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Contact points

Intro

A contact point is the area of the body part that makes contact with the target when attacking or blocking. The smaller the contact area, the greater the damage to the target. When the attacking or blocking force is concentrated into a small area, the resulting force being applied to the target area is greater than it would be if the contact area was larger. It like the difference better getting punched and getting slapped.

Kick contact points

• Ball
• Heel
• Edge
• Sole
• Knee

Hand contact points

• Fore Fist
• Back Fist
• Hammer Fist
• Top of Wrist
• Back of Wrist
• Ridge Hand
• Back of Hand
• Knife Hand
• Bear Paw
• Chicken Beak
• One Knuckle
• Middle Knuckle
• Thumb Knuckle
• Fore Knuckle
• Palm Heel
• Wrist Heel
• One Finger
• Two Finger
• Spear Hand
• Elbow

Punch contact points

The contact area for a punch is the large base knuckles of the first two fingers. This concentrates all the force of the punch into a very small area and keeps the impact point in alignment with the forearm to lessen the chance of a wrist injury
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When punching a high target, some students, especially beginners, have a difficult time keeping the first two knuckles in proper alignment. This is also a common problem when using the twist punch at targets above the solar plexus and particularly the head. To help correct the problem, roll the punching shoulder upward and inward. This realigns the first two knuckles. Another way to avoid this problem when punching to the head is to use a different technique than a punch, such as:

• Use a palm heel strike or knife hand strike.
• Use a straight vertical punch, where the fist is not twisted but is held vertically with the thumb side up.
• Use a modified punch where the forearm is held vertically in the guard position and the elbow is rotated outward and upward before the punch begins. This lets the punch travel over the opponent’s guard and then slightly downward into the target. Since the punch is angled downward, the first two knuckles strike first.

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