Leopard Blow

Last updated

"Leopard Blow," "leopard punch," and "leopard fist" are common terms for a specific type of striking blow, associated primarily with the Leopard Kung Fu substyle of the Five Animals in Chinese martial arts, though it is also used in styles such as Krav Maga, Choy Li Fut and Karate (in which case, it is known as "Hiraken Tsuki" or "Ryotoken Tsuki"). [1] [2] The maneuver involves folding the first two joints of the fingers inward and striking with the fore-knuckles. It is used most often to strike at soft, vulnerable targets, such as the ribs, throat, inner arms and temples. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Forming the fist

The fist is formed by folding the first two joints of the fingers. [6] There are two variations of the maneuver; the first involves folding only the first four fingers of the hand. The second involves compressing the fist further by folding in the thumb as well to the side of the hand. The advantage of using the first is that it has a slightly longer reach and can be formed faster. The second variation's advantage is that it is more firm, reducing the risk of injury to a user's hand.

Usage

The nature of this strike allows for greater penetration against weak spots on an opponent's body, but presents a very real risk of self-injury should a user be careless while using it. [7] The strike is, therefore, best used at close range, where it is easier to reach soft targets and where there doesn't need to be too much force behind the blow to deal significant damage. It is also recommended that users strike from angles when attacking with this fist, as this decreases the impact to one's hand whilst still maintaining the impact delivered to an opponent.

This strike is also a useful tool in self-defense where long fingernails may impede other strikes. With the leopard fist, fingernails do not usually get in the way when forming the fist. It also amplifies the damage done to an opponent by focusing the force of a punch over a much smaller surface area. Aside from striking with the metacarpals, the palm heel and the side of the hand may also be used against an opponent.

The strike is most prominently used in Leopard Kung Fu, but can also be found in certain styles of Karate, such as Kyokushin, Shotokan and Uechi-ryū (though they are rarely used), Kempo and in rare cases, Wing Chun. It is also sometimes used as the primary weapon of Choy Li Fut practitioners.

Possible uses

This form of strike can be used against any target, but is most commonly demonstrated as a strike to the throat, ribs, solar plexus, side of the stomach, kidneys, groin, bladder, back muscles, inner arms, jugular vein, side of the face, eyes, cheekbones, bridge of the nose, upper lip, jaw and temples. [8] [9]

In the media

The Leopard Blow is also the name of a special Dim Mak maneuver used by Lady Shiva, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. [10]

In Detective Comics #443 published by DC Comics, a villain called the Enforcer uses "an off-beat variation on the Leopard's Paw knuckle strike" against Batman. Later, his "overuse [of] that knuckle strike variation" allows Batman to guess the Enforcer's true identity.

The Marvel Comics superhero known as Iron Fist uses this punch in the Netflix TV series of the same name.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kick</span> Physical strike using the leg

A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee. This type of attack is used frequently by hooved animals as well as humans in the context of stand-up fighting. Kicks play a significant role in many forms of martial arts, such as capoeira, kalaripayattu, karate, kickboxing, kung fu, wing chun, MMA, Muay Thai, pankration, pradal serey, savate, sikaran, silat, taekwondo, vovinam, and Yaw-Yan. Kicks are a universal act of aggression among humans.

Kajukenbo is a hybrid martial art from Hawaii. It was developed in the late 1940s and founded in 1947 in the Palama Settlement on Oahu, Territory of Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Full contact karate</span> Competition format of karate

Full contact karate is any format of karate where competitors spar full-contact and allow a knockout as winning criterion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kumite</span> Martial arts grappling technique

Kumite is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which a person trains against an adversary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punch (combat)</span> Striking blow with the closed fist

A punch is a striking blow with the fist. It is used in most martial arts and combat sports, most notably western boxing, where it is the only type of offensive technique allowed. In sports, hand wraps or other padding such as gloves may be used to protect athletes and practitioners from injuring themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strike (attack)</span> Directed physical attack

A strike is a directed, forceful physical attack with either a part of the human body or with a handheld object, intended to cause blunt or penetrating trauma upon an opponent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Dante</span> American martial artist (1939–1975)

Count Juan Raphael Dante was an American martial artist figure during the 1960s and 1970s who claimed he could do extraordinary feats such as Dim Mak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsuki</span>

