Hand Attacks

Kicks can hurt you
Hands will kill you

“I come to you with empty hands, I have no weapons. But should I be forced to defend myself, my principles or my honor, should it be the matter of life and death or right or wrong, then here are my weapons—my empty hands." -Old karate motto

Kicks are dangerous—but punches can kill! An old Muay Thai saying says "Kick loses to punch, punch loses to knee, knee loses to elbow, elbow loses to kick."

Hand attacks must be the best way to attack, since there a Canadian holiday called "Punching Day." Actually it is called "Boxing Day." Boxing Day is the day after Christmas, which is the Feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. The term may come from the opening of church poor boxes on that day or it may come from the earthenware boxes in which boy apprentices collected money at the doors of their masters' clients. So, I guess Boxing Day really does not have anything to do with punching.

Hand techniques use the muscles of the arms and torso to transfer the power generated by the legs and hips to the target. The thrusting motion of arm techniques and is essentially the same as the thrusting motion of leg techniques. Students must concentrate on the following points in hand techniques: the path of the hand, speed, and concentration of power through the proper use of the summation of forces.

Taekwondo's gimmick is kicking. Kicks look impressive and are fun to perform: however, when compared to hands, they are slow, less versatile, and much less dangerous.

Sport Taekwondo specializes in kicking and emphasizes kicks over using hands. Traditional Taekwondo specializes in kicks and emphasizes using hand and feet, and using them in combination.