Hands open or closed?

[TheMightyMcClaw]

When on guard (and not wearing boxing gloves), do you generally keep your hands or open or clenched as a fist?
What do you think are the advantages/disadvantages of either?

[KaratekaAndy]

First vote lol! ;)

I use openhand - feels more natural for me as you can block with a larger area = less chance of getting hit

However if someone throws a really powerful technique/punch then you're screwed no matter what sort of hands you use if you can't stop it

[wild_pitch]

in my hapkido school we keep our hands open in guard for a few reasons.

a. we don't wear big gloves so open hand covers more area than fists.
b. we can use our hands to grab or trap the arm which can lead to standing locks or throws.
c. we utilize the snapping motion of the fists closing to help focus the strikes and generate a little more snap and power when the strikes are finished.

[quartermaster]

Open for the reasons above plus the fact that a relaxed arm moves a lot faster than than a tensed one.

Clenching a fist tightens many of the muscles in the forearm and generally, the rest of the arm likes to follow suit. No doubt someone could argue that it is possible to relax properly with a closed fist, but this approach seems to work well for our lot. The emphasis varies greatly from one student to the next, paticularly at the higher levels.

[Dmitri]

Open or half-open.

It seems to me that it's easier/faster to close your hand that to open it (though this entirely depends on the person).

And, I don't know where I heard this, but this phrase is always in my mind:
Open your hand and you've got the whole world in it. Close it and you've got nothing.

[Johnno]

My natural tendancy is to keep them open, for the bigger surface area and greater flexibility. But there is a big potential drawback in that you have to be careful not to get hit on the ends of your fingers. I managed to get hit by a relatively gentle turning kick right on the tip of my middle finger during sparring one time, and it hurt like hell for days. The last joint of my finger swelled right up. :cry:

[Dave Humm]

In both aikido and karate I tend to keep both hands relaxed and open unless I'm either hitting or grasping something.

Regards

[StevC]

I think that open hand is better because it is easier to block and it dosn't take long at all to close fists to punch. :D

[DAWAS]

alot of the time when i spar i have front hand open and back hand by my face and closed. i have allways had quite a relaxed gard.

[Daffy]

When I spar I usually keep my hands open. This is because I find it easy'r to block a punch or kick(larger blocking area). Also in close I like to keep my hands open to grab ahold of my opponent. I may be totally off in this one, but my sensai tells us to stay loose untill the moment of impact, then be loose again. Naturally i'm not about to try to time my punch so that i only have a fist for a fraction of a second, but in my guard stance I stay loose. When throwing a punch I keep it tight untill my hand is back to guard position.

[Davey Bones]

Open. It's my style. Trapping, sweeping, grabbing, etc. Welcome to Kung Fu.

[Guizzy]

It depends on how I feel at the moment.

[Spainey]

Generally I keep my hands open, just feels natural and it also gives you the ability to strike with the heel of the hand if you want.

[Cuchulain4]

In TSD junior belts are told to use closed fist, so as to avoid get bent, broken fingers from blocking. As you becoe more proficient you may use an open hand gaurd. I like closed myself.

[Gould]

Open Hand.

It usually shows a defensive nature to the opposition and gives a sense of non-agression, that way you can take advantage.

[Taiji Butterfly]

Open - I can do much more damage with open hands usually anyway for some reason.
I always feel holding a clenched fist is feeding energy back into me and holding me down whereas with open hands I can flow and move around and forwards much better - my natural style is to grab, tear or palm strike anyway...
'Faking' is good too - start with fists up, body fairly solid and grounded, feet shuffling then drop them away into open hands and move around quickly to and fro, does people's heads in nicely ime... :D
:Angel:

[stump]

Unless you're very used to it if you punch someone and connect with bone you will not be using that hand much for the rest of the week let alone to deliver a second or third punch there and then.

With a powerslap you can hit someone very hard and do it repeatedly so it has to be spanks (open hand slaps) all the way.

[xxionx]

Its simple... Having a closed fist the whole time keeps your nenergy on the fist at all times. When having an open hand it is faster reaction time to block or grab and when you need to punch, you make a fist right before impact which causes all the energy to immediately move into the fist for a more powerful impact. It hurts and works...I know from Experience.... :bang:

[stump]

If it feels more comfortable for you then fine but whether your hand is open or closed makes no significant difference to your reaction times. Best to go with what your comfortable with.

[xxionx]

Yea, nothing beats what you are already comfortable with...hold on did i say that right? :confused:

[stephentsd]

You can still be relaxed if you have fists, if you have open hand your more likely to dislocate your finger or badly brise it if you have your finger kicked

[DCombatives]

If it feels more comfortable for you then fine but whether your hand is open or closed makes no significant difference to your reaction times. Best to go with what your comfortable with.

This statement is false. Maybe you mean a relaxed closed hand as opposed to open, but there is no way a tensed, tightly closed fist does not slow your arm down. Biomechanics and Kinesiology show that opposing muscle groups working at the same time act as brakes on each other making it impossible for an arm with a tightly clenched fist to move as quickly as a relaxed arm. You can't argue with the science on this one.

[Angelus]

First vote lol! ;)
However if someone throws a really powerful technique/punch then you're screwed no matter what sort of hands you use if you can't stop it
or you could guide it away... :D
I never try to really block punches from guys who are stronger than me because blocking hurts me more and they hit the same spot till i cant block anymore. I guide-away or dodge... blocking...is VERY important... for me is "elevator fighting"


I ususally fight with open hand or loose fist..

[stump]

You can't argue with the science on this one.

A - if you're going to tell me I cant argue it maybe you'd like to provide some evidence.

B - I said significant difference. And I stand my that - having your fists open or closed makes no significant difference to your reaction times.

[MartialJac]

Open hand, bit to open at times will snap a finger one day

[Hapuka]

for me I like to keep them closed for free sparring.

[M Lambert]

I sort of hold my hands fairly in the middle... just to be different. When Kickboxing ym hands are closed inside gloves obviously, but when doing MMA theyre sort of half-fists.... that way I can close them for a punch, grab to lock/grapple etc.

[xxionx]

Actually the statements about open hand and dislocating finger...yea it's true only if you don['t know what you are doing. That is why practises are for. so you can get used to know what you are doing. you can dislocate anything in your body but one goal of the martial arts is that you learn to avoid it.

[Tom@Foresight]

Generally open, when sparring.

TOM

[xxionx]

Generally open, when sparring.

TOM


I think you were supposed to say more :bang:

[Vexed]

Take into account that I have not read all of the comments.

Sense - A closed hand is aggresive.

An open hand is very dangerous - Very unpredictable.

[xxionx]

Take into account that I have not read all of the comments.

Sense - A closed hand is aggresive.

An open hand is very dangerous - Very unpredictable.


Yes!!!!!! :woo: