control the victim? If it's a con, would you buy it? Would you give in easily or would you fight back? Can they get away with it afterwards? This stage is your best chance to avoid a potential attack.

3. Positioning This is the beginning of the attack. They will either try to surprise you, prevent you from being able to escape, or take a crowd around you in the case of a group. In other situations like rape, they could be leading you away from others, even if it's just to an empty room at a crowded party. At this point, the main goal is to escape through whatever means you can manage. Self defense is *not* a reaction, and by this point you're already heading towards a physical altercation.

4. Attack The attack itself. They have assessed you as not a threat, have moved you to where they want you and now they're going to try to take what they want through intimidation or force. Once a situation has reached this stage, you are fighting for your life. You can never tell what the intention of an attacker is, so you must look at anyone who disregards your personal safety enough to actually assault you as your potential killer.

5. Reaction The immediate aftermath of the attack. A robber deciding to kill when they feel that the person knows too much about them or a mugger who turns into a rapist when they've found an easy target are examples of reaction changing the crime. Nearly 80% of women seriously injured by rapists are hurt after the sexual assault. The fight is not over until your attacker is disabled and/or you are completely away from them.