Elbow strikes: closed fist or open hand?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ธ.ค. 2019
- Q&A with the coach: A viewer who trains in shotokan karate has been “corrected” by his Sensei who insists that the fist should be tightly closed when throwing an elbow strike. While this form is commonly observable in the kata of shotokan as well as the forms of taekwondo, it’s far from ergonomically correct or pragmatically ideal for combat sports.
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you could easily cosplay Kratos at this point
Boi
nice
Yeah it's pretty cool that it grows the same exact way Kratos's does.
Well, no, he needs to get his head tattooed, first.
I personally don't like Closed fist
I have long arms and if I do closed fist I sometimes hit my chest.
So I prefer open hand and relaxed
When I was shadowboxing along with this video I noticed that as well
There might be also that if you have knife in hand, you do elbow strike diffrently. People have forget that some forms have weapons, without weapons form change.
I would prefer to not even try to throw an elbow with knife in my hand
I think in knifefight one reson of elbow strike is to faint or get knife hand free, if something is holding it.
The point of elbowing with a knife is to cuase less damage. You're just luky enough to take off the knife. Are you going to stab him and deal with the consequences. And knowing you've murdered someone. Elbow to the chin is instant knock out if not a big F off. Then you've got the knife if needed. A knife is a weapon. But you've got over 1000 ways your body can be one. Don't just use a knife.
@@kob3178 I mean personally if someone comes at me with a knife they're dead first and I'm only thinking about the consequences after that point. Someone comes at you with a knife that's an intent to kill, or at least it's an assumed intent to kill if you don't yourself have an intent to die. If they wanted me to be gentle on them they should not pick a knife fight. I could care less if someone that scummy gets hurt in the process from a moral standpoint, lethally or otherwise. From a legal standpoint it's simply a case of bad luck, as was running into a knife weilding shitbag in the first place. In my opinion it is simply not worth the extra thinking time when your life's at risk. Survival shouldn't be sharing priority with anything.
Having said all that, I can still see some edge cases. Maybe you know the person, maybe there's mental instability involved. Or maybe you're a public protector there in a position of authority and should put your life at risk to protect others just as a point of principle and inherent risk of your craft.
@@Torthrodhel I 100% get what your saying but that's just the bunhi (Korean) or purpose. And put it this way. Someone's not going to stab you out it public if he/she if going to get caught. (Less likely) but if you have got the knife off the person and have control you should have full awareness of what's going on and stab the attacker as a last resort if possible. Again 100% understand tho.
I didn’t even know it was that deep.
Understanding human physiology really is essential.
I'm with you. Clenching the fist also causes your forearm muscles to cover up the elbow. That's always been the way I convince people. The hard part of the elbow basically disappears if you have any for muscles at all
You beat me to it! haha
I noticed your longer beard. Give it couple of more years, and you'll become that chinese sage from memes.
No hair, long beard, Ramsey is going to for the "master look".
Thats more of a viking beard
Do you mean Morihei Ueshiba, creator of aikido? Because that's who I usually see on "oriental sage" meme pictures. In that case, he's japanese btw.
Interesting, I thought it was universal knowledge to elbow strike with open hand.
Now think about it, I believe this "closed fist" thing is badly expressed from kata. I believe some tma kata (so far I could think of both Chinese and Japanese) have elbow strikes with closed hand. However I don't believe those movements represent pure elbow strikes. Some could mean short elbow from clinch (your closed fist meant to represent control your opponent hand).
Great video as always. Do remember that the modern Karate we learn today Shotokan, Shito-ryu, Wado-ryu, Gojo-ryu. Is all from a syllabus that was needed to bring it to mainland Japan (Honshu area) from Okinawa. This fixed forms that are used in Kata too are often different from a “real” practical use. It’s mainly to do with how “neat” it looks. Especially for competitive Kata. If you practice traditional karate in Okinawa eg Wado-ryu You will be able to see the roots of the origin techniques eg open hand elbow strikes etc
Happy New year man
Hope you and your family have a peaceful and prosperous year
Thanks for all the efforts and time you invested in producing so much useful and no-nonsense content last year
Love your depth of understanding of body mechanics, brother. Keep it coming. I really appreciate you taking the time and thought to put these together.
