advice wanted about punch style

I Have an old friend who wants me to train a young girl to punch like they did in the old days?...ie no twisting of the wrist so the palm is still facing sideways on impact and not straight up and down like is usual for me to teach.

I have just finished trying to accommodate this peculiar request and not overly keen on teaching it any more.:bart

Can anyone tell me why they changed from this alleged "old style" to what normally teach fighters today. I have some theories, but would like to hear from more experienced people on this one. Thanks in advance:good

 

Styles have changed over many years.Take the Bare fist days and how they stood and punched compared to today. They fought with palms facing upwards from what i recall seeing.....My friend has the notion that punching with your thumb facing the sky makes for a true power shot as opposed to the way i/we teach what is called the traditional punch. Just wanted some good rational reasons as to why that is good or not so good. :roll:

 

Ive been going to the classic section for a better understanding of various old styles and I see they have a few good reasons for those changes of style as boxing evolved,and largely due to the rule changes that made ones way of standing and the way you delivered a punch a bit more challenging.Im no expert after reading a few scripts, but im wiser than when i started trying to find an answer to my own question.

They did indeed use to punch without what we call "corkscrewing the hand" at the end of the punch. Cork screwing ensures the palms end up facing downwards,whereas the other style that existed way back included the palm beginning and ending sideways with the Thumb facing upwards.
They say this was to make sure that you kept a healthy distance between you and the other bloke.

They could do all sorts back in those days,and throwing someone to the floor was counted as good in-close fighting! eye gouging,headbutts,tackling and wresting were all a part of the boxing back then. Rules changed and so did the need to alter stances and guards based upon the nature of the rules that were agreed to.

More to this than i had originally thought.:hat

 

This content is protected

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The sport of modern boxing is so well established that it is difficult to imagine it ever being different – or at least, different and effective. We tend to view the sport as having reached the final evolutionary stage of fistic athleticism, being the product of many centuries of “doing it wrong” before we finally “got it right.” From the blows delivered to the guards used, we imagine that our modern boxing has the monopoly on pugilistic truth.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What this belief doesn’t take into account, however, is that boxing is a sport, and as such is the direct descendent of a more combative art form: bare-knuckle pugilism. Reaching its zenith in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this martial art is different from modern boxing in several key ways. It is these differences that allow it to be equally effective as a sporting form, and much more effective as a combative form. This article will examine one major difference between bare-knuckle pugilism and modern boxing – the use of gloves.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It is probably safe to say that the single most important piece of equipment in the sport of boxing is the glove. Obviously, boxers fight gloved, but they also spar and train gloved. Gloves protect the hand and wrist, diminish external damage to the boxer when receiving a blow, and provide increased defensive capabilities. Even when striking the heavy bag or working the speed bag, if the athlete is not wearing gloves, he will, at a bare minimum, have his hands well-wrapped. [/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The wearing of gloves in a match is a fairly modern convention, however. Prior to 1866, when the Marquis of Queensbury Rules made the wearing of gloves mandatory, boxers fought bare-knuckled. Gloves, or “mufflers” as they were called, were used only in sparring. Even training on the bags was done without hand wraps or other sorts of protection for the hands.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]One might question the wisdom of fighting bare-knuckled, for surely that would cause significant damage to the fist. Today, a common injury among young men is called the “boxer’s fracture,” in which the outer two knuckles, and sometimes the outer metacarpals of the hand are broken from the impact of an unprotected punch. Even boxing greats like Mike Tyson have broken their fists in this way when engaging in street fights. [/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The danger, however, is significantly reduced through the biomechanics of throwing a bare-fisted punch. This method is the first major difference between modern boxing and old style pugilism, which was built primarily on linear action, and emulated the thrust of a sword. When a blow was thrown, a vertical fist was used, rather than today’s horizontal fist.[/FONT]

This content is protected

This content is protected

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]A vertical fist is thrown with the back of the hand facing to the outside line of the body, and the fingers facing to the inside line of the body, whereas a horizontal fist is thrown with the fingers facing the ground, and the back of the hand facing the sky. This is important due to the skeletal alignment of the arm when throwing a punch. [/FONT]

This content is protected

This content is protected

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]With a vertical fist, the entire arm is extended in one line from the shoulder through to the fist. The elbow is tucked beneath the arm as opposed to jutting out, and the wrist is kept completely straight. This changes the angle at which the fist connects, and maximizes the striking surface by using the whole fist and not just the last several knuckles. Even when throwing a “rounding blow,” which is the ancestor of today’s hook and generally seen as an inferior blow, the vertical fist was used – either normally or inverted (in which the hook is thrown with the thumb facing down, elevating the elbow). [/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Punching with a vertical fist provides for two things – fewer places in the arm for energy to “get lost” (like a bent elbow or wrist), and more protection for the arm as a whole. The result is that that more kinetic energy is realized as force, and is distributed evenly across the fist. This protects the hand more than if the force was concentrated in one area, while still providing a powerful blow.[/FONT]

This content is protected

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]However, the benefits of punching with a vertical fist are neutralized when wearing gloves. The hand is already protected, and linear blows can be replaced by more circular blows like the “corkscrew” jab and, of course, the hook. These blows can be thrown with more power because they have the increased energy of momentum behind them, as well as the weight of the gloves themselves. Gloves can weigh anywhere from 8 to 20 ounces, which is significant when adding power to a punch. Additionally, because boxers needn’t worry about breaking their fists, they can afford to throw with increased power.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Blow delivery, though, is not the only way gloves change the fight. The gloves, due to their size, act much like small shields around the hands, and can be used to block incoming blows very effectively. Modern boxing guards reflect this – the hands are held close to the body to easily tuck and cover.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Gloves also make getting through a modern guard with linear punches more difficult, which works to the defender’s advantage when blocking shots to the stomach or sides with the elbows, forearms, and biceps.[/FONT]