The Hawaiian gazette., 1907-01-15
How to Use Your
Fists

- ttet =. - - SIS = =
II n bully attacks you meet him eye
to eye, step in close, and smash him.
No sparring. no side stepping, no fancy
business. All those things belong to
the ring, where they have referee.
timekeepers, seconds, and all that. Ii
You are forced to use your fists, use
them for all they are worth. Two
skilful pugilists in the ring will feint
and lead and counter and vancouver
perhaps for whole hour before either
one can get a knockout blow. In u
street fight the chance for knock
out comes right at the beginning.
Would you lead with your left, and
follow with your right No. Don't
thing of such n thing. The right hand
is the best. Most of us, especially
men who have not trained at pugilism,
are twice as strong and quick with
the right hand as with the left. So
remember that if you find you must
fight just step up close and shoot in
your right like cannon ball on the
jaw.
There are many wrong ways of hit
ting. There is only one right way in
this case. 1t doesn t take much of
mind to understand that straight line
is the shortest distance between two
points. In punching n man you want
to hit him as hard and rs quick as
possible. Therefore your fist ought to
travel over n straight line to his jaw
or nose or stomach.
This is hard thing to remember.
See two little fellows in schoolyard.
Their fists fly through the air in half
circles, in either swinging or chopping
blows. That is an instructive way to
hit. We don't follow our instincts in
the game Of punching. In this, as in
everything else, the man with the best
brain will win.
The swinging blow is very hard.
When it lands it gets there hot and
heavy. But it is too slow. 1t is good
to use on man who is groggy-so ex-
hausted that he can't get his arms up
to defend himself. But the ruffian who |
comes at you in the street is not grog
gy. He is very much the opposite.
Your object is to nail him Guick and
hard. Shoot your right fist at him
like bullet. Shoot it straight, and
you II knock the fight out of him.
The straight punch Is delivered with
all the force Of your arm. with all the
weight of your body thrown In behind
1t. Now, how can you put the weight |
Of your body into a straight pinch?
Step in with your left foot anywhere
from one to two feet in advance of
your right foot. The left foot should |
point straight at the enemy. The right
foot should be pointed outward. The
moment you drive out your fist incline
your body forward and push of swift
Iy with your right foot, as If you were
trying to shove the whole earth away
from under you. Don't do this slowly
and with great muscular effort. as
1t weight-lifting. Remember that your
list is a bullet, not a dge-hammer. |
You shoot 1t at man. You don't |
iurl 1t.
There is a great knack in throwing |
N the weight of the body behind a |
blow. The best way to practice 1t is
with the punching-bag. Let the bag |
lang perfectly still, about as high as
your head. Stand two or three feet |
away from 1t. Practice smashing 1t |
With your right, always throwing all |
'our weight with the blow. You Will
be surprised to find how much harder |
your blows will become. The man who |
IAN hit straight and launch the full |
'orce OF his body out behind his fist |
has a weapon in his hand that dis
counts the pistol. Pistols miss fire.
Fists don't.
One of the surest ways to hit
straight Is to keep your fist below the
shoulder. By that I mean don't let |
your fist go up above the mark you
hin at, and then come down to It. If
you let 1t fly up, and come down your
blow is a chop, and it's no good. Re-
that. Practice 1t on your
bag. Say to yourself: II
won't let my fist go higher than my
until It reaches the bag" If
you follow this rule you will find your
elf hitting straight.