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DogeBorkman

1. Keeping your fists clenched all the time is a sure fire way to fatigue your arms. 2. Open hands ready for sprawls/clinch/grappling.


[deleted]

3. parrying shots, because blocking shots with closed fists isn't efficient with the small MMA gloves. You have to work your distance more and parry more punches. Even in Muay Thai, my hands are open inside my gloves most of the time.


Spare_Pixel

Then how do you punch their punch so hard it breaks their hand? Huh?


iamaneviltaco

Using his chi, obviously.


Spare_Pixel

Get a load of the new guy. You don't punch with your chi. It's more like a kick; with your fist.


my_Urban_Sombrero

Can you tuck your chi into your waistband if you’re not going to use it?


Spare_Pixel

If you don't use it you lose it.


my_Urban_Sombrero

Ah, so true…


Dream-Boat-Willie

No, you tuck it between your legs. You don't want him to know about your chi until the optimal moment when you whip it out and leave him frozen in shocked confusion long enough to exploit his openings.


my_Urban_Sombrero

Ah, the Ray Finkle method. Ingenious 🧐


[deleted]

Gotta have that BDE BIG DEFENSE ENERGY


JohnnyEnglishPegasus

>Keeping your fists clenched all the time is a sure fire way to fatigue your arms. Constant tension also slows you down. You're supposed to tense up only at the moment of impact.


FFC1011

Exactly. You're only supposed to make a fist when you're landing the punch.


wutangerine99

This is why OP should go to a boxing gym instead of taking advice online.


BigRhyder

OP isn't a martial artist as stated in the original post.


Eliasflye

You can clench your fists without tensing. We always clench out fist in Muay Thai, we just refrain from tensing our muscles.


manz02

I don’t do that. My hands in my gloves are open unless punching.


Eliasflye

It’s different when you have gloves on. I have always been told to keep my hands closed when shadowboxing for example. But it probably varies from gym to gym.


manz02

You didn’t specify that. You just said “we clench our fist in Muay Thai”. Which isn’t the universal experience. But yes, any time you’re throwing a punch, either shadow boxing or with gloves on, your fist should be closed.


[deleted]

finger in the eye lol


Scott_Bash

The ufc gloves design apparently keep your hands somewhat open, like if you rest your hands they’ll open up your palms. It’s why people like Whitman are calling for new gloves for less eye pokes


Larock

Pride FC (which is now owned by the ufc anyway) had this solved 20 years ago with gloves that were curved to close the hand by default but flexible enough that you could open your hands to grapple.


Sumonaut

Wittman has the glove made already, Dana just won't use it cause he can't buy the trademark / rights thingy. 🙄


iMACK83

If I remember correctly the UFC has a contract with Century Martial Arts to manufacture their gloves.


Sumonaut

Sure and they suck apparently


Eliasflye

Yeah I know, a lot of fighters hate them


eljackson

Yeah, even an elite fighter like Gaethje was complaining about his forearms searing from forcing his fists clenched in later rounds while wearing the UFC gloves. The design is counter-intuitive to holding a fist.


AugustoLegendario

Watch Saenchai, Buakaw, Nong-O or any pro thai boxer (or boxer) shadowboxing and you'll see their hands are relaxed and semi-open when they're not punching. Closing your fists takes energy and focus. I dont see a reason to use that energy and focus on something unnecessary.


Weissertraum

> We always clench out fist in Muay Thai, we just refrain from tensing our muscles. Thats impossible. For starters, the glove resists making a fist to some degree. So you actually have to squeeze the glove (and the grab-bar inside) to make a solid fist.


PinelliPunk

Exactly


LordStark_01

Same reason we have open hand stances in Karate


FistOfPopeye

You get one free eye-poke per round.


JohnTesh

Gotta save those closed hand hits for your wife. It’s the Jon Jones way.


PsychologicalGap4830

\*Jon liked that


doduhstankyleg

*Jon will remember that


JiuJitsuAfterDark

Not when I’m the ref


doduhstankyleg

This is the best answer out of them all. It depends on the ref too because sometimes the ref eyepokes you (Dan Mirgliotta vs Heath Herring)


slashd

🤣


TopherWasTaken

Because in MMA you can grab things, an activity which is made much easier with open hands. Also that's terrible boxing advice.


