Using the Palm Strike in Self Defense 

When you are faced with an attacker, your palm is one of the most powerful weapons that you have at your disposal. You carry nothing extra – just learn how to correctly use your palm to be effective.

The palm strike must always be performed with your fingers extended and your hand open. You need to make contact with your attacker with the heel of your hand. It’s simple to do and can have devastating results for your attacker. Even those that are small or light weight can use this technique to gain the upper hand.

The palm strike can actually break bones and joints. A horizontal strike to the groin, kidney, sternum, ear, or nose is highly effective. The palm strike that’s most popular uses and upward thrust into the attacker’s chin. Your energy is transferred from the ground, straight up through your body, and into your palm, so you can imagine how much force and the impact of such a strike. It forces the jaw to close and the head to jerk back, causing the attacker to become off balance. This gives you a split second to do your second strike – a knee to the groin is perfect or driver your heel into the attacker’s knee. Then run – get out of there while you can. Practice these moves in advance with a friend so that should you find yourself facing an attacker you will instinctively carry out the moves without thinking about it. 

Another good self defense technique is to step on the attacker’s foot and at the same time use your palm strike into the outside or inside of the knee. Don’t forget to drive your strike through to get the impact you want. Visualize your hand as a rock. When you drop your rock into the water, it doesn’t bounce and it doesn’t stop – it just keeps falling to the bottom. That’s how your palm strike needs to be – make sure the energy follows through completely. 

There is a technique that’s very effective if your attacker grabs you by the neck with straight arms. In a movement that is as simultaneous as you can muster, you want to raise your knee into either your attacker’s groin or leg. Then without hesitating at all, you need to use a double palm and make a strike to the attacker’s elbow, tightening your body and pushing straight up. This hyperextends the elbow and forces your attacker to release the grip.

Self defense is important and the palm strike is an easy move to learn that can do an excellent job of defending you.
