# How do you punch in Hapkido?



## Pyros (Jan 3, 2003)

I was wondering, do you use boxing like snapping punches or the TKD et. al. like punches that stay extended for a snap? I know you probably train both, but which one is more popular, I mean, if the instructor is going to show some technique and he asks you to punch him so he can demonstrate, how do you punch if no explicit instructions were given, i.e. which is the one "usually referred to as the (front / rear) punch"?


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## Hollywood1340 (Jan 3, 2003)

We use a JKD style vertical punch, kept in tight for rapidity and repeated striking ability


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## H@pkid0ist (Jan 3, 2003)

We utilize multiple was to strike. We are taught that if we are to throw out just a single strike it should be a rear power strike. Never just jab. But it is always emphesized that we try and always utilize multiple strikes and techniques. We never do reverse punches. Our basic fighting stance is a boxer's stance. Even our front hand strikes are not jabe. By pivoting your body and putting it into your foward strike it goes from a jab into a foward power strike.


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## Hollywood1340 (Jan 3, 2003)

We (My school) very rarely use a closed fist. 80% of the times we strike open hand. Ya know it's really fun to slap someone silly then throw them on their head.


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## H@pkid0ist (Jan 3, 2003)

We keep an open hand as well. We do not close into a fist untill the moment of impact. An open and relaxed hand react quicker than a closed fist.


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## Hollywood1340 (Jan 3, 2003)

Ours our normaly open at impact. That gives us control options a closed fist would not, as a transition to a grab is much easier with an open hand.


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## Pyros (Jan 4, 2003)

> _Originally posted by H@pkid0ist _
> *We never do reverse punches. Our basic fighting stance is a boxer's stance. Even our front hand strikes are not jabe.*



Umm.. I'm confused. You don't do reverse punches? Okay.. So why do you say "Even our front hand strikes..." as if you also did reverse punches? Or is it my english? Let's see, a front punch is a punch with the leading hand and a reverse punch is a punch with the rear hand. If you are in a stance with left foot forward, your left punch is a front punch and right punch is a reverse punch, so you never punch with the right hand if you stand with left foot forward or what? Sorry my confusion, but I have studied five different arts (kickboxing, karate, kali, taijutsu and wingtsun) and I have never heard of an art which would totally leave out reverse punches.


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## H@pkid0ist (Jan 4, 2003)

Ok, let me see, Reverse punch is the traditional way a karateka strikes. You know punching from the waist rotating the fist as you strike. Top of the hand faces skyward as punch is delivered, as punch is withdrawn it goes back to the waist palm side up.


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## Pyros (Jan 4, 2003)

> _Originally posted by H@pkid0ist _
> *Ok, let me see, Reverse punch is the traditional way a karateka strikes. You know punching from the waist rotating the fist as you strike. Top of the hand faces skyward as punch is delivered, as punch is withdrawn it goes back to the waist palm side up. *



Oh. I never saw those done in kickboxing or kali but we sure did reverse punches. Whenever I see _those_ reverse punches, they're usually specified as _karate reverse punches_ or in a similar way, because there sure are other ways to reverse punch. 

Like a front kick. There's a front kick in karate I did, there's a front kick in kali I did, there's a front kick in taijutsu I did, but they were all different techniques. All done differently. In karate front kick was done with ball of the foot and usually the foot was quickly retracted. In kali we kicked with the heel and often retracted the foot. In taijutsu we kicked with the heel and usually stepped "through" instead of retracting the foot. So all the arts had a front kick but they all did it differently.

Same with reverse punch. We reverse punched in karate. We reverse punched in kickboxing. We reverse punched in taijutsu. All three were done differently. Still they all had a reverse punch. 

The whole idea of this thread was to know _how hapkidoist reverse punches_, not if hapkido has a reverse punch because I would believe it does - or it has a severe disadvantage. In my vocabulary, a punch done with the reverse hand is a reverse punch.


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## greendragon (Jan 5, 2003)

I am kind of following along the same mindset as "hapkidoist", we also don't use a standard karate reverse punch, you know, low front stance and high chambered fist tucked against the ribcage and then rolling the whole fist over during the punch, the way I learned it in Goju Ryu and in some TKD classes, we do a vertical punch also, and sometimes it doesn't even make it totally vertical, basically about 45 degree angled, it feels very natural, the fist also doesn't close until the last second, Hapkido has dozens of different strikes, pokes, slashes, chops, etc... we use about everything,, I think what you are thinking of as a reverse punch is what we would call a right cross,,, in other words you are stiking with your fist that doesn't have the same foot forward,, we love to do the standard left jab, right cross combo from boxing, I have seen many people get knocked out with that simple combo.  And I am not talking in competition either, good ole street fu if you know what I mean....
                                                          Michael Tomlinson

oh and by the way, we have all three variations of that front kick you described in Hapkido and they are all named as seperate kicks!!  Sometimes I look back on all my curriculum belt sheets thru the years and it is amazing how many techniques we actually have in Hapkido,,,, do you dudes agree?