Your elbow are making a sound when you throw the hit... That's fucking amazing!
I enjoy your video style and just want to say keep training but more importantly, keep uploading. Watching your videos is very inspiring and you are ready to explode on TH-cam. More, More, More.
A fluidly solid start to 2020, coach.
Never considered this before with elbow strikes. Definitely implementing this tomorrow during my workout. I can’t wait to see and feel the difference.
This video has really good timing for my personal training experience. Thanks!
This is a great video. It allways felt unnatural to do it with closed hand and I couldn't tell why. This explains it very clearly. Truth is evident yet ever illusive.
Happy New Year Ramsey! I’ve only recently picked up on your channel and your content has already enriched my life so much.
Good analysis of anatomy & how it relates to body mechanics.
Stay lose until moment of impact so you can eye gouge on accident. Looking at you MMA.
It’s not a foul if it’s an “accident”!
Just leave your fingers out there and let the guy charge into it like a psycho.
From the Jon Jones school of "rangefinding"
Also the fist flexes the ulnar muscle which pads the elbow. A relaxed hand exposes the bone. Great video
wow this is the earliest i've ever been! you are one of the best channels on youtube. thank you and happy new year!
When I hit a hook elbow, I hit with an open hand & with an uppercut, a closed hand. Can't wait to hear Your opinion.
Boom Son! Happy 2020
Happy New Year Ramsey! 👊
I've been taught there's a time and a place for either or.
Open Hand:
When striking for the purpose of doing elbow strikes eg a la Muay Thai you want that hand open 1) makes for a faster strike 2) exposes the bone to cause more damage.You don't want to stop on your opponent, you want to cut through. In this case think of the elbow strike as a knife to cut your opponent open... You'd also use the open hand version to pierce or spike specific targets, like a knife stab.
Closed Fist:
The other method of a closed fist is good when you want a nice big solid blunt mass to pound with. The closed fist exposes the forearm muscles, ties in the shoulder and also the lats (huge back muscles). The action must come from the hips. Use this when grappling and just want to move the opponent away (like a push kick). Or you want to break an arm that is being held. Basically you want to be solid when you're putting whole body behind it. It's a lot slower and less range of motion but more strength and more mass. Even then, you only close the fist at the end range.
It's possible the teacher has misunderstood the bunkai of the specific kata... As Ramsey says, a lot of the information has been lost in time.
Although the above is an opinion of mine - it has worked for me... YMV. Pressure test it for yourself - nothing beats tested proof.
Shotokan practitioner as a kid... just because your fist is closed doesn't mean its clenched. Fists protect fingers and a fist is then ready to go for a follow up strike. However you are totally right and before I listened to the video I tried it out and thought the fist was better... more centrifugal force from the weight on the back end of the fulcrum maybe? I realized when I do the technique I'm not clenching my fist so shoulders are looser... BUT not as loose as open hand... Very good sir!
I don't know which specific form is being referenced but it's quite possible that it might be that the Shotokan instructors reference is from some movement which wasn't an elbow strike but the application has been lost and so now is thought of as an elbow strike.
I've never noticed that before, but I got my body for this long... Thanks!
I think this from a karate standpoint comes from forms rather than what it's practical applications would be used for. I agree that open hand is best. Unless you can find a reason to have that hand closed for a grab and struggle the elbow would not be much of a elbow anymore. My sensei many years ago discussed the practical applications of movements from kata and waza and it was varied and situational. The only thing missing from those classes would be mma style sparring to try for application. I believe its the teacher and the curriculum in that order that makes the difference.
