What hits harder, a gloved fist or a bare one?

[McGoorty]

A bare fist will hurt more and do more damage.

Tyson hit Green with gloves all night.

One shot with a bare fist and Green's face was destroyed and Tyson had a broken hand.

If you have been hit by a nobody in the street with a bare fist, and then hit by a boxer with a glove, of course the glove will hurt worse. Unless a real boxer hits you with a bare knuckle you can't make the comparison.

It's common knowledge that a bare fist hurts worse. Look at the face of guys like Battling Nelson, Ted Kid Lewis, Harry Greb.. That's from getting knocked around with bare knuckles.

So true,. a glove can give you brain damage, but quite often it takes just one punch to open up savage cuts,........... just like the first 7 or eight UFC's Proved when they were bare knuckles,..... and 50 bare knuckle blows can take a lot of skin of one's face,... strip it right off !!!!!!!!,.......... NOT LOL.

[nomadman]

Interesting question.

I think we can all agree that bare knuckles cause more facial damage due to the impact of bone on bone, but also more likely to break your hand for that same reason. As for whether a fighter will consciously or subconsciously pull his punches to avoid hand damage I think that depends on the situation. In a street fight where you're probably going to be taken unawares and even fighting for your life, not to mention the effect of alcohol on your mental state, then I don't think it's a factor. In a bare knuckle boxing fight on the other hand you're going to be fighting a trained opponent over a long period of time, so you're going to be more protective of your hands. That might cause you to pull your punches or aim predominantly to the midsection, as the old timers were said to have done.

A gloved fist allows you to repeatedly throw with more power, but there comes a point when extra padding becomes just that, extra padding. An 8oz glove causes significantly more damage than a 16oz, yet protects your hand from all but the worst of breaks. Whether the added weight has an effect on the impact of the punch I don't know. Maybe slightly, but it would also affect the speed of your punches over the long haul. I'd say the benefit is definitely in protection of your hands over a sustained period of time.

There are a number of factors involved though. Is the opponent more likely to go down from pain or because he gets his lights put out? Is the opponent trained to defend against ungloved opponents or ungloved attackers? Is the opponent prone to cuts and facial swelling? Are the puncher's knuckles flat or sharp? etc... etc...

Whilst the difference in raw impact might well be negligible, the effects of both types of punches are very different.

[Marchegiano]

A punch with a boxing glove will have more concussive force, while the bare-fisted one will bring about more pain and structural damage to the recipient.

Nothing else needs said. Every time I bring up dispersement of energy I get a bunch of ruckson faces. Simple analogy is sledge hammer vs ball peen hammer. They both will kill you. They both can break skulls and cause brain hemorrhage. The Sledge it more likely to effect the brain. The Ball-Peen is more likely to crack the skull. don't picture them different weights...that kills the analogy. It was the first thing my Uncle said....But a Sledge weighs so much more...lol...dumb ass.


I'm a chemist. I have to follow rules for that title to stick. The rules are called scientific method. Any scientist follows them other wise they have no hope of peer review. With out peer judgment of your findings theres no