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## Pyros (Jan 5, 2003)

Thanks for the info. Now I understand better. If you look at my "front kicks", I used words like "often", "usually". I never meant they were the only kind of front kicks in the arts. Usually we had "The Front Kick" (the ones I described) and then we had front kicks with more elaborate names. Just as we had a rounhouse kick. But then we did have roundhouse kicks with shins, roundhouse kicks with instep, etc. but they were specified when meant and if you just said a roundhouse kick it meant the basic version with ball of the foot (in the style I did).

And _of_course_ you have many strikes, so do karate, taijutsu and kali. What I was after was the basic idea of sparring. When I see two hapkidoists sparring, does it look like they are in a "boxing match with all the extra techniques", or does it look like some old style karate match with low stances and hands in "karate-kid" positions. If I have understood correctly from your description, hapkido seems to me like boxing with a thousand extra techniques, i.e. upright stance, with bobbing, weawing, jab, cross (as you said), etc. instead of two people in a low stance without boxing techniques.

Hmmm.. I'm really sorry about my inability to express myself, but english is not my native language so it takes time to write anything understandable.


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## H@pkid0ist (Jan 5, 2003)

> _Originally posted by greendragon _
> *I am kind of following along the same mindset as "hapkidoist", we also don't use a standard karate reverse punch, you know, low front stance and high chambered fist tucked against the ribcage and then rolling the whole fist over during the punch, the way I learned it in Goju Ryu and in some TKD classes, we do a vertical punch also, and sometimes it doesn't even make it totally vertical, basically about 45 degree angled, it feels very natural, the fist also doesn't close until the last second, Hapkido has dozens of different strikes, pokes, slashes, chops, etc... we use about everything,, I think what you are thinking of as a reverse punch is what we would call a right cross,,, in other words you are stiking with your fist that doesn't have the same foot forward,, we love to do the standard left jab, right cross combo from boxing, I have seen many people get knocked out with that simple combo.  And I am not talking in competition either, good ole street fu if you know what I mean....
> Michael Tomlinson
> 
> oh and by the way, we have all three variations of that front kick you described in Hapkido and they are all named as seperate kicks!!  Sometimes I look back on all my curriculum belt sheets thru the years and it is amazing how many techniques we actually have in Hapkido,,,, do you dudes agree? *




Much better description of a reverse punch here. We call a rear hand strike a rear power strike. 

We practice the same combo you mention. Sometimes we go from front, rear, to front hand uppercut to the ribs. Simplicity rules.

The techniques are endless it seems. I know with us since my GM was a life long student of Choi and Ji that we have the influince of both primary styles of HKD. This has brout our number of techniques upward to 7000. Kicking related techniques are included here. I know it seems like a lot, but like the rest of hapkido it is all advance variations on the basics taught from white to 1st Dan. To me it really doesn't matter how many techniques are in a system though if you are a serious, life long student.


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## H@pkid0ist (Jan 5, 2003)

pyros,

Our basic fighting stance is a boxer's stance, but we do utilize the cat stanc and horse stance in transitions, and at times from a primary fighting position. But that is not all to often. As far as the cat and horse stance from a fighting position, we utilize the cat a lot more often than the horse. When a paerson watches us fight they see aspects of different systems from one moment to the next. But like I said, our basic and most common fighting stance is a boxer's stance.


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## Pyros (Jan 5, 2003)

H@pkid0ist, thanks, that is the info I was looking for.


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## Eraser (Jan 9, 2003)

Howdy all.. geez its been ages since ive been here..

At my school.. we put alot of focus on the retracting hand\arm.. also as mentioned before we also.. keep the hand in a loose fist until contact...  but focusing on the retraction really adds more to your punch!!  when I retract my hand.. it like im elbowing someone behind me.. and my fist (back hand facing down) goes just below my armpit..  its really cool!!  :asian:


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## Pyros (Jan 9, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Eraser _
> *At my school.. we put alot of focus on the retracting hand\arm..*


* 

<sarcasm>Yes, it is nice to learn how to punch instead of just thrusting your hand hout, isn't it.</sarcasm> LOL!

Just kidding on your choice of words! :rofl:*


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## Eraser (Jan 10, 2003)

pyros... i got your sarcasim...

I guess i did word that kinda funny.... what i mean is yes.. you do have to retract your other hand\arm.. but how hard you retract that free hand (if you wish to call it that).. make a HUGE difference in the strength of your punch..  
DOes that make it a bit better???????
 
if not.. then Heck.. come on down to my school and i'll show ya personally...


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## WaterCircleHarmony (May 1, 2003)

So do any of the hapkido schools also do ITF style TKD as they are pretty karate reverse punch orientated. perhaps not in sparring but in a lot of other aspects.


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