Open Hand and Elbow Techniques
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Open Hand Strike·Franz Karate Dojo
Open Hand strikes and Elbow techniques. This includes many of the Kihon (basic) Waza for training our curriculum at Fran…
Open Hand Strike
Group開手打ち(Kaishu-uchi)
TraditionalTranslation: open hand strike
Overview
History & Origin
Open hand strikes are among the most ancient and universally distributed striking techniques across world martial arts, predating the development of the closed fist punch. [1] Historical evidence suggests that open hand techniques were preferred in many traditional systems because they reduced the risk of hand fractures that frequently occur with closed-fist striking against hard targets. [2] In Okinawan and Japanese karate, open hand strikes (kaishu waza) form a major category of techniques, with Funakoshi documenting numerous open hand forms in his 1935 Karate-Do Kyohan. [3] Chinese martial arts systems — particularly Wing Chun, Baguazhang, and various Shaolin styles — developed extensive repertoires of palm strikes, knife hand strikes, and finger thrusts. [1] In Western combatives, open hand strikes were taught as practical self-defence techniques, with W.E. Fairbairn and E.A. Sykes incorporating palm strikes and chops into their World War II close-combat manuals. [4]
Effectiveness
Lineage
Competition Record
Open hand strikes are used in MMA, karate competition, and self-defence contexts. [1]
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Biomechanical Mechanism
Primary Action — Ballistic extension of the arm — kinetic chain transfers force from the ground through the hips to the fist
Joints Involved — Shoulder (flexion/rotation), elbow (rapid extension), wrist (stabilised on impact), hips (rotation)
Force Vector — Linear (jab, cross) or circular (hook, overhand) depending on the punch type
Kinetic Chain — Ground reaction force → hip rotation → torso rotation → shoulder extension → fist impact — each link amplifies velocity
Position & Entry
From fighting stance — Establish guard, generate force through hip rotation and weight transfer, extend the striking arm to the target
As combination (after setup) — Follow a jab or feint with the punch to exploit the opening created
As counter — Time the punch to land as the opponent commits to their own attack
Videos
3 DEADLY Open Hand Strikes
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Open Hand Strike·Sensei Berny
guys be really careful when practicing these 3 deadly open hand strikes.
2 videos
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Ratings
Risk of injury to the person this technique is applied to
4
Moderate4/10
Open hand strikes have lower fracture risk than fists but can still concuss
Skill level needed to execute this technique reliably
Beginner
Whether this technique is allowed under major competition rule sets
Illegal
WBC/Boxing — Only closed-fist punches permitted {src— WBC Rules of Boxing}
Kyokushin — Only closed-fist strikes to body permitted {src— IKO Kyokushin Tournament Rules}
— WT — Prohibited
WT Competition Rules 2024PDF— WAKO — Closed fist only
WAKO Competition RulesPDFK-1/GLORY — Closed fist only {src— K-1/GLORY Kickboxing Rules}
Restricted
— WKF — Varies by technique — some open-hand strikes legal ...