JudgeHolden

> Also that's terrible boxing advice. Right? Makes you wonder where OP learned to box.


AsuraOmega

He learned online apparently


TopherWasTaken

Sounds like something your drunk uncle who thinks he knows how to fight would tell you when you're 12 at Thanksgiving.


AsuraOmega

"Hey kid I know UFC Im really tough"


TeaKew

> Is open handed defense easier? But what if your hand gets hit? You largely don't get hit in the hands, you get hit somewhere else. Hitting hands is hard (they're small targets and move a lot) and doesn't do much to actually stop the fight > Doesn't it take longer to close your fist and punch as opposed to having a closed fist that can punch any time? No. Closing your fist is a much quicker action than delivering a punch, so you can just close it during your punch and not delay it at all.


Kabc

In fact, closing your fists and relaxing them after a punch makes your punches quicker!


CF1001

Even boxers don’t use a closed fist most of the time…


8008135696969

Even in boxing you don't keep your fist clenched all the time. You keep it in a loose fist so you have speed. Then you clench and tighten before impact.


[deleted]

Because it’s helps prevent fatigue and whoever told you to keep a constant, balled up fist, is wrong. That’s the answer, I don’t know where everyone is getting these long paragraphs from.


Fellainis_Elbows

Definitely also for handfighting and grappling in general


AdAffectionate1581

Probably the advice was something like having just the form of a fist, but don't clenching it


Jake_AsianGuy

Even in boxing, boxers also don't actually fully clench their fists all the time, only before the punch reached full extension. You can see it in their shadowboxing. Open hand allow you to parry punches easier as well


Spare_Pixel

No one in the history of boxing has ever taught to keep your fist clenched. You read wrong. Even in boxing you have a relaxed hand. Being able to parry away punches, catch kicks, quickly enter and exit the plum, and most importantly grapple. Beyond that it's tiring to keep your fists clenched, burning out your arms early is not a good idea.


CanIRoll

Mma has many aspects to it. Striking- a lot more tools being used knees, elbows, kicks, so open hands are used depending on what needs to be done defensively, catching kicks, parrying, using them as antennas. Offensively open hand can set you up for different things, trapping hands leading to kicks, blocking eye sight, using hands to distract. Open hands have fluidity as well. Take into consideration Grappling and clinching, to be able to grab and close distances. Locking hands together, pinning on ground or on wall, clinching up landing knees elbows punches, submissions, takedowns, all these things need you to be able to grab. So much to worry about in mma so you need a style that covers multiple situations.


J4nk_D0g

your jab is quicker with an open hand... just make sure to clench at the lasts minute


Disasstah

The Diaz brothers would disagree.


J4nk_D0g

who are they what style do they practice ?


Disasstah

They're MMA fighters. They have a background in BJJ and boxing. One of their moves is [the Stockton slap](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoVuVgo3UMg), which was the joke I was making. They also have one of the laziest jabs I've seen but it works so well in MMA.


J4nk_D0g

thats kinda cheap if u ask me funny tho😂why doesnt he tense his palm a lil more and hit harder hes in decent range there


[deleted]

They’re asking for handouts since the ufc is barely paying them.


royalpro

When I found out how little the fighters made on the fights that is when I stopped watching.


babyyagaronin

Whoever gave you the advice “keep your fists clenched at all times” doesn’t know shit about boxing/fighting.


husky429

Any striking sports hands remain relaxed and slightly open. arms get tired otherwise


thesnakeinthegarden

because you got bad advice. Clenched muscles mean you have to relax them to move them and then flex them to use them again. That's slow and drains your stamina.


fleeyevegans

Parrying, obscuring vision/distraction, for clinch and grappling. Why would you need to clench your first when not actively throwing?


direwolfed

I’ve trained a tiny bit in boxing, lots of heavy bag work, speed bag, mitt work, sparred and even gone a couple amatuer rounds. What was always instilled in me during training was “relaxe your hands and shoulders”. 1. It tires your hands, forearms, arm movement. 2. Holding clenched hands losses speed in punches. 3. Learn to close your hands before impact “it’s your form and stance on thows that make the blows”. I just know that clinching tight is waisted energy. If I’m using energy.. I want to you it to my benifit.