One of my coaches had us place the opposite hand over our forehead as a defense while throwing the elbow. So it kinda had us stay in the habit of having our own hands loose when throwing elbows.
one thing I I'd like to throw out there is that there is a way for closed fist elbow strikes to be effective. As said by sensei, closing the fist tightens up the rotator cuffs, and loosening the allows for greater movement. If you close your fist at the start of the elbow strike and release the fist at the right timing near the end of the motion, it should add an explosive increase in momentum to that strike, akin to a whip. The timing would have to be perfect or close to it to have a noticeable difference but it should work, in theory. If anyone experienced with this kind of training could comment on this, it would be highly appreciated.
100% correct Mr Dewey.
Taijiquan also has the hand open when elbow striking.
Happy New Year coach
I think practical reason behind why the elbow strike is done with a closed fist is because the elbow striking hand is holding the opponents hand while the other hand is holding the opponents head. Such strikes are not impactful or powerful as their conventional version. But they are sneaky and has a high chance of landing!.
In addition to the the shoulder tightness created by the closed fist, the stiff wrist also creates an actual physical block to full range of motion because of the fist impacting the chest.
Agree with all your comments Ramsey; thanks for sharing and starting this topic.
Also as the chances of having a closed fist could accidentally punch one's self.
Clenched fist might look like an elbow strike but it's intent might be a different story, such as a hook or uppercut.
Using an open hand elbow strike is also probably protecting one's own head in the process (open fingers cover more area on the head and face to be protected) as being in this close range to strike can just as easily be struck back also with elbows.
Open hand elbow strikes are conforming well to one's own body whenever used, allowing multiple types to be employed without hesitation, as clenching and opening the hand is gonna cause some serious performance issues, as in slowing things down with unnecessary tension whereas employing the open handed relaxed way all elbow strikes can flow well together with out much thought.
Elbows and knees respectively, are fixed and good to use as is, unlike the hands that need to be able to change shape when applicable or needed.
The idea of a clenched fist when using an elbow strike, is most likely that the clenched hand is holding on to a part of the opponent while also hitting with the elbow.
As for one example of many, is holding the opponent's clothing at the wrist and swing over top with the elbow; as from a Muay Thai perspective not wearing the clothing to hold on to and not being able to do this due to wearing boxing gloves, it stands to reason why it seems to be wrong.
On the contrary, street fighting conditions as opposed to many contact sports, controlling by holding is an important factor, where holding and trapping, striking movements are possible with the use of one arm.
Therfore a clenched fist in a kata with elbow movements appears to be looking like an elbow strike, perhaps it is and perhaps not, as it could possibly be a hold of some kind or part of a throw...
With early days of karate with Westerners, questions such as these were skipped over due to the language barriers that existed between Japanese Senseis and students.
Therefore it was Monkey see "Monkey Karate Do" and applications without any or much help or explanations, just do as you are shown, respect your teacher and practice and it will all eventually make sense "Not!"
Glad I watched this. I've been mostly closed fist elbows.
It's important to keep your attacking hand open while you throw a devastating elbow strike because if you make a fist you arm muscles will encapsulate. So keep your fist open the arm muscles are relaxed and its also allowing that Ulna to make contact to your oppents face, I also leave my fist open to make it easier for me to have a better rotation and rotation better speed
I like this video a lot because I also learned it with a closed fist (kyukushin background). I tried it open hand and it indeed feels more loose and shall I say smooth.
I realize open hand is better, and I usually do it that way,. However, because you asked the question, and I thought about it, I was thinking, if one was in a situation where you could catch a finger on clothing or something and break it while throwing an elbow strike consider using a closed hand. Also, on a 12-6 elbow, and some other directions, I do use a closed fist. I didn't realize that until just now when I threw a few, :-)
Clenched fist tightens the forearm muscles thereby slows down the speed of elbow strike. An open relaxed palm gives maximum elbow strike speed & power. The purpose is fast powerful strike with the elbow and that is best achieved with relaxed forearm with open hand.
