Right hook??

[binski20]

My mistake!!! While typing my previous post, I mixed my hand positions up. Just reverse them.
OOps!

Keep Training!

[RishDog]

thanks for the info!

[ryanhall]

i was referring to punching bare knuckle. either would be ok in the ring, but i believe the wrist stability is better with the vertical fist positioning. just clarifying.

[rocknrollrjm]

Sounds like everyone is only talking about a hook to the face and not body.

I think it also depends on where you're hitting. What part of the face and what part of the body. What part of the person I'm hitting is how I determine the way I'll hit it so that I do the most damage possible. As binski20 stated, I think that over time most people will throw punches a certain way at depending on the distance because they have learned that there is a particular way that is the most effective. The same holds true when you start being more specific about the target your going for...ribs, kidneys, spleen, jaw, temple nose, chin, arms. Ya know, I wouldn't want to commit to saying that when I throw a hook to all of the above body parts, that I hold my fist the same way, everything changes with each shot.

[mushinmaster]

Punching with a verticle fist causes the arm to become "disconnected" from the body - resulting in less power and drive behind the punch. It is better for a longer reaching fast hook.

The verticle fist is a more powerful punch with shorter distance, but you can really drive the body behind it causing some serious damage.

I like to use more of a horizontal fist as a counter to a jab/straight lead/cross, while the more horizontal hook I use primarily with a step after using a longer weapon.

Think of it not as verticle or horizontal, but as a continuous type of thing - verticle and horizontal on the far ends of the spectrum, same thing with the angle at which the hook is thrown - uppercut vs. traditional hook. Lots of things in fighting actually end up being like that, not one or the other but a mixture in a continuous sort of spectrum.