Getting punched in the head?

Question

You see in movies some guy goes to punch another guy and he ducks his head down and the guy punches the other dude in the head, breaking his hand, in a barenuckle brawl.

Could this really happen, or could you cause yourself some brain damage if you attempted something like this in a real fight?

Answer 1

No, it's just a stunt in Hong Kong gangster movies. Don't try this at home!

Answer 2

You can even do this if you're wearing boxing gloves - especially in kickboxing, if you find your hands out of place due to kicking, blocking kicks or just laziness, it's much better to try to take the punch on the forehead rather than in the face.*

However, even this is far from perfect - much better to slip or etc. As a previous poster said, don't try that at home - it's a surprisingly advanced technique.

* You can try this with a jab. Under no circumstances should you block a kick/knee/elbow with your noggin.

Answer 3

yeah both are possible. it is possible to evade a punch and if you punch wrong with the counter you can break the weaker knuckles in your hand

Answer 4

If you dont punch properly it doesnt take that much to break your hand and some peoples head are pretty hard :)

but yeah its pretty unlikely.

Answer 5

I've seen this happen before... their whole body really stiffen then they fall...my ex bf did that and broke his hand...its scaryy

Answer 6

I had a 3rd degree black belt break his hand on my head, it happens more frequently than you would think.  I didn't do it on purpose, the guy just threw a punch wrong and I ducked at the right time, he was throwing punches and kicks in combination and all I was doing was slipping and trying to survive.  It was a Union thing, sometimes the U.A.W. settles it's grievances the old fashioned way.  He and I are friends now, the guy actually asked me to work out with him after his hand healed.

I tend to keep my chin tucked behind my shoulders when I box, so it makes it harder for my opponent to land a clean shot, and coincidentally it also make it easier for a punch to go high glancing off the top of your head.  It's not intentional or  deliberate on my part, but some times they hurt their hands then they miss.  Bobbing or slipping into it as you duck can easily injure a guys hands.  Surprisingly it don't hurt you, your skull is usually tougher than their hands, but I strongly advise you learn fundamental defense and leave Hollywood for the T.V. set, I no of no cases where someone intentionally attacked a guys fist with his head and won.

Answer 7

Yeah its possible,  one of my old instructors taught us how to nut someones fist.  It works great against someone who throws nowt but the jab, plus it scares the s*** out of them in the process.  If you do this correctly you will either break the hand or wrist, however you will be left with a nasty bump on top of your head lol.

Answer 8

the human skull is hard.