Palm Strikes or Nah?

Saw a video of cross fitters doing palm strikes on the bag with MMA gloves on. I can't help but feel it's a way lesser technique. with the only benefit being smashing someones head off a wall by palming their forehead.

I'd rather throw punches and kicks and risk a break than throw a palm strike. What say you MAP?

 

With gloves on? Marginally useful for short range GnP if you're not allowed elbows. Otherwise pretty much nope.

 

You mean like without injury? Potentially. The only targets really are head and body though unless you're suggesting palm strikes against things like shields or something?

 

I've seen people literally slapped out of their shoes before. Open hand striking can be effective.

 

For a class of people who might have no training in how to make a proper fist and align their wrist, I would be getting them to do palm strikes too. Too much risk of someone injuring themselves otherwise.

 

I've hear that before, but I have a hard time envisioning how that works. If you get someone with a palm strike, they tend to move away from you at some speed. I'm presuming you're talking about head shots? I guess it's a bit more feasible with a lapel grab, but it would have to be a weak palm strike...

 

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In theory I like palm strikes but know that I've had too much conditioning (watching films, boxing MMA, etc) and training to use the fist that I'd more than likely punch on instinct.

 

You've got more angles of attack with a fist too, so you can just go for available targets on instinct without having to think about whether to use a fist or palm. That kind of thinking capacity just isn't available under pressure.

Fists can fit through smaller gaps in someone's guard than a palm too.

 

I'd actually argue that there's at least as much risk of injuring the wrist with a palm strike as with a punch. I think the big difference is in protecting the hand bones (palms are a lot more durable than knuckles, especially if you hit something hard like an opponent's skull), not so much a difference in protecting the wrist.

 

Not if you're impacting with the heel of the palm, only if you're impacting with the "ball" of the palm (to borrow kicking terminology).

 

An 0pen palm to the side of the head can easily perforate the ear drum even at relatively low force ,whilst looking fairly innocuous.

 

True, but in my experience that's a somewhat easy error to make. Or maybe, since I lack flexibility in my wrists, it's an easy error for me to make. Either way, I'm much more likely to mess up my wrist doing a series of palm strikes than I am working all evening with punches.

 

Yeah, it's especially easy to do on a heavy bag. Bags aren't good for practicing palm strikes really.

Do you bend your fingers down into a half-fist when you palm strike? You can pull the hand back further when you do that than if you have your fingers straight.

 

I do. Even so, I personally have exceptionally poor wrist flexibility. Some days it's hard to even get my palms flat for push-ups. (Ironically, my fingers are exceptionally flexible, and so I often do push-ups with my wrist straight, resting my weight on the "ball" of my palm and the pad of my thumb, with my fingers bent "the wrong way" 90 degrees, like I'm keeping a golf ball tucked in my palm while doing the push-up)

 

My Sifu would often say "Hard against soft, soft against hard". We use palm strikes in Wing Chun, especially against certain targets. Palms are a great way to break someone's nose or ribs without risking breaking your hand.