When I first started Karate my instructor told me that the fist twisted at the end of the punch because it allowed the punch to penetrate like a spinning drill bit. Not knowing any better I just took him at his word. Expecting him to be right. After years of practice and examining each technique. I have come to the conclusion that the fist twist at the end of the punch to aid in focus. Actually there is a really big explanation here but the summary is that it is for focus.

So what does this mean in the long run. It means that my instructor decided on something without examining it or knowing for sure and then passed his faulty opinion onto his students. I wonder how many of his students to this day still think it is to penetrate like a spinning drill bit.

In the beginning it is ok to just take your instructors word and commit yourself to the lesson. Many students try to over think in the beginning. When they should be dedicating themselves to repetitious practice. But by the time they make Brown or Black Belt they should be thinking about the way that things work.

Here are some things I see all the time that people just don't seem to understand.

Shoulder Punching:  Many, and I mean many, people throw their middle punches straight out from their shoulders. The reason for this is that it forms a natural alignment for the arm. However if you are ever fighting an opponent of approximately the same size as yourself. Punching them in the shoulder probably won't do much. The extra effort to punch directly in the middle could do more damage to your opponent than to punch them in the shoulder. Black Belts that practice this never received their Black Belt from me.

Knuckle Push Ups:  Knuckle push ups are done for 3 reasons. (1) To strengthen the body. (2) Toughen the knuckles. (3) Simulate punching. Any push up will help to strengthen the body. But to toughen the knuckles you need to make sure that your knuckles push against the floor. Most people do knuckle push ups with the same hand placement as doing a regular push up. This is incorrect. It generally keeps the fist up too high to push effectively against the floor. With the weight being distributed against the finger knuckles as well. Also the elbows tend to stick out placing them outside of the influence of the body. Everyone knows that you are supposed to keep your elbows down while punching for this reason. If the fist is lowered from a horizontal striking pattern by the shoulders to a vertical striking pattern by the ribs. Then the knuckles line up on the floor and the elbows can be down.

Here are only 2 things that I see all the time. There are plenty more. These two I mentioned are just wrong. I don't care who you are. Wrong is wrong. It doesn't matter if you and your instructor are both 10th Degree Black Belts with 100 years experience... If you are shoulder punching. Guess what????!! You are shoulder punching. Don't try to pass it off as a middle punch.

So Black Belts. Wake up open your eyes and stop going about your martial arts mindlessly. You are in a position to pass on great knowledge by teaching and by example. If you don't know where the solar plexus is for middle punching. By all means take a medical course and find out. For lower ranks, be patient your time will come.