The Hook Debate: Palm in or Palm down? (17 threads mashed together, have fun)

[ziggs]

This is the classic hook question. Palm in or down?
I have moved to three different cities.and trained with three different kickboxing gym.and have been taught one way, then another then back to the other.
It is my understanding that for close range you should go palm in, and for longer range you sould go palm down. (but here is a few tangents for you....)
I watched a couple highlights of ernesto hoost, and saw more than a few shots (in slo mo) he threw that,had he not been wearing gloves, would have hit with the next knuckles down from his main knuckles (don't know what theyre called)....almost like he curled his wrist in in a batting motion.
Now... I have a friend who loves to fight ...and is really good at it... who curls his punches the same way....but he hits these same lower (bare) knuckles on people's faces and skulls.This all in a hook motion (maybe a swing in his case sometimes, but a swing is kindof a long range hook)
Is the palm in / palm down argument just a way you adapt your hook to land with the knuckles that you choose? Is that the whole reason for the argument? ...I mean what good is any punch if you're just going to break your knuckles by landing with the wrong ones?

 

[xinster]

i thought it was all preference. In any case, bare knuckles to a skull isnt a good idea.

 

[Basu Rutten]

I always teach to throw hooks with the palm down, and make sure to hit with your first two knuckles (the ones from your index-and middlefinger) not the last two ones!!

 

[lucid]

palm in is the safe way because theres less chance or landing the hit with the last 2 knuckles.. but then again with light gloves landing with just your middle knuckle isnt fun either.

i do palms down because it's habit now.

theres no real right or wrong. use what your prefer or if your coach/traienr/instructor makes a good case and you agree then go with what he says.

 

[Ayin]

Yeah, it just seems so much safer to do it with the palm facing you, palm down just seems to lead to hitting with the lower knuckles.

 

[NoiSe]

I find it easier to keep the elbow up when doing them with the palm facing me

 

[Robert D]

10 points to the person who know's why you throw hooks to the face with the palm down...

Its to do with teh mechanics of the body and knocking people out.

 

[chlorox]

It is my understanding that for close range you should go palm in, and for longer range you sould go palm down. (but here is a few tangents for you....)
QUOTE]

I thought that the problem with palm down was that it was less effective with longer ranges as you tend to hit with the smaller knuckles...the opposite of what you said actually

 

[Tristram Shandy]

If I'm throwing a tight hook I go palm in, if I'm a little further out I go palm down. I don't know if this is right or not, it's just always what's felt good to me.

 

[Will van Am]

Palm-in has become more popular as palm-down sets you up for the basic police hammerlock in MMA/self-defense.

The bicep also would seem to be much stronger on inside hooks palm-in.

 

[JSN]

10 points to the person who know's why you throw hooks to the face with the palm down...

Its to do with teh mechanics of the body and knocking people out.

is it because it allows for a looser shoulder joint and longer range of motion? that's what it feels like to me, like palms toward you is pure hip rotation but palms down is hip rotation + some shoulder movement as well.

at any rate i just don't feel right throwing a hook with my palm facing down. i have wrist problems though.

 

[Crimson Tiger]

Palm down is the text. But palm in is safer.

In close range, palm down is the best, but as it gets further and further, it slowly become palm in.

 

[Robert D]

Imagine your opponent is in his stance, his gaurd is up + his shoulders are high, and you throw a left hook at his face with your palm facing you, the big two knuckles will connect on his cheek or maybe his temple, a good shot but very unlikely to knock him out.
Now you throw that hook at his jaw with your palm facing down you will be able to slip it over his shoulder and connect with the two big knuckles right on his jaw, Blam, Knockout.

Unless your opponent has a crap defence it will be very difficult to connect with the big two knuckles on the jaw with your palm facing you.

It's understandable to hook short range with palm facing down and at distance with the palm facing you, but the other way around??...no reason for that.

 

[Marvin Covar]

Palm down is the text. But palm in is safer.

In close range, palm down is the best, but as it gets further and further, it slowly become palm in.

here here.

 

[sha]

Palm-in has become more popular as palm-down sets you up for the basic police hammerlock in MMA/self-defense.

what ??

When I turn my palm, I feel my arm is a little more tense, which can slow you down. So I prefer palm down, feels more natural.

 

[MTnewbie]

I hook with palm-in because i get the most power that way. I was originally taught by my boxing instructor to hit with palm-down but it just didnt work for me. The benefit of using palm down is that you have a tendency to put more of your body weight/ forward thrust into the hook. Palm-in seems to have a tendency to emphasize trunk rotation (atleast thats my experience from the newbies Ive taught).

As yall know hook is about bodyweight+forward thrust+trunk rotation (as is most punching) so use whatever works for you.

 

[ziggs]

after reading my first (kinda incoherent) post, i guess my next question judging by the response is this....
It doesn't matter does it?Palm in/palm down? What does is two things:
where you land and with what knuckles.From looping overhands to in tight body shots, it all matters what your hittn and how.

With any style of hook i kindof try not only to rotate my body, but to coincide the rotation with my arm swinging around in a circular motion at the same time I snap my elbow up so that my forearm is parallel to the ground the instant that i make contact.
With a palm in hook, this would mean that my (hitting) knuckles are coming in from beside and below, giving me less range but keeping me tighter and more covered.
with a palm out hook it means that I can come in almost from behind and beside by swinging a little bit more making me hit with only my index knuckle instead of both index and middle finger knuckle.This way I can land on the ear or side of the head which can hurt like a mother even if your wing blocking.
Either way......Do you guys ever try to land a hard shot on your opponent,and hurt your hand cause your hand hits uneven on their guard?
Thanks for the replies

 

[SuperNinja]

Everybody always says that your palms should be facing down towards the ground, yet almost every boxers I see throws it with their palms perpendicular to the ground.

So which is it? When the punch lands would you palms be facing the ground or perpendicular to the floor?

edit: so it makes sense now.

 

[rekka]

did u just read what u just typed? or u need to learn english

 

[TrentRage]

Palms parallel and palms facing the ground means the same thing. Palms perpendicular to the ground (or facing your chest) is how I throw them.