Thumb up or towards you? I've been taught both ways by different trainers in the past. Some have said you can hurt your shoulder when your thumbs towards you, others say thumb facing up produces a 'slap' and not a proper hook. How do you throw your hook?
I don't use my fist for hook punch. I use the sharp edge of my fore-arm. This way I can integrate my "hook punch" and "head lock" as one move.
thumb up hitting to body, I got bad shoulder/elbow problems doing midsection shots with horizontal fist, so I changed back to vertical. For head shots it has to be horizontal fist in the hook, the connection is much better with the jaw line.
I was told to hook thumb up originaly in san shou, then later I was told to hook thumb towards me cause sometimes my hooks get a little wide and that would help keep them in. I guess it worked but I felt I lost a lot of power and sometimes I was landing on the last 2 knuckles, which I hate! Since I mostly counter punch I went back to thumbs up position. I don't get hit much if the other guys in mid swing when I throw. The bigger difference in hooks to me is the foot work. We shift from one side to the other when hooking to keep our weight between the knees. I notice many boxers and even some kick boxers shift their weight outside of the leg they are hooking off of. I know it can be powerful that way but for us it sets you up for throws and takedowns and can be dangerous to your knee if you fall at the wrong angle. I would think it could still be dangerous in boxing or kick boxing styles with out throws if you get hit in that position and go down. I also feel like I'm loaded up on my other leg to throw another punch when I shift side to side but I only feel like I could double up on the hook the other way and even that requires some recoiling. So basically I'm just wondering, if any of you have been taught to do it the other way, what are the benifits of that version?
I do the thumbs-up technique for punches to the body and the thumbs-down technique for punches to the head. This is how I have been trained by numerous boxing coaches since I was young. But you should use whatever works for you. Regards, Zack
Thumb up always, the power is so much harder and there is no stress on the shoulder, i never understood why you would use the thumb toward technique apart from for point scoring in amateur boxing, but to me a hook is meant to cause damage and getting full power in is necessary, i hook hard and would definetly hurt my shoulder with thumb toward me.. you never see pro boxers hooking with thumb towards, only amateurs
That's a pretty bold statement, are you 100% sure? Most of it's down to personal preference and stylistic differences. I'm sure the power differential between the two is minimal at best. It'd be like comparing a horizontal fist versus a vertical fist for a straight punch.
I've trained both ways and used both types , i suppose it depends on how you/they are standing and where in relation to your body/arm is the target.
Cowzerp I have trained in boxing my whole life and have always been taught to use both methods and just let my bodys natural reactions dictate which method to use in the fight. I was a champion boxer in the Royal Navy (Royal Marines) and I used both types and I have sparred top blokes who did the same. Some were pro British and European Champions.
I was taught the same, though I was never a champion at it, just traded leather with some of them. That's why I think it's more down to personal preference. Heck, look at two pictures of Pacquiao and you can see he uses both.
Interesting, I'm now pretty generally hooking with thumb upwards. I do prefer it and always have done, but at a couple of the boxing gyms I've trained at they inisisted on thumb toward. Possibly for the purposes of scoring in amatuer boxing.
Most of the time, I have the palm facing (thumb up). I like it because it can be used in close or at long range, and doesn't expose the more fragile pinkie knuckle as much. Outside of a pure boxing context, the movement is more easily turned into an open-hand slap or a collar tie-up grab if I need it to be. Lately I've been experimenting with the palm down (thumb facing). I'm most comfortable when I wing up the elbow slightly in order to get a kind of downward impact. I feel it stands a better chance of slipping through a cover, but can't back that up empirically yet.
I was originally trained thumb in (and still taught thumb in) however lately I been going "thumb up". Especially with my left hook, I find that I got more power generation with my thumb up. Right hook however more or less the same. So I guess its just down to person preference or whatever works at the time.
