Taking a punch

[Smooth Operator]

Watching a video, a martial artist claims that if you can't block and have to take a punch, what he likes to do is move his forehead into the guy's fist and whilst the other guy is occupied with that, double-punch him in the chest.
A tonne of comments claim that this is bullshit and that "in a real fight, a punch to your head is a K/O".

The martial artist has a point, bringing you arms up to defend will take too long if a punch is already coming, and the top of your forehead(hairline) is extremely sturdy and very insensitive, while hands are the exact opposite, they may feel tough but once hitting a hard surface they will bend and move and they are extremely sensitive to pain.
As for K/O, for that you need to quickly move the opponents head(like a bobble head doll), this will cause the brain to splash against the walls and the stress temporarily shuts down your consciousness, but if you pull in your head it is far less likely to bobble and straining the muscles will distribute the punch onto your body.

That's the theory anyway, in the real world there is alot more chaos so your best bet is to pull your head down and pull your arms up for protection, then just tackle the guy to the ground, after that decide if you want to take advantage or run away

 

[inFAMOUSCowZ]

Forehead man, take a punch in the head forehead, I saw it on an episode of manswers.

 

[SomeLameStuff]

Forehead/hairline is probably the best place if you have to take a punch.

Personally I take punches to the top of my head, since I grew some extra bone there after running into walls a lot when I was a kid.

 

[smithy_2045]

If you're going to get hit in the head, you might as well make it the strongest part of your skull so you can withstand it best.

 

[Vryyk]

Forehead man, take a punch in the head forehead, I saw it on an episode of manswers.

If that is the name of a real show, people will die by my hands.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Forehead/hairline is probably the best place if you have to take a punch.

Personally I take punches to the top of my head, since I grew some extra bone there after running into walls a lot when I was a kid.

I'd say I'd rather take a punch to the foot than the top of my head. Jes' sayin'.

 

[Hoplon]

The knock out thing is about how much your head moves on your neck, the moving you head to meet the punch is about being able to brace you neck and keep the head as still as possible, it won't hurt any less but it might disorientate you less, high curve areas will distribute the force better, hence the use of the curve of the forehead.

You really don't want to get hit in the head if you can avoid it though.

 

[endnuen]

First off, a punch in to the head is not a knock out. I've had a few and I still stood.

Second, if you headbutt a fist thrown at you, if you hit with the thickest part of your forehead, you will shatter most of the bones in the hand of whoever punched. This however require you to hit it quite precise.

Third, if a punch to the head is to knock someone out, aim for the chin as the rotation and sudden stop of the head will make the brain spin just a little more than the head and cause it slam against the inside of the skull causing a short blackout or potential faint.

But seriously, don't get in a fight in the first place. Avoid it if possible.

 

[warprincenataku]

Absorption is the least effective way to deal with energy. Redirection is a much better way of dealing with energy, in this instance, a punch.

 

[SomeLameStuff]

Forehead/hairline is probably the best place if you have to take a punch.

Personally I take punches to the top of my head, since I grew some extra bone there after running into walls a lot when I was a kid.

I'd say I'd rather take a punch to the foot than the top of my head. Jes' sayin'.

Not really the best idea. Maybe if its just one punch, but in a fight? Getting your foot hit could slow you down and leave you open to more hits.

 

[sunburst]

It would probably be best for you to pretend you never read about this. This is the kind of information that is less than worthless for you to know. You could get seriously hurt. You might end up in a fight of some kind. At some point during you'll remember, "Oh yeah! Block with your head!" You'll wake up some time after having the crap beaten out of you and realize it's really hard to line up a fist with the sweet spot on your crown.

Most people need to accept that they'll never be good at fighting. And that's great. Read up on conflict management and running away instead.

 

[VivaciousDeimos]

Forehead man, take a punch in the head forehead, I saw it on an episode of manswers.

If that is the name of a real show, people will die by my hands.

Unfortunately it is in fact a real show. Airs on Spike

 

[Knusper]

The best place to take a punch is the space you just were before you started running away. Pacifism ftw.

 

[Enkidu88]

Front of the skull is the thickest in terms of bone density, and thus better at blocking impacts. Still hurts like hell though.

On a side note still related to the title. In a bout of feeling uber-manly when I was about 16 I asked someone to hit me in the stomach as hard as they could, convinced I could take it like Houdini.

I don't quite remember what happened, all I know is that the next thing I knew I was looking at the sky struggling for breath and feeling nothing below my chest.

 

[Nounverber]

Disclaimer: I haven't been in a "real" fight since high school, thank dog, but I'm quite into BJJ and occasionally do some cross training with some MMA buddies.

As others have said, what you're suggesting is risky, but it's a whole lot better than getting punched in the jaw or the nose (which will basically put you out, no matter how tough you are). However, you shouldn't be in that situation anyway. Don't get in a fight if possible at all, obviously, and if it isn't avoidable, keep your hands up, hit harder and faster than the other dude, go for a takedown.

/ $0.02

 

[ServebotFrank]

Even though I've been in a total of 10 fights No one has ever actually punched me so I don't know where exactly hurts more. I always thought the part to hit was the nose.

 

[Silent observer]

I'd imagine it works on a similar principle to heading a football - trying to hit it with the front top part of your head simply because this is the thickest, safest part to hit.

 

[Samnite]

Out of curiosity, I was looking up how to take a punch and a common theme seems to be that out of all the places to be hit, your forehead is one of the best as it's designed for rough impacts.

Watching a video, a martial artist claims that if you can't block and have to take a punch, what he likes to do is move his forehead into the guy's fist and whilst the other guy is occupied with that, double-punch him in the chest.
A tonne of comments claim that this is bullshit and that "in a real fight, a punch to your head is a K/O".

As I'm uneducated in these matters, it'd be nice if some of The Escapists more physically educated members could set the matter straight for me here.
Anyone?

Not quite bullshit - getting hit on the forehead is far from an instant K-O; I've been kneed in the forehead while being thrown to the floor (Jiu Jitsu) and was back on my feet immediately afterwards.

The only way you can get knocked out by being punched in the head in one is taking a roundhouse shot to the jaw or the temple. When they take a stance, a lot of boxers bring up their lead shoulder to defend the jaw, and use their hands to fend off other strikes. You -can- take multiple strikes to the face, and certainly to the forehead, but that doesn't mean it don't hurt

Make sure you keep your jaw clenched and breath out when you throw/take a punch and that'll help.

And on the other martial artists' point about a double-punch to the chest... While Zinedine Zidane can cause a fair amount of damage to the chest with a headbutt, in you're inside their guard you're much better off going for something which isn't protected by a lattice of bones, such as the throat or solar plexus.

 

[Withall]

I've heard that getting hit in the skull (not the brittle jaw or nosebone) isn't -that- bad, but your brain is sensitive to being rattled (Mythbusters did a very good demonstration of what happens when hits impact your head- look it up on youtube). Of course, Don't get hit.