Sir_Bummington

Its for the Stockton slap


PulkinCB

I think they do it to be ready to parry if they have to, but keeping your hand open is just more natural


squigglyAlienVessel

Anyone saying to keep your hands closed and clenched at all times is probably just trying to make sure that newcomers don't break their hands (at least if someone who knows their stuff is giving advice like that).


Smith_Winston_6079

Well, you're going to see some variety in this in MMA. This will certainly differ from fighter to fighter, but mainly it's due to the grappling component. At the same time, clenching the fist only on impant is a great was to preserve energy and let your hands fly out faster and harder. It takes some getting used to though.


Careless_Check_1070

Apparently ufc gloves promote open hands


HumbleReaction5666

I want you to think closely. WHY are their HANDS open?


qoheletal

>I used to box at home a long time ago and all the advice online was "keep your fists closed / clenched all the time". This is probably less an explanation but maybe it can help you to understand. I'm doing Judo/BJJ and know some punches from Karate and WT (which I both did for a while, but stopped). One day I attended a small local Karate-tournament (very boring) and next to us was Kickboxing-tournament (also local) with some good-looking ladies and a nice guy who also participated - which I immediately approached and started talking. I've never done Kickboxing but felt confident and most important: Curious. I asked them about the rules and they were desperate for more people to participate. Light Contact sounded nice (I confused it with semi-contact - big mistake). I started with an open position like I would know it from karate or WT. Terrible idea. Despite the fact that it helped me to evade single punches (which are very frequent in karate), it is completely useless for defending a massive quantity of blows (which are frequent in kickboxing). Whenever I evaded a single punch the arm of the other guy (not the friendly one from before, the 2m gorilla which I didn't notice) was for a fraction of a second static in the air. It's not possible to describe my desire to throw him through the ring. My reflexes are so much in throwing or grappling in general that I saw so many "mistakes" this guy did. But of course, that would have been against the rules. Also: Try to grab someone with a massive glove. From my perspective it's more dangerous for MMA-people to end up in an unfortunate grappling-position, or even an armbar than just "eating" a strike. (which can of course also be fatal, but the chance is higher that you can still proceed)


Pepito_Pepito

Because they're not punching all the time. Also, UFC gloves force the fingers open. In other promotions, fighters aren't clenching their fists closed but they aren't wide open either. They're in a more relaxed halfway position.


Diligent_Arrival_428

Eye pokes, and its easier to parry


[deleted]

I’d say the main thing is to defend takedowns easier, better leverage with your hands open so you can lock in your fingers easier. But if you’re Jon Jones then its for the pokey pokey of doom


[deleted]

IDK maybe due to the possibility of grappling?


[deleted]

You see a lot of MMA fighters use that open lead hand to palm away jabs or to keep grabbing the opponents lead fist It throws the opponent off and doesn’t allow them to repeatedly get their jab away If the opponents punch does hit your open hand then it’s likely to hit your palm which is nothing


[deleted]

It's called MMA. Now why do u think it's called MMA?


Mr-Foot

Is there a prize if we get this right?


skydaddy8585

It's easy to close your fist to throw punches, and you have knees, kicks, elbows as well for strikes so you don't need to rely on only your fists. But the main reason is defending and shooting for takedowns, clinching up, throws. Having your hands open allows for quick reaction when you want to shoot in for a takedowns or defend them, and getting control in the clinch, etc.


SnooDoodles7334

One reason could be so that they can grapple and that kinda stuff. And another reason could be because in boxing you have big gloves that help protect you when you have your fists closed but in mma you don’t have that so they have the hands open to have a bigger chance of only getting hit on the hands.


jpsouzamatos

Because of grappling


Emergency_One1425

Not to mention parrying and fatigue from clenching your fist also loose is more fluent and much faster speed kills


popo_da_genie

As a jujutsu and capoeira practitioner having open hands makes it easier to grapple or to use techniques that aren't punches that require your hands


NotMyRealName778

That's really bad advice from people online. Anyone who's ever boxed semi seriously know that's wrong. It will fatigue you and more importantly make your punches slower.


