[quote]Aussie Davo wrote:
The point sento brings up about boxers without gloves interests me. I’m actually slightly concerned that as I get more and more experienced in boxing, one day I’ll be in a barfight and I’ll sock the guy in the jaw, but in doing so, I’ll break my hand.
My brother who does Krotty is always giving me shit about how “you boxers don’t condition you knuckles, so while you hit hard, you break your hand when you dont have it taped and gloved up” I always pass it off as bullshit putdowns on his part, but I’ll admit it does have me concerned a bit. Maybe it’s time to introduce some Krotty Makiwara boards? :P[/quote]
Well, from the standpoint of a guy who’s done karate for years, then switched to boxing in the last couple, there are certainly differences in the way they teach you to hit.
In Karate, your power comes from rotation of the hips. The feet are often pegged to the ground, and as a consequence, you’re not getting the full power that comes with the shifting of all your weight.
While this makes for a weaker punch, it’s probably safer for your hands. In boxing, when you commit to a hook or straight right, you’re putting all your weight behind it, and bringing far more force to bear than your hand can handle. Hence the “wrapping” and “gloves.”
On top of that, when you’re boxing, your hands are loose. Most guys don’t even clench down hard until they’re about to make contact, and the more you get used to wearing gloves, the more I could see someone hitting with a loose fist and breaking it. Your hands are loose when shadowboxing, they’re loose when hitting the speed bag, etc… hell, the only time you really ball your fist (as much as you’re allowed to with gloves on) is hitting the heavy bag and sparring.
Odds are, when you first started, your trainer even said something to the effect of “Don’t fight with clenched fists,” meaning don’t waste energy. So this is kind of ingrained in the boxer’s psyche. For this reason, I try to hit the heavy bag a little with no gloves and no wraps. Not alot, and not timed - just a couple strong combinations that shake the bag and make me force myself to really keep my hands tight, and make sure my wrist is properly aligned. It took me a while to get to the point where I wasn’t rolling my wrist… but even then, a couple times I’ve felt pain in the bones leading to my knuckles, where the so-called boxer’s fracture happens. You gotta be careful.
Honestly, unless you’re one of the guys that truly takes Karate deadly seriously and trains hard every day for years while conditioning your knuckles, you’re not going to have the bricks on your hands that the karate guys will talk about. It’s possible, of course, but takes a level of dedication that not everyone has. So really, “conditioning” your knuckles doesn’t count for much. Hell, I’ve done pushups on my knuckles on cement every day for years. I got callouses on them, but when I punched a wall, my knuckle broke. Go figure.
There’s a reason that open hand strikes were invented- so you don’t bust your hand. Learn some of them… they’re easy as hell to learn and could do well to save your ass. A good rule of thumb is to hit a hard target (skull) with a soft blow (palm heel) and a soft target (stomach) with a hard blow (punch with your fist). This will keep you from shattering your hand, as has happened to many boxers in streetfights in the past.
Also, make sure that you practice once in a while like you’re in a streetfight. Punch hard with a solidly closed fist, hit the bag with a closed fist, and see how it feels. Get used to it, so that if some shit goes down, you won’t end up with your hand in a cast.
