Horizontal v. Vertical Fist Punching
One area of the martial arts where false facts are presented, or true facts are misrepresented, misinterpreted, or misunderstood, is in area of punching. When punching, which is best to use, a vertical fist or horizontal fist?
When dealing with the “arts” part of the martial arts, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just as in other arts, such as dancing, where some people like ballet and others like to salsa, people have different likes and dislikes within the martial arts. Some people move quickly and gracefully and enjoy soft styles that use graceful movements. Some people move slowly and powerfully, so they enjoy hard styles that use powerful movements. When it comes to the arts, there is no best art, only the art that best pleases the beholder or practitioner of the art. Each martial art may have its own unique theories, movements, and techniques, which may or may not be effective in fighting, but as long as the art’s practitioners enjoy practicing the art, that is all that matters.
However, dealing with the “martial” part of the martial arts is a different story. This is where the art ends and the rubber meets the road. No matter how beautiful the art or how relaxing or how much fun it is to train in the art, the techniques promoted by the art must be able to be used simply, effectively, and efficiently by anyone (large or small, fat or skinny, etc.), under any conditions (wearing gym clothes or a tuxedo, wearing a tee shirt or a winter coat, in the sun or in the rain, against a single attacker or multiple attackers etc.), or in any location (alone in an alley or on a crowded bus, on a smooth tiled floor or in glass strewn alley, etc.). Fighting is not complicated; it has been used by mankind since Cain killed Able.
If I want to know if an object someone is trying to sell me will float, I do not need to measure it, weight it, or analyze it; I just throw it into the water and see if it floats. The person may make all kinds of claims, show me the history of the object, tell me how it has floated in the past, show me how beautiful it is, etc., but the bottom line is, when I throw the object into the water, does it float.