I do full contact karate, and we do still use closed-fist elbow strikes during warmups. I feel it's more for when we're warming up our hips & lower back because it forces us to rotate more. during sparring, we keep our hands open for elbow strikes.
happy New year Ramsey
There is a possible reason to use a closed fist in a form - To teach students that a punch can flow into an elbow strike if the distance changes (opponent moves closer).
In this case the starting movement is a side punch with closed fist, but mid-movement changes to an elbow.
This elbow can either hit or block.
I am not saying that the Karate teacher had that in mind.
He probably didn't.
If he did, he would have told his student.
hi ramsey, ive been doing hung gar for about 4 months now. In our forms (yap mon kuen, taming the tiger, tiger and crane etc....) it seems to be crutial after my GM chiu chi ling and my sifu martin seewer to have extrem tension in the muscles (look up his forms on yt, man his arms are shivering) but also strike and hit with this snap for more power, so my question: whouldn't the tension while hitting lead to the same problem you mentioned hete with the fist/shoulder?
love your videos btw your very inspiring and open minded, greetings from switzerland🇨🇭
I usually like a nice loose hand when elbowing it opens up the cheekbone nicely unless I have a knife in the hand and I aim for my opponents throat ,afterwards always stomp the groin for full effect.
I feel like if you do a clenched fist, you're doing more of a rigid clothesline type of elbow strike where you put in more hip rotation rather than shoulder rotation. Open hand is a sharper and quicker more shoulder-propelled strike.
The closed elbow is not just a strike. It also represents a grappling technique where the fist represents something in the hand, such as a grab on the opponent's shirt. The elbow is then more of a push than a strike in that case to manipulate the opponent into another vulnerable position.
There is also a weapons application with the closed elbow strike, such as holding a sai.
There are delivery mechanisms that prefer tightening the shoulder to support the strike in doing elbows. Especially if you are going for a battery ram kind of effect with the elbow entry, having the connection at the shoulder is even somewhat necessary (Baji is a good example). The Muay Thai traditional emphasizes that relaxed whip-like effect which also great, but a different animal altogether.
Honestly wow ....that's actually a good question....hmmm....usually my elbows come during a combination...meaning my fist are probably closed while punching....than comes an elbow....yea....probably gunna be closed....next time I train i will try to pay attention.....hmmmm....
most karate elbow strikes are either a form of uppercut or side jab like punch
happy New year from Brasil for everybody
Very good explanation, especially on the muscle tension part etc. But yeah just in general with any strike it is best to have your hands open/relaxed , you can't really just naturally react if you are already all tense etc before you even swing. Now I will say many Muay Thai guys will throw spinning elbows with closed fists, but one they typically actually still aren't very tense and are making up for the lack of mobility in the shoulder by turning their core/whole body. But it's still more of a bad habit to avoid rather than training to do it
I hate to comment on something other than your appearance or voice, but the sound of elbows is nice.
Depends on what you're doing, if you pak sau the elbow and vertical side with your elbow all mountain strike you probably have a fist. If you close an armbar across the chest and horizontal strike you probably have a closed fist. But if you reverse elbow on a open armbar fisherman carrying wood you probably have an open hand. Or if you are using a bong sau and elbow roll over the arm to a punch the hand is probably open till you start your punch. Or if you are rolling to roll back and you move torso under the arm and forward elbow and then reverse elbow to the kidney then the GB 13 points you might be open on the forward and closed on the reverse to do a second knuckle drag on the same point. If you're doing a downward elbow to the clavicle your hand is probably open to lap the other side hand. Also if you're using jut sau your hand is probably open if you're pushing the opponent to the line side but if you're pushing to the rear or 45 your probably closed fisted. So from the applications I mentioned the determining of weather or not the hand is open or closed is due to the fact that you either have a closed or open gate if the gate is closed and you have to deal with the other hand coming into play your hand will be open, if the gate is open and the other hand is out of play you will be closed hand, if the gate is closed and there is no other hand in play it will be closed, and if it is open and the other hand comes into play it will be open. So long story