MikeK wrote:
I've recently noticed that one of my opening moves is usually a spear hand to the eyes or throat, followed by palm heels to the face.
Roger that...
This is of course the meat and potatoes of my art...
I personally use the spear hand lead but I shy away from it when and if the occasion is serious or could become so--why?
1. I know there is a chance I might actually land on hard bone---ouch! I could break my fingers.
2. I know the chances of me landing the lead spear into the eye of the opponent is slim... Very small target..
Generally, based on my method I assume my initial attack will fail, in terms of doing any damage or even landing... My intent on the lead is to gain a connection really, to make some kind of contact with the defense or with the offense and to convert to offense..
In this case the spear is fine but there is the problem I mentioned above for me at least..
This is why I have kept the basic (vertical) fist as my primary entry move-it's small enough to penetrate as a spear but strong enough not to break if some contact is actually made onto a hard target..
That said, I agree that it is harder to convert from closed fists during the heat of the moment to open hands...
Perhaps the answer lies somewhere within these issues... After working at it for long enough converting may be less of a problem... Perhaps after working at it enough there is less risk of breaking the spear on hard bone, for whatever reason.... In retrospect keeping one hand open and the other closed may help as well to convert.
MikeK wrote:
This comes mostly from by-passing the fist range, and also it's more natural for me to keep the hand open after the spear hand. I've also noticed that when working a finish like to the short ribs, I'm more likely to use a fist than open hand. Come to think of it my choice of hand form is more about what I'm targeting rather than range, though that figures into it also.
True that...
I like the repeated palms as a finish here.. Again this is the bread and butter of what I learned... Elbows can also be very good especially when they go for deep cover and no real targets seem open...
As always I don't advocate deliberation or conscious target evaluation in the heat of the moment. Rather I advocate a continuous projection of power and force..
It should be noted that some are opposed to the use of the fist because of possible problems landing on the teeth/mouth of the opponent... This can cause all kinds of infections, etc... Also many will find their fist is weak and crumples on impact, possibly breaking the fist or wrist... Some fists are more vulnerable than others to this but these objections are well taken...