Knife Hand Strike – Martial Arts Technique

This page provides details on the martial arts knife hand strike (i.e. the famous Karate “chop”). This strike is common to many martial arts such as KarateTaekwondo and Kung Fu. For information on other punches and striking techniques, please visit Black Belt Wiki’s main Punches & Strikes section.

In this strike, the martial artist hits a target with the side of their open hand (versus punch that utilizes a clenched fist). The martial artist will hit with the “pinky side” of their hand (versus the thumb side utilized in a ridge hand strike). This strike can be done with the palm up or palm down. This technique is used to target areas such as an attacker’s neck, collar bone, wrist, etc. Moreover, this open hand technique has an additional benefit because it can be turned into a grab if the strike is ineffective.

Martial arts punches & strikes and all other martial arts techniques should only be practiced under the supervision of a trained martial arts instructor.

Wiki – Best Martial Arts Books

Knife Hand Strike Videos