short you just opened a can of worms that someone might not understand. It is there is a term called completing the square, that means there is four sides to each movement. And if there is two movements like a forward and reverse there is 8 movements, and up to 8 directions with 8 attacks making 64 techniques. So in actuality there is 64 ways to use one elbow without applications. And open and closed hand would make 128 movements. That's what is hard work when you practice because each movement you add to the basic 4 makes exponentially more movements. So if you take a basic amount guard and reversal and separate it into 4 parts give it 8 directions forward and backwards it has 64 parts around a circle, each segment extends the variable. When standing if you have 4 positions 8 movements around the circle and 8 backwards you have 64 parts and each additional one exponentially more. So if you have four cardinal points and 8 points around the circle for striking and 8 reverse each point order exponentially increases. Throws same, take downs same. Etc.. then we come to the elbow although it seems like all other to be a simple technique when you throw a variable into it like hand open or closed it becomes 2 techniques which both are valid in there own right however both contain enough parts to use either as the part in a system. So all the right and wrong way stuff depends on the structure of the art that is being used. Some arts use stuff others don't or that is just wrong, an example is in kenpo they do an outward block with the outside of the arm, in tkd the do an outward block with the inside of the arm. Why the difference? Because after you grab the wrist and inward block the elbow, the opponent throws a punch with the rear hand over the top in kenpo you grab the wrist and turn the arm out, in tkd you grab the wrist and turn the arm out. So which side the basic teaches you to catch the arm with is unimportant because when you learn the advanced part of it it makes sense and effectively is the same.
Yes! Like the Wing Chun elbows relaxed and open 👍
From my limited muay Thai experience they serve a slightly different purpose- in addition to knock out they want to cut above the eye in muay thai because this will give them a tko. Hence wanting fast cutting elbows. The open hand keeps the bone exposed to help cut.
With the closed hand elbow you only.clench on impact, not throughout the motion, so the majority of the movement is identical whether the fist is gently closed or open. Clinching on impact generates a jarring strike rather than cutting. Also the closed fist helps avoid catching fingers in clothing when fighting without gloves
I'd also note most Thai elbows tend to focus on the head and tend to be descending vertical strikes (on forward elbows) whereas karate is head and body and tend towards horizontal or ascending vertical strikes.
Just my experience.
Just from years of abuse my shoulders are shot to begin with but I noticed when I was doing backyard Jiu-Jitsu with my friends I would tend to clench my fist to strike with my elbow and it seemed like it would give a little more umph to it but I wasn't going fully against my body with my hand when I would do shoulder strikes I would roll my entire upper body into the elbow strike I feel that if you rotate your upper body you get a lot more power because you're using your mass to push into that just like a good punch you start from your back foot and push in to the punch
Ramsey, what do you think of old school MMA fighter Bas Rutten? Might be interesting if you were to do a video about his fighting style.
A lot of people have done it already, but I'd watch Ramsey talk about Bas.
Could the close fist be recreating grabbing someone? Thus making that version of the elbow strike not an elbow strike?
In Ving Tsun you only really strike with the elbow to the body ( Lan Sao). You make a fist to have more structure and excelerate with the hip. But the goal is very different to elbow strikes in Muay Thai. You dont want to really inflict damage with it but break the enemies structure and than follow up punches.
The technique is extremely helpful in mma, espically when you are at the cage. But no fighter seems to see that oportunity. The good thing about it is that it is hard to evade and miss it. Guranteed effect.
@Ramsay, what about if I throw my elbows fist partially closed? Would that tighten up the shoulder that much too?
I practice shotokan. Notice in a lot of our kata the "elbow strike" is really done with the body mechanic to smash with the forearm bone, not really to slash with the elbow as my Thai teacher shows me. I think if you want to smash, close your fist. Closing your fist helps you lock in a structure (as in tekki, naihanchi with one hand behind the enemy's head) for smashing in a way that an open hand doesn't allow, but is not good for striking with the elbow as in the very effective "slash" (sok ti) of the Thai arts.
I'm glad Kratos' chemo is working.
