My new coach insists I land first with my index and third knuckles - not the flat surface of my fingers beneath my knuckles or that surface with my knuckles, but my knuckles proper. His reason? It hurts to be hit with larger knuckles. This means my fist is bent slightly downwards. The angle between my fist (palm) and wrist is smaller. The muscles on the top of my hand are pulled tighter. Will this hurt my wrist, shoulder, arm etc. (bearing in mind I never fully extend my arms to the point of locking my elbow joints to maintain a little 'give')?
You should do as your coach says, he is right, it is the right way to land a punch. Not only will it be a more powerful shot, when the power is focused on a smaller area of contact, but it also best for your own hand. Those two knuckles are the strongest area of you hand when your fist is clenched, so the chance that they will be damaged when you land will be smaller than if you land a punch in another way (your pinky and ring finger knuckles are much weaker and the joint of those is more loose and therefore more likely to get damaged, and the area beneath you knuckles is weak as well, the bones might break). Your wrist can be a problem as well. You need to bent it slightly downwards as you say to land your shot with those two knuckles. But only slightly not too much, make sure that you hold your wirst firm, so it wont be further bent when you land with full power because that might damage the area around your wrist. New guys training often experience this, until they learn to hold their wrist firm and stiff. Handwraps also helps of course, as they help tightening your wrist and also your knuckles. If you punch very hard, then maybe ease on throwing with full power until the technique your coach teaches you feels natural, and your knuckles and wrist have been gradually strengthened. In the end maybe your fist will look like this http://www.boxingrepublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Muhammad-Ali-Fist.jpg :bbb:happy and by the way, as you can see on Ali's fist it is primarily the 3rd knuckle out of the two that will be the impact knuckle. It is also a bit stronger than the index knuckle. But I guess those two knuckles is generally what you should focus on landing with.
Could be your gloves. You should be able to EASILY land your punches on your knuckles, not the flat part of your fingers. Some gloves (cheaper Everlasts, for example) force you to curl your wrist to strike with the knuckles. Most higher-end gloves promote proper punching by allowing you to close your fist all the way.
Yep, my coach's knuckles look just like that. I'm not exactly :happyat the prospect, but hey, gotta do what I gotta do. Thanks, guys. That was helpful. I'll look into wrist-strengthening exercises as well. I use Hayabusa 10oz with mex wraps. Those gloves don't come cheap. But, you're right. They'd promote better form, if their finger pockets were made just a fraction deeper. I'm looking for a super-snug sparring glove at the moment, as it happens. Any recommendations?
