In this video, I will explain to you how to work on and improve your hitting techniques using the Impact Head professional equipment
Table of Contents
“Don’t get worked up”
The Impact Head comes straight from the United States and was created to achieve more realism and therefore a better learning of the striking techniques, on the face.
In training, your partner holds the Impact Head in front of your face. This exercise allows you to exercise your shoulders. The material is about 3kgs. If it becomes too difficult to hold it at face height, you can help yourself by holding it at wrist level with your other hand, or by changing hands regularly.
More realism for more efficiency
As you may have understood, the Impact Head is meant to be realistic and as hard as a real human skull. This hard and solid material was designed to be hit on. However, it is still much less comfortable than a good pao or a good shield.
For instance, if you hit your nose with a clenched fist, you will quickly realize that it hurts.
Even though the Impact Head has no body, it represents a human face, with ears, nose, eyes, etc. If you already feel bad about hitting an Impact Head, imagine what it would be like to hit a real human skull. If you hit the skull hard for instance, as it can happen in real life, chances are you’ll fracture your hand!
Hence, you should avoid “manly” punches that lead you to think something like “I’m a man, I hit with my fists clenched” but which also lead you to cry “like a girl” afterwards. There’s nothing as efficient as techniques with open hands. Why is that? Well, because if you’re lucky, you’ll hit the eye or some other sensitive spot with your fingers.
Tout est possible
With the Impact Head, you can work on everything, test all techniques:
- your hand opened, also called “tiger’s paw”, with the hand wide open and the fingers wide apart,
- on the sides: on the ears,
- with a headbutt, in the right place
- punch if you want, but be careful with the nose, it’s quite hard,
- try hammer fist,
- double punch, by tightening the fists, at the temples or the two pressure points on the chin.
- Target the throat with a fork, it’s excellent….
You can make circular strikes, backhand, circular nudge, go up or down, it’s up to you.
Focus, strike and keep moving
While you are working on your strikes, another partner can “tease” you a bit with a shield, but you are not allowed to counterattack. It’s quite frustrating, isn’t it?
The goal is to work and test a maximum of striking techniques according to what you can do at the time. Ideally, don’t hesitate to move around while keeping your guard up.
Focus on the Impact Head and strike! Imagine that this walking head is a human and that you can grab it – or at least your partner’s wrist holding the head – to improve your techniques using your knees, legs, feet, etc.
Of course, no need to specify that you should aim at the Impact Head and not at your partner’s real head!