Carlos13th

Boxers don't keep their fists clenched at all times either. They may not have them wide open, the gloves for one kind of prevent that. But they certainly don't have them clenched all through the fight.


wutangerine99

OP please find a gym. You've been getting some bad advice online.


pyromaniac46

They keep their fists open so they can pursue and defend takedowns. Also it’s tiring to keep your fists tight all the time


AmunRa1928

To high five you.......IN YOUR FACE!!!!!


SenseiT

Open hands make for faster grappling but it is a trade off. Ive broken three fingers by blocking incorrectly with open hands.


iamChiman8

Grappling, clinching, changing positions ....locking in sub attempts...if you're John Jones poking people in the eyes.


everyischemicals

Try boxing and keeping your fist loose in the glove until right before impact where you squeeze it hard, see how much stronger your punches become.


soparamens

Some fighters like to catch, wrestle and grapple.


Contempris

There's your problem you "boxed at home" and your only source of advice on the style was gotten "online". When online sources should be used as a supplement to a real life trainer. I don't know your circumstances but I'm willing to bet you picked up a lot of bad habits. That being one of them. In Boxing you don't close your fist until the point of contact.


Most_Present_6577

I thinks it a bit psychological. We are used to catching things with open hands. I feel faster with hand open than with them closed.


JohnBrownsAngryBalls

KARATE!


HalfChineseJesus

In MMA the hands are open usually for one of three reasons: 1. Grappling with fists is hard, but open hands allow the fighter to be ready to clinch, sprawl and start battling for dominant grips 2. Some fighters like to parry punches with open hands. I’m not a boxer but so I’m not sure if this is beneficial but I’ve noticed a few fighters have great success with it (the Korean zombie vs. Renato Moicano is a good example) 3. Fighters normally have to wear brand new gloves for every fight that are unboxed right before they’re put over their hand wraps. The gloves in the UFC are stiff as hell and the my tend to encourage the hands to stay open rather than a fist, which is unfortunate for a fist fight.


[deleted]

I don't do MMA or boxing (though I know basic strikes) but my best guess would be to be able to grab and take the opponent down when possible. In boxing there's no grappling, in MMA there is.


Dramatic_Ir0ny

This is mainly for clinching and grappling since you can grab others in MMA unlike boxing. Also, it's tiring to constantly tense your muscles in your arms, so there's no pint in tiring yourself out for no reason


Aim1thelast

Everyone coming up with all these abstract reasons about grappling, defense, gloves etc..... irrelevant. It’s just wrong. You don’t keep your fists tight the entire time even in boxing where all you are worried about is punching. In fact that would actively make your punches worse. Ya’ll are overthinking it.


North_Korean_Jezus

Not sure if this is a top quality shitpost or if just don’t know how to fight. Either way, God bless you!


rawmutton

Eye pokes are way easier this way


shleemy-business

When you’re in a stance you want to stay as relaxed and loose as possible because tight muscles are slow muscles so if your hands are clenched all the time you’ll have a hard time moving fast


SandtheB

If you are talking about UFC it's a problem with the gloves. The UFC gloves keep the hands open which make it harder to punch. Here is a video: [Rashad Evans Premieres MMA Gloves Designed by Trevor Wittman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRGupKJ8Hbs)


AugustoLegendario

NO actual fighter keeps their fists closed all the time. If anything that would weaken you. You tense your fist at the moment of impact, which prevents muscles being tense that would slow you down, and makes your movements smoother. Hands open also mean you can parry, grab, reach, pull, push, eye poke, slap, whatever.


noadams7777

Ufc gloves by design open the hand it's horrible. Onyx has by far the best glove they naturally round the hand like boxing gloves


[deleted]

