Open-hand strikes

Open-hand strikes include various techniques used in the martial arts to attack or defend without curling the hand into a fist.

The most famous of these techniques is probably the so-called "karate chop", which is also described as a knife-hand strike (shuto uchi) although there are many other techniques.

Some of these are: One of the greatest advantages of an open-hand strike is the ability to quickly grab the opponent to perform a follow-up, such as a throw or a pull into another strike.

The extra control this affords as compared to a punch is worth the larger risk of damage to the hand or fingers.

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