WKF Competition Rules 2024PDF— ITF — Some knife hand techniques legal
ITF Competition RulesPDFLegal
— palm strikes, slaps permitted
Unified Rules of MMA, August 2025PDF— IFMA — Legal — palm strikes permitted in Muay Thai
IFMA Muay Thai RulesPDFTraining Notes
✓Keep the hand taut and firm but not rigid — a completely stiff hand transmits shock back into the wrist
✓For palm strikes, contact with the heel of the palm, keeping fingers pulled back to avoid eye-gouging in training
✓For knife hand strikes, tighten the hand at the moment of impact and relax between strikes to maintain speed
✓Open hand strikes are safer for the striker's hand than closed-fist punches against hard targets like the skull
✓Train on makiwara (striking post) to develop proper alignment and conditioning for edge-of-hand techniques
✓Use open hand techniques as alternatives when hand wraps or gloves are unavailable — they reduce metacarpal fracture risk
✓In self-defence contexts, palm strikes to the chin or nose replicate the effect of an uppercut or jab with less hand injury risk
Common Mistakes
!Limp wrist on palm strikes — the wrist must be locked to prevent hyperextension on impact
!Hitting with the fingers instead of the palm heel, causing jammed or broken fingers
!Slapping rather than striking — the motion should be linear or arcing with hip drive, not a loose swing
!Keeping the hand too relaxed through impact, which dissipates force across the whole hand
!Not conditioning the edge of the hand before using knife hand strikes at power — leads to bruising and pain
!Overextending reach on spear hand techniques, exposing the fingers to bending injuries
!Neglecting guard position of the opposite hand — open hand strikes are slower to return than punches
Related Techniques
Counter Techniques
Setup Chain
1Assume Fighting Stance — begin from a balanced position with guard up
2Generate Power — use hip rotation and weight transfer for maximum force
3Execute Strike — deliver the technique to the target with correct form
4Recover to Guard — return immediately to defensive position
Sources & References
Primary Source
The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do (Shoshin Nagamine, 1976)
1BookBoxing (Dempsey, 1950)
Alias sources — [1] Karate-Do Kyohan (Funakoshi, 1935) [2] Karate-Do Kyohan (Funakoshi, 1935) [3] Karate-Do Kyohan (Funakoshi, 1935)
2BookMuay Thai: The Art of Fighting (Kraitus, 2002)
History sources — [1] The Art of Striking (Blauer, 2004) [2] Biomechanics of Striking Arts, in Martial Arts Medicine (Kordi et al., 2009) [3] Karate-Do Kyohan (Funakoshi, 1935) [4] Get Tough! (Fairbairn, 1942)
Official karate technique names (和語/漢語)
4OtherJapanese Martial Arts Standard Terminology (武道用語)
Established Japanese martial arts naming convention — native Japanese term (和語/漢語)
5CitationBoxing (Dempsey, 1950)
Alias sources — [1] Karate-Do Kyohan (Funakoshi, 1935) [2] Karate-Do Kyohan (Funakoshi, 1935) [3] Karate-Do Kyohan (Funakoshi, 1935)
6CitationMuay Thai: The Art of Fighting (Kraitus, 2002)
History sources — [1] The Art of Striking (Blauer, 2004) [2] Biomechanics of Striking Arts, in Martial Arts Medicine (Kordi et al., 2009) [3] Karate-Do Kyohan (Funakoshi, 1935) [4] Get Tough! (Fairbairn, 1942)
Community
Athletics
Requires
speed, power generation through kinetic chain, striking surface conditioning
Favours
athletic build with fast-twitch muscle fibres
Key muscles
varies by strike — hip rotators, shoulders, core
Sub-techniques
Chop
FamilyA downward or diagonal striking motion using the edge of the hand, similar to a knife hand but delivered with a heavier, more committed chopping trajectory.
1 subfamilies·2 techniquesExplore
Fundamental Open Hand Strike
FamilyThe Fundamental Open Hand Strike family covers striking techniques delivered with an open hand rather than a closed fist — including palm strikes, knife-hand strikes (shuto/chop), ridge-hand strikes, and hammer-edge strikes that appear across karate, kung fu, Krav Maga, and other martial arts. [1] Open-hand strikes offer several advantages over closed-fist punches: they significantly reduce the risk of hand injuries (broken metacarpals, boxer's fractures), they can effectively target soft tissue areas (throat, eyes, ears), and the palm heel provides a broad, hard striking surface backed by the wrist and forearm bones. [1,2] In self-defence systems like Krav Maga, palm strikes are preferred over punches because they are effective without wrapping or gloves and can be delivered by untrained individuals with less risk of self-injury. [2,3] The knife-hand strike (shuto uchi/karate chop) became one of the most iconic martial arts techniques in popular culture. [3]
13 subfamilies·13 techniquesExplore
Hammer Fist
FamilyA strike delivered with the bottom of the closed fist (the ulnar side), swinging the fist in a downward or horizontal arc like a hammer.