I never thought about it until now. I always had open hand in anticipation of a grab. Closed fist does restrict full follow through.
Fully aware of the fist with punching, not true with me, perhaps because of my wrists being immune to locks other than rotary or perhaps years of gymnastics.
If anything to clinch fist at the end of the open hand elbow. Feel it in the gut.
Good video.
imma gonna throw in my 2c and say that a useful concept for being a student is to do what the teacher or system says even if you have a suspicion it is not the best way.
This forces your teacher to take responsibility for your learning and performance, which is what all good teachers do. Even if they are not the most knowledgeable.
Once you are more experienced and competent in whatever subject you are studying, you will also know the mistakes and weaknesses of what you have learned and how to improve them anyway.
When a beginner in any subject it really is useful to "submit" fully and trust in that subject. Whether that subject is chemistry or tae kwon do.
If making your own decisions, picking, choosing and modifying method from the beginning. You must know and be confident that you have taken responsibility for your own performance. This path requires more mental effort and will make your relationships with teachers and schools more difficult.
Also, the elbow creates a better surface to strike when you keep an Open hend.
If it's your forearm elbow you should probley close it at the end so it flexes to forearm makes it harder. When it's the elbow bone I completely agree.
YT Koby Newman If you do that, you’ll connect with a flexed muscle in your forearm, instead of with the bone, which won’t do as much damage.
@@brottarnacke when hitting timber that's not fake you hit with the forearm of the elbow. Then again that's nothing to do with rl so I completely agree.
YT Koby Newman Hitting timber?
@@brottarnacke occasionally. But the tip of the elbow s a knife. Just not good for timber cause timber wins. Although boards never fight back.
Never even thought of this situation before to be honest 🤔 interesting
Happy New Year everyone! BTW how is the shoulder Ramsey?
I tend to close my fist due to a couple of bad experiences getting my fingers jammed while fighting. Personal preference I guess. You can keep the fist loose so you can concentrate power to the strike
In kung fu we also have some closed fist elbows in forms, not many but they are there. In some of them you actually push the fist with your other hand for a direct elbow strike, but then I think it´s mostly for aesthetic reasons, having the fist against the chest looks better and it´s easier to normalize than having the fingers and the back of the hand against the chest in a sloppy way.
But, hhinking for reasons why someone could think closed fist is better (other than following a tradition of misinterpreting forms):
-Maybe it´s because of the fear of hitting something with the fingers and breaking them, which I think never actually happens.
- Or thinking that closing the fist at the last moment will increase the damage, which isn´t true because you are not striking with that fist but with a bone that becomes even less dangerous when the muscles around do their stuff.
-Maybe some kind of elbow has a chance to accidentally hit with the fist instead and that´s translated to the other elbows? (I think of the uppercut kind of elbow)
Happy new year!
And when you throw a elbow strikes you want to keep your hand open throw or point your hand down to make it much easier to hit your target
Ramsey is starting to look like Kratos from the newest God of War game
I heard someone from someone (a ufc fighter) that when you clench your fist the muscle over the elbow covers the bone more making it less effective. When you keep your palm open your bone is more exposed and therefore the strike is more damaging. You can actually feel this yourself by clenching and unclenching your fist while feeling around that area.
To quote the great Jack Black
"loosey goosey baby, loosey goosey"
one thing im bit freaked out of is if you get hit well your wrist is on your cheast will ths caws a brake or some other injury is they time it right that is
Happy New year
It is a two edge sword. The hand closed tightens up the forearm and will hit harder .
The loose fist is faster .
I never close the fist because a grabbing hand is worth more than a closed hand.
After an elbow I have found I need grabbing / guiding hands much more than a fist.
Doing an elbow /forearm where you close the fist at the striking end isn’t a bad thing. But at the distance of an elbow blow you are in grappling range..
I don't know for sure why karate uses close fist when elbowing but, if I had to take a guess, I would say it has to do with combos within their katas.
A lot of karate katas has elbows followed by a backfist. So probably it's easier to throw the backfist after the elbow if the fist is already closed.
