Hook punch mastery begins now!
The Hook Punch
Fundamental boxing skills have always played an integral part in Jeet Kune Do. And the hook punch is one of the most effective punches in boxing. In a street fight when we don’t have gloves to protect our hands from injury our hook punch often becomes an open hand called an ear slap. In this article I will provide you with 4 tips that will dramatically improve your hook punch and all of the tips also apply to the ear slap.
Tip #1 Use a Horizontal Fist or Better Yet a Cupped Palm
If you use a horizontal fist (palm facing down) you are exposing your pinky finger knuckle to landing alone. The metacarpal bones of the hand are thin and fragile designed for dexterity not Hulk smash!The pinky being the smallest of course is also the most common bone to break when people get in street fights. In fact it sometimes even breaks on professional boxers who’s hands are wrapped, taped, and protected through gloves. There is a reason it is called a boxer’s fracture. By turning your fist vertical you are more likely to land the middle and ring knuckles which are far more structurally sound. Having said that whenever you use a fist you want to strike a more fragile structure than your hand… so basically the face / jaw. If you hit the thick strong bones of the skull it is highly likely you will still damage your hand. By using a cupped palm in place of the fist (what some refer to as an ear slap) you can hit anywhere on the face or skull and have no fear of injuring your hand.
Tip #2 Use a Positive Forearm Angle
You want your elbow directly behind your fist or cupped hand. Amateurs allow their elbows to be lower or higher than the line of force being delivered. In other words their elbow is usually lower than their fist or hand. When the hook punch lands the lowered elbow can’t absorb the impact since it isn’t behind the fist and force transfer is leaked. So a positive forearm angle simply means get your elbow behind your fist. If you are throwing a horizontal strike your fist and elbow will be at the same height and thus your forearm will be horizontal. If you are throwing a different angle such as a diagonal (not very common) then ditto… get your elbow behind your fist.
Tip #3 Keep Your Support Hand Up
I fancy myself a counter puncher so I love it when people lunge in at me with a punch and leave their support hand away from their face. A local UFC fighter not too long ago kept getting popped in the face because every time he threw a punch his opponent also threw a punch. The local fighter never guarded his face during his attack and paid the consequences with a loss. Don’t keep it tight to your jaw but rather stick it out in front of your face in case your opponent fires off a stiff lead or cross. This article explains how.
Tip #4 Create a Whipping Rotational Force
You don’t want to be an arm puncher do you? Of course not. If you want to hit hard you must learn to hit with your entire body. Here are the quick steps for a lead hook (fist or ear slap)
- Initiate your whipping rotation by shifting about 70% of your weight to your back leg
- Next drop your lead knee in which will get your pelvis to start rotating
- As your pelvis and trunk are rotating leave your fist or palm out slightly until you feel the stretch reflex in your chest / shoulder / arm kick in. Then let it rip,
- Just remember that your fist or palm must be the last piece in the sequence to move if you want to generate maximum force behind your strike. It is just like throwing a ball in a lot of ways.
- Finally to get that whip effect stop your elbow before it crosses your center line and allow your fist or
Final Thoughts
Remember a hook punch is just one of many martial arts tools. A true Jeet Kune Do fighter will pick the appropriate tools that fit their body, style of fighting, situations they find themselves in, etc. A good JKD fighter will also keep their tools sharp so if the hook if one of your tools, go get those reps in. Until next time Brian
Until next time,
Brian
