Reconsider training to land punches to the head

Duane Wolfe

Tip: As a martial artist and use-of-force instructor, I’m a firm believer in realistic training. To truly train, you need to practice in a realistic manner on realistic targets. If you truly want to train for a situation where you use a punch on a suspect's head, here is my suggestion.

The human head weighs around 10 pounds — it is supported by the neck and moves around. 

Go to your local bowling alley and see if you can get an old 10 pound bowling ball. Bolt the bowling ball to a spring on the end of a post for the most realistic results or attach an eye bolt and hang it from a rope or chain.

Start hitting the ball lightly, and as your fists get used to the impact gradually increase your power because, after all, the bowling ball is hard, round and weighs around 10 pounds just like a human head and if you aren’t careful you could seriously injure your hand or wrist.

Yes, I’m kidding about the training. But I’m not kidding about punching people in the head, for several reasons.

1.)    Several large metropolitan departments discovered that their most common use of force injury was a sprain or break to the dominant hand or wrist caused by striking a suspect in the head with a closed fist. When they changed their training to the use of open hand strikes those injuries dramatically dropped.
2.)    Any of the major sports that utilize punches to the head in its’ repertoire of techniques always have the participants wrap their hands and wear a glove when they go at it. This is done to try and reduce the likelihood of a sprain or a breaking of the small bones of the hand (commonly called a boxers fracture).
3.)    No matter how much you practice, no matter how good you are at it, you can injure yourself. In August 1988, heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was involved in a fight in a bar against a former boxing opponent. According to a news report, “Tyson said he punched Green above the eye but damaged his own right hand in the process, causing a hairline fracture to the third metacarpal.”

Unlike a boxer or MMA fighter who injures their hand in a fight, a referee won’t be there to intervene. You’ll still need to cuff the suspect, get your keys out to double lock them, unlock the squad car door, drive to the jail, and book your prisoner. 

You won’t have the luxury of several months or more before you have to perform at your next scheduled fight. What you get is light duty if you’re lucky and perhaps a career ending injury if you aren’t.

In a sporting match one fighter never escalates the level of force when the uninjured fighter discovers their opponent is injured, but in street confrontations they do.

The open palm strike is less likely to injure your hand when you strike the head. 

A martial arts instructor and a boxer were having a discussion about the open hand strike versus the punch. The boxer said he would like to determine which one you could hit harder with. The martial artist told him he had a way to measure it. They went out into the parking lot and he picked up a fair size stone — a round, hard object. He hit it with a palm strike and sent it flying across the parking lot. 

He retrieved the rock, handed it to the boxer and said, “Your turn.”

The boxer declined to participate in the experiment. 

In law enforcement we call that a “clue.”

You may want to reconsider your current training if it involves punching to the head. The choice, of course, is yours. If you are a trainer you may want to reconsider what you teach. As a trainer your duty is to teach your officers tactics that work and reduce the likelihood of injury to keep them safer and healthier as a result of your teachings.