Kind of a dumb question, but..

[Doomer36]

Hay all

Bit of a silly question, but im new to boxing and trying my hardest to get things right first and not get into any bad habits. When punching ive always thought you hit with the first 2 knuckles (index and middle), but read this evening that with boxing it should be the last 3.

If someone could shed some light on this that would be great

Cheers!

[Rocky Balboa]

I used to prefer the three knuckles but my coach forced me to use the two and I have reaped the rewards. With the two knuckles my opponents can feal the hardness right through the glove. Not only is your puncher sharper but the force is more concentrated and it will go right through (figuratively speaking) your opponent. Go with the two knuckles and you'll feel the difference once you get used to it.

[ryanman]

just out of interest Rocky, would you say thats true for all punches? even the jab?

[Rocky Balboa]

just out of interest Rocky, would you say thats true for all punches? even the jab?

That's one thing that I've been having a hard time figuring out. For a stiff jab I'd have to say yes but most of the time a jab is just a light prep-punch so I'm not sure it really matters. I'm used to holding my fist that way so I do it anyways without the power.

[Doomer36]

Thanks for the reply Rocky. Kind of makes sence to get into the habbit trying to make contact with the first two. It feels quite natural this way anyway when the fist is turning over at the end of the punch. The article I read just mentions that by punching with the outside three fingers you are in proper skeletal alignment and should cut down on rolling and spraining of the wrists.

[Youngblood]

I honestly have no idea. When in doubt, jab your thumb in his eye.

[Andre]

Depends on the target ,hard targets of bone you want the larger knuckles, also if your fist is thrown vertical or horizontal or on a twist. Occcasionally a vertical fist and bottom three fits in real nice to the body and on a 45% angle into the neck they work well in some combat. You dont want to knock your little finger knuckle backwards if you slightly miss a hard target either, like on a high hook.

[atgatt]

Very interesting about getting more hardness through a glove when punching. Forgive my lack of glove boxing experience. I could only speak of my street fights that punching the body is much easier on the hands than hitting the head area. Knuckles into hard bones hurt. So do teeth.

At least they have better boxing gloves today. When I read about the boxers in the early 1900s, those gloves had padding that broke down during the fight giving some bad hand pain.

[Rocky Balboa]

To align the two knuckles properly you have to cock your fist down and a bit out. Once you get the hang of it your fist will be quite solid.

Youngblood: x2, nothing wrecks his vision more than a thumb in the eye