Ridge Hand Strike in Martial Arts

Video Transcript

"Michael Lewis with Yeshua martial arts on behalf of Expert Village, we are here today to talk about basic striking techniques. Now we are going to talk about the basics of the ridge hand strike. The ridge hand strike is going to use on the pointer finger side. You're actually not going to strike with the pointer finger itself. You?re actually going to strike with the area right behind the knuckle. That part of the area is a little bit more padded with the knuckle and also a little bit of muscle on that side. As you throw your strike, when you throw your striking technique, your ridge hand strike, you're going to twist just like you would for a reverse punch, but instead you're going to bring your hand around to a ridge hand strike. The area that you usually strike to is probably to the side of the face: the temple, the jaw or the neck. Other than that you can strike to the ribs. It is a powerful strike, but the best way to strike is somewhere towards the face. Also, as you're throwing your strike keep in mind that you throw your shoulder in first and then whip the technique around. It's very much like trying to pop a towel or pop a tee shirt. You are trying to get a whipping action into your technique. Always keep in mind that your power comes from your stance so your back foot is going to turn up off the ground as you throw your strike. If you throw it off the lead hand from here it's going to be a quicker strike, less powerful, but it again it sets you up for other techniques. It's going to sort of shoot in real quick and you have to turn your hand in if you're striking towards the throat. Always keep in mind, especially to keep your thumb tucked in because if it's sticking out just a little bit you have a possibility of breaking your thumb. Also, as you tuck your thumb in be sure not to turn your hand up so you'll still strike with this part here, but instead that you turn it slightly downward so again that you're striking with the knuckle. That's your basic overview of a ridge hand strike."