2 subfamilies·4 techniquesExplore
Knife Hand Strike
FamilyA strike delivered with the edge of the open hand, using the area between the base of the little finger and the wrist to chop into the target.
2 subfamilies·4 techniquesExplore
Krav Maga Strike
FamilyThe Krav Maga Strike family covers striking techniques from the Israeli self-defence system designed specifically for real-world combat situations — emphasising maximum damage through gross motor movements that work under extreme stress with zero sporting restrictions. [1] Krav Maga strikes prioritise palm-heel strikes, hammer fists, eye gouges, throat strikes, groin kicks, and other techniques that target the body's most vulnerable areas — techniques that are illegal in every combat sport but essential for self-defence. [1,2] The system was developed by Imi Lichtenfeld for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and is designed to work for soldiers and civilians without extensive martial arts training, using natural body movements that function under the adrenaline dump and fine-motor-skill degradation of a real attack. [2,3] Krav Maga striking philosophy is fundamentally different from sport striking: the goal is to neutralise the threat as quickly as possible through aggressive, pre-emptive attacks to vulnerable targets. [3]
5 subfamilies·5 techniquesExplore
Kung Fu Strike
FamilyThe Kung Fu Strike family within the Open Hand Strike group covers open-handed striking techniques from Chinese martial arts systems — the most diverse collection of open-hand formations and striking methods in any martial arts tradition. [1] Chinese martial arts developed an extraordinarily varied array of open-hand formations, each designed for specific targets and applications: tiger claw (hu zhua, raking and gripping), crane beak (he zui, pecking strikes to pressure points), iron palm (tie zhang, devastating palm strikes developed through years of conditioning), and the famous dim mak ('death touch') pressure-point strikes. [1,2] These techniques reflect the Chinese martial arts philosophy of specialised weapons for specialised targets — rather than a single fist for all situations, Chinese martial artists trained multiple hand formations for maximum effectiveness against different anatomical targets. [2,3] While many traditional claims about these techniques remain scientifically unverified, the underlying principle of targeting vulnerable anatomical points with appropriate striking surfaces is biomechanically sound. [3]
4 subfamilies·4 techniquesExplore
Open Hand Strike
FamilyStrikes delivered with an open hand, grouping the traditional striking surfaces of Okinawan and Japanese karate — the spear hand (nukite), palm heel (shotei / teisho), bent wrist (kakuto), arc hand (koken / keito), bear hand (kumade), and eagle hand (washide). [1] Each surface concentrates impact on a different rigid structure of the open hand, allowing the practitioner to reach soft-tissue targets a closed fist cannot strike effectively — the throat, eyes, and small pressure points — while reducing the metacarpal fracture risk associated with closed-fist striking. [1,2]
9 subfamilies·9 techniquesExplore
Palm Strike
FamilyA strike delivered with the heel or base of the open palm, driving the hand forward in a thrusting motion to impact the face, chin, or body without risking hand fractures.
1 subfamilies·2 techniquesExplore
Ridge Hand Strike
FamilyA strike delivered with the inner edge of the hand (thumb side), swinging the hand inward in a horizontal arc to target the temple, jaw, or neck.
1 subfamilies·2 techniquesExplore
Spear Hand
FamilyA thrusting strike using the extended fingertips held rigidly together, targeting soft tissue areas such as the throat, eyes, or solar plexus.
1 subfamilies·2 techniquesExplore
Notes
Open hand strikes include palm strikes (220 hits/45 books), knife hands (918/84), spear hands (222/24), hammer fists (156/39), ridge hands (76/23), and chops (1,079/200). These techniques use the open hand rather than the fist — lower self-injury risk and access to targets (eyes, throat) that fists cannot effectively strike. (200+ books; Nakayama, Dynamic Karate; martial arts texts)
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I position my thumb and fingers when doing an open hand strike?