Tsuki (突き) derives from the verb tsuku (突く), meaning "to thrust". The second syllable is accented, with Japanese's unvoiced vowels making it pronounced almost like "ski". In Japanese martial arts and Okinawan martial arts, tsuki is used to refer to various thrusting techniques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leopard kung fu</span> Chinese martial art

Leopard kung fu is style of southern Chinese martial arts and is one of the Five Animal styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underhook</span>

An underhook is a clinch hold that is used in grappling to control the opponent. It is performed from any direction by putting an arm under the opponent's arm, and holding the opponent's midsection or upper body. Having an underhook with one arm is called a single underhook, while having underhooks with both arms is known as double underhooks. The typical response to an underhook is to try to break it, or to establish an overhook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enshin kaikan</span> Style of full contact karate

Enshin kaikan (円心会館) is a style of "full contact karate", or knockdown karate, founded in 1988 with dojo and students in various countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Lewis (martial artist)</span> American martial artist and actor (1944–2012)

Joe Lewis was an American martial artist, professional kickboxer and actor. Originally a practitioner of Shōrin-ryū karate and champion in point sparring competitions, he became one of the fathers of full contact karate and kickboxing in the United States, and is credited with popularizing the combat sport in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knifehand strike</span> "Karate chop" strike in martial arts

In martial arts, a knifehand strike is a strike using the part of the hand opposite the thumb, familiar to many people as a karate chop. Suitable targets for the knifehand strike include the carotid sinus at the base of the neck, mastoid muscles of the neck, the jugular, the throat, the collar bones, ribs, sides of the head, temple, jaw, the third vertebra, the upper arm, the wrist, the elbow, and the knee cap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bando</span> Burmese martial art

Bando is a defensive unarmed martial art from Myanmar. Bando is sometimes mistakenly used as a generic word for all Burmese martial arts, but it is only one martial art; Burmese fighting systems collectively are referred to as thaing.

The Karate World Championships, also known as the World Karate Championships, are the highest level of competition for karate organized by the World Karate Federation (WKF). The competition is held in a different city every two years. Championships in the 2000s included Madrid in 2002, Monterrey in 2004, Tampere in 2006, Tokyo in 2008, and Belgrade in 2010. The competition was initially riddled with controversy regarding karate styles and the ruleset.

The shadowless kick, also known as the no-shadow kick or ghost-shadow kick is a martial arts kicking technique in the Hung Gar repertoire. It was made famous by Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung, who is reputed to have used it to great effect.

Kara-Ho Kempo is a martial art created in the 1930s by the late William Kwai Sun Chow of Hawaii. The system can best be described as a series of rapid strikes to the vital areas of an opponent. The system calls for an equal use of both the hands and feet and, also, teaches self-defense techniques against weapons and multiple attackers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karate in the United States</span> Overview of American Karate in U.S.

Karate was first introduced to American service men after World War II by Japanese and Okinawan karate masters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gyaku-zuki</span> Karate and aikido technique

The gyaku-zuki is an attack technique often also referred to as a reverse punch. This is used in many budō disciplines, e.g. in karate or aikidō. This is an embodiment of the choku-zuki.

The Spanish Karate Federation (Spanish: Real Federación Española de Karate, is the national body for Karate in Spain. It's the only association authorised to send Spanish Karatekas to the Summer Olympics.

References

  1. ↑ "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. 8 April 1989. p. 49. Retrieved 8 March 2022– via Google Books.
  2. ↑ "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. 8 June 1985. p. 46. Retrieved 8 March 2022– via Google Books.
  3. ↑ Mike Lee (1987). Classical Kata of Okinawan Karate. Black Belt Communications, Incorporated. p. 56. ISBN   9780897501132.
  4. ↑ "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. 8 October 1982. p. 54. Retrieved 8 March 2022– via Google Books.
  5. ↑ "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. 8 November 1981. p. 23. Retrieved 8 March 2022– via Google Books.
  6. ↑ "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. 8 January 1984. p. 32. Retrieved 8 March 2022– via Google Books.
  7. ↑ Ron Collins. Dim Mak. Lulu.com. ISBN   9781312819061.
  8. ↑ "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. 8 April 2004. p. 58. Retrieved 8 March 2022– via Google Books.
  9. ↑ "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. 8 April 2004. p. 58. Retrieved 8 March 2022– via Google Books.
  10. ↑ James Egan. 1000 Facts about Supervillains Vol. 2. Lulu.com. p. 152. ISBN   9781326615178.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.