[Maurice]

By fists, I mean punches. By palms, I mean using the palms and chops stretched-out hands.































Which do you think is more effective in a battle?

[CHUCO]

battle?? who are you fighting the mongols??? palms are good because they dont damage your knuckes or fists but knuckles hurt more it really depends where your hitting

[monk_yarik]

I may answer your question under two conditions .















1.How old are you ?















2. How many HongKong martial art movies you watched last month ?















Please let me know )

[Bujinkan Ninja]

It depends. They each apply to different situations. They're just two of many different types of strikes. Some others strikes are the knife hand strike, little finger strike, three finger strike, claw strike, thumb strike, thumb knuckle strike, knuckle strike, palm strike, double palm strike, along with many others. They both work better in different techniques, it all depends on what you're wanting to do. For general striking, the fist would be better since it's striking surface is slightly smaller and hard than that of the palm strikes.

[Sixtus]

The fist.































Its harder which not only does more damage, but also protects the hand itself while in that shape.































The hand is a fragile bundle of tendons, ligaments and thin bones after all, and gets injured more often than the face beleive it or not.































All these guys who recommmend palm strikes, finger strikes and chops have obviously not been a real fight or even played much foootball. One slip or miscalculation, or even the weight of the other guy coming in suddenly and you will snap/dislocate a finger or sprain your wrist in a second.































Its okay hitting stationary boards, or even a guy who is standing still, but in the heat of battle, with unrpredictable surfaces and velocities, you want your hand as hard and impregnable as possible and that is a fist.

[Ivan D]

Don't be fooled by those kinds of gimmicks. Fist is way way way way way way way better than chops. Chops is senseless unless you're fighting a small baby.

[iron will]

fist. but there is also the use of crane fist, snake fist, tiger claw, eagle claw, leopard paw etc...















fist to the face always hurts. but when you thrust a snake fist with your fingers into someone's throat it hurts.

[stslavik]

It's not as clear cut as it seems... An improper punch can damage the wrist or the bones in the hand. An improper palm strike can damage the fingers. Honestly, since fighting for me is for self-defense only, I don't worry too much about how badly I'm hurting my hands -- if that's the worst that happens, I'm still alive and will heal. Just note that each has its advantages and disadvantages.































In a self-defense situation, I tend to use open hands... This has the added bonus of looking more defensive and, let's face it, there's nothing like a good slap to make a guy think, "Did that little ***** just slap me?"































A good rule of thumb when asking these kinds of questions and hearing responses that say definitively one or the other: they don't have enough training in the other to use it properly or effectively.

[hannism]

Do you condition your knuckles?































If you don't, here's a guideline. Against a soft target like the chest and stomach, use a fist.































Against the head, use palm strikes. A lot of good boxers have broken their hands punching the face without gloves.

[dreamdanz]

Salutations,















I think you should have made that Sturdy fists. if you are simply going to ball up your hand and let fly, you might damage yourself as well as your opponent. As you practice, you will develop protection, in the form of callouses, but these are not what makes the fist sturdy. Cheers