Also note that, as karate don't throw their roundhouses fully across like a bat how Muay Thai does, karate also doesn't throw their elbows as much across as Muay Thai theirfore there is less worry about tearing the rotator cuff by running the elbow strike too far with a closed fist and over stretching the muscle thus tearing it.
Which is more effective? Most would say the obviously more powerful muay Thai elbow that is meant to cut fully through is the most effective. I would say it's a preference of whether you want to put everything into a attack or if you want to reserve and leave less of an opening if by chance you miss.
Even I am a black belt shotokan karateka, the muay thai guys and Ramsey are right. Years ago I did some sparring with very talented muay thai guys (Enrico Kehl and his brother). I learnd from them the use of ellbows, and I taught them my ushiro geri (spinning back kick), which I had also modified by looking at taek kwon do. Also, if your hands are open in an Ellbow strike you are more likely to hit with your hard bones, instead of your softer muscles. Just try it. If a karate trainer insists in closing your fists, after he knows the benefits of open hand ellbow strikes, he is like so many martial arts "senseis or masters", simply ignorant.
Love your beard Ramsey
happy new year :)
Hi coach. I have a question. How to use elbows in sparring and do not hurt each other?
I do both MMA and traditional martial arts for more than a decade and still do not get this experience, why is that? Are professional MMA fighters first time experienced with that during their first real cage fight?
Just noticed I hadn't seen recent videos from you
Interesting. I was guessing you were going to say closed fist, but you make a good argument to the contrary. I guess I never really gave that aspect any thought before.
It might be an aesthetic thing for kata/forms. Kata is supposed to be pretty and uniform as possible.
THE SENSEI IS RIGHT
Not because it's the best and most effective way of elbowing, but because it's the shotokan way and you don't practice shotokan to fight effectibly, you practice it to learn the shotokan way.
Pears to the elm imho...
***also karate emphasises strikes to the body with more of a pushing motion and stoping power, so in that case maaaybe close fist and that extra general tension and rigidness helps absorbing the blowback? maybe? ***
My first video to watch in 2020
closed fist is to imitate that you have grabbed enemy wrist while doing elbow, to lower his guard.
That makes no sense to me. Holding onto an opponent’s wrists opens you up to get hit with an elbow- not the other way around.
@@RamseyDewey well it's difficult to paint the picture, but if i remamber correctly John Johnes used this elbow technique after grabing enemy fist/wrist durning few of his fights.
@@RamseyDewey there is youtube vid on this " Brutal and Surprising Elbow Strike from Handtrap or Wrist Control"
Hey, Mr. Dewey. What is your opinion in regards to hand grips?
As opposed to arm grips? What do you mean?
Agreed you must be loose to strike with speed and flexibility. In Okinawa karate you learn how to tighten the fist and forearm while remaining loose and pliable in the upper arm and shoulder to maintain flexibility and speed. When you can make a tight fist with your arm hanging loosely at your side and shake your loose tricep you will feel this. When you can maintain that feel in movement and in contact you will have it. Then there is no disadvantage to a fist when elbow striking. I have no preference and strike open and closed fist elbows, this way it’s an instant strike from any hand position.
Interesting. I come from karate shotokan, so i strike with the closed fit for elbow strike because i was teached so, now i train in muay thai/kick boxing and mma but still keep the closed fist. It work but i sometime hit my breast doing so (with is not pleasant), i will try to relaxe my hands now^^ Thanks.
Good explanation!
How's your shoulder by the way?
Slowly recovering
@@RamseyDewey make sure you use an open hand elbow so as not to Stress it. 🥴😉🤔
💪💪💪
"Boy!"
Depends on the direction of the elbow, Ramsey is just showing a sideways elbow, if it was a downward elbow i would close my fist, any other elbow i would use open fist
I showed elbows from 4 directions. Blink and you’ll miss it, apparently.
Ramsey Dewey You must of been taught by Grand Master Dux 😉