Keep your thumb tucked tightly inside so your hand is flat, and curl your fingers inward rather than leaving them pointed out. Sensei Berny emphasizes making sure your thumb is in and tight, and that you're curling your fingers inside to avoid injury.
What's the difference between a speed-focused and power-focused open hand strike?
For speed techniques, strike with the ridge hand to the upper target areas. If you want power or knockout ability, strike with the forearm instead, according to Franz Karate Dojo.
Should I use a wide arching motion when throwing a ridge hand strike?
No—your ridge hand should not be thrown with a wide arching motion, as this develops poor technique. Franz Karate Dojo notes that people often do this from breaking practice, but it should not be used in self-defense or street fighting situations.
What targets work best for open hand strikes to the neck area?
The side of the neck and collarbone area are effective targets. Sensei Berny explains that striking the soft muscle area below the collarbone with the edge of your hand is effective because there are no bones there to injure your own hand, but it will cause significant pain to your opponent.
How do I avoid telegraphing my open hand strike?
Don't wind up excessively or use a large chamber position—generate power by rotating your hips instead. Sensei Berny advises that advanced practitioners should keep the technique compact and quick so the opponent doesn't see it coming from a mile away.
How does the Open Hand Strike work?
Strikes delivered with an open hand using the palm, edge of the hand, fingertips, or bottom of the fist, common in traditional martial arts and self-defense systems.
Where does the Open Hand Strike come from?
Open hand strikes are among the most ancient and universally distributed striking techniques across world martial arts, predating the development of the closed fist punch. Historical evidence suggests that open hand techniques were preferred in many traditional systems because they reduced the risk of hand fractures that frequently occur with closed-fist striking against hard targets.
Is the Open Hand Strike legal in competition?
Unified MMA: legal — Legal (palm strikes, slaps permitted); WBC/Boxing: banned — Only closed-fist punches permitted; WKF: restricted — Varies by technique — some open-hand strikes legal in kata, generally restric…; Kyokushin: banned — Only closed-fist strikes to body permitted; WT: banned — Prohibited; ITF: restricted — Some knife hand techniques legal; WAKO: banned — Closed fist only; K: banned — 1/GLORY — Closed fist only; IFMA: legal — Legal — palm strikes permitted in Muay Thai
How dangerous is the Open Hand Strike?
Danger rating 4/10. Moderate — open hand strikes have lower fracture risk than fists but can still concuss
How do I set up the Open Hand Strike?
The standard setup chain: Assume Fighting Stance → Generate Power → Execute Strike → Recover to Guard.
How do I defend against the Open Hand Strike?
Standard counters include: Block — absorb the strike with a protective guard position / Evasion — move the target out of the strike's path / Counter-Attack — time an offensive response during the recovery phase of the strike.
What are the variants of the Open Hand Strike?
Common variants: Standard variation (primary execution of the strike from the most common stance); Power variation (modified mechanics for maximum force generation); Speed variation (minimised telegraph for a faster, harder-to-read attack); Counter variation (timed to exploit the opponent's offensive commitment).
How effective is the Open Hand Strike in competition?
Open hand strikes are used in MMA, karate competition, and self-defence contexts.
What are common mistakes when doing the Open Hand Strike?
Top errors to watch for: Limp wrist on palm strikes — the wrist must be locked to prevent hyperextension on impact / Hitting with the fingers instead of the palm heel, causing jammed or broken fingers / Slapping rather than striking — the motion should be linear or arcing with hip drive, not a loose swing / Keeping the hand too relaxed through impact, which dissipates force across the whole hand.
What are other names for the Open Hand Strike?
The Open Hand Strike is also known as Kaishu-uchi, Hand Strike, Te Waza, Open-Palm Technique.