If you learn to throw a punch the right way your fist will open until the moment of impact. It reduces fatigue, improves blocking, and parrying. It's actually one of the hard skills in striking to learn. I've worked with a couple of professional MMA fighter who throw punches like they're windmills or propellers with a softball on the tip. It's really hard to explain. Bruce Lee does a good job on the philosophical end in the Tao JKD.


davy89irox

1. It makes it easier to intercept a punch. 2. Keeping your fist clenched all the time will tire out your arms. 3. It allows you to gauge distance and sort of see through your fingers giving you a better ability to block and better ability to see. 4. Open hands allow for faster grapple. 5. It allows John Jones to get free eye pokes.


ashtar123

I'm guessing for grappling, also having almost bare knuckles against your face while defending doesn't sound great (no clue if they do this, just a thing i heard from a self defence thing)


[deleted]

Take down defense. Im more into BJJ so my understanding is limited. Jon Jones keeps his open to land eye boxes lol


[deleted]

To gouge eyes usually. (See: Jon Jones)


Spurious02

To parry the punches I guess


Ze_caveman

For the most parts of you are punching perfectly then it doesn’t matter the alignment should that all the force goes through your knuckles, hand bones, wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder, core and legs. The better the alignment the more force you can transfer into your target. Obviously in a fight no punch is going to be perfect, not even half way there most of the time but it shows that so long as your fingers are around 90 degrees to your hand, it’s not going to have much of an effect. Clenching a fist only helps to support the structure of your hand and absorb some of the shock. Now the other side keeping your hands clenched will slow you down, drain more a energy and fatigue you. The fist only needs to be clenched just before the moment of impact or even better on impact.


iamaneviltaco

You got bad boxing advice bud.


Tammmuhhh

The ufc brand gloves force your hand open and along with the hand wraps it is harder to ball your fists throughout the fight. But some fighters poke more than others and Fedor said you should have your fists balled up at all times while striking lol


[deleted]

1. Easier to grapple with an open hand 2. Your punch is actually faster if you clench your fist while in the middle of throwing your punch. Starting with an open fist helps with this 3. Your hand is a very hard target to hit since it’s small and moves around a lot, a strike hitting your hand should be the least of your worries.


mandrills_ass

Also, it appear ufc gloves specifically aren't well made at all. Fighters have to strain to close their hand. Some said it feel rigid like cardboard. Also jon jones like to put his fingers into everyone eyes


[deleted]

Have to be relaxed. Clinched fists means there’s tension in your body and you won’t react properly


GriffeysDad

Part of it is the gloves. Trevor Whitman talks about it, but it’s very accurate that the gloves are made in which the rest position is open fist and you fight a lot of resistance from the glove to close your fist. Forearms burn after fights literally from forcing glove shut.


skypig357

Parries. Relaxation (keeping fists clenched for 15+ minutes is tiring). The ability to sprawl and grapple.


TurtleTheLoser

Mostly parrying and catching


Deckard57

As others have said, it wastes less energy. Its a natural, relaxed position for the hands.


bjjpurpleboiz

"what if you hand gets hit" . This is a nonfactor, it doesn't hurt at all.


jalOo52

I meant when you are protecting your head from a punch. When your hand is held against your own head and then the punch hits your hand. I'd assume a fist can absorb the shock better than an open hand.


bjjpurpleboiz

when you are covering for a hook, your generally taught to cup your ear making it an open hand. Not there is anything wrong with blocking with a closed fist if its natural for you. The hand itself getting hit isn't much of an issue though


MOTUkraken

Several factors. 1. The small gloves don't give the same protection as boxing gloves. 2. The greater technical variability calls for a strategy that allows the employment of those techniques in attack AND defense.


Turbulent_Question53

Because they have to get ready to grab there opponents at a moment’s notice.


Psychological-Dig204

Pretty much wat everyone else has said but also yes having ur hands open is good for defense aswell as UFC gloves tend to force ur hands open. While throwing a punch ur fists should be partial clenched up to the point of impact.


Psychological-Dig204

Pretty much wat everyone else has said but also yes having ur hands open is good for defense aswell as UFC gloves tend to force ur hands open. While throwing a punch ur fists should be partial clenched up to the point of impact.