Spear hand and Snake Fist

I don't know many others who like old, badly dubbed martial arts movies as much as I do.

Watch enough of them and you sooner or later end up seeing the Snake Style or maybe just the Snake Fist featuring in one of the movies you are watching for the evening...

The Snake Fist, and its companion move- "Snake Raises its Head" are quite real, though.

WAIT! WAIT!

I can't write a post about the Snake Fist without sharing this video!

https://youtu.be/3eg3Z1Zyfk4

How beautiful is that?!

Well- back to this post now...

The Snake Fist in Shaolin Kung Fu strikes with the fingertips. While the eyes are probably the most likely target for most of us using this technique the fingers can be toughened to go for targets like the larynx and pressure points on the body.

Personally, if my hand is facing palm down like this, I am going for the eye or the bottom of the larynx. In the case of going for the bottom of the larynx I would not necessarily go for a quick jab, but rather a firm push. This is usually enough to get the attention of even the most determined assailant to make him drop what he is doing and first focus on that sickening feeling in his throat.

Turning the hand inward gets us what we see in Karate's Hieian/ Pinan Nidan and Sandan katas. We also get it in Shotokan's Kanku Dai. 

Now- in the katas we normally do NOT see this attack performed at throat level like you would probably expect, but actually at midriff level.

Don't know who this dude is, but he seems to agree with me!

Nice for kata, but I would not strike a real target like that...

This may seem far-fetched to some to think that driving your fingertips into someone's flesh might actually be a viable fighting technique. I also thought so until this one day.

Back when I was still working in a Chinese Restaurant the Chinese lady who was in charge there did not have that much faith to communicate in English. Whenever she needed to urgently get your attention or to get you to stop doing what you are busy with you would get a sharp painful poke in the kidney or short rib. This was not a forceful strike like what you would see in kata, but rather a firm push. The short rib, solar plexus and kidneys are all at mid-level (chudan) height.

After some experimenting on my own I have found that a well-placed poke with the fingertips can be enough for one to escape from a hold or to set someone up for a throw or takedown.

Also- it can cause bruising on soft areas of the body and in some cases- especially against an untrained assailant- muscular damage.

I have not been very fond of fingertip strikes in the beginning and used to replace my snake fist with a leopard fist when practicing fighting moves.

Recently, however, the Snake Fist has become one of the chosen techniques that I practice on the heavy bag once a week.

It is really not that crazy and if you want to tray doing the same- I want to share the following with you:

See my hand here? The fingers are as straight as they can be- just like you would see with someone doing Heian Nidan, right? 

Well... I don't hit the bag like that...

Here is what I do:

Just to get the idea, bunch your fingers together in this bird's beak form in the photo below. In one of the forms I have learnt the fingertips are used in this way to strike at the top of the head!

What exactly there is to strike at the top of someone's head I cannot say, as I have not studied acupuncture or pressure points. Still- this is probably the strongest formation that you can make with your fingertips.

Okay- now take your thumb away and put it at the side of your index finger while you keep the rest of the fingers bunched together as much the same as possible. 

Your hand will probably feel like a shovel. That's the idea!

Turning the palm upward you ought to see the hand forming a shallow bowl that can keep a small amount of water in it.

Taijiquan (Tai Chi) practitioners would recognise this hand posture as the basic natural posture for the hand in Taiji forms.

Now- when hitting a bag or makiwara with a technique like the Snake Fist or Spear Hand you do not want to put your body's power into the strike like you would with a straight punch. Start out soft and light, using just the hand and arm. Be sure, however, to hear the thud of impact against the target.
If your fingers bend at all, you are putting too much force behind the blow!


Only thing left to do is to practice the technique regularly like this until you have developed enough strength for your fingers to dig into a target without bending.

I have made a point of conditioning my hands, fingers, arms and shins as well as my body to be resistant to impact. Even if you are not really interested in full-contact fighting the overall resilience you get from it is also nice to have in everyday life.

A variation of spear hand that requires no strength at all involves moonwalking on a carpet while wearing rubber sole shoes... :D  

Well- that's it for today. :)

Stay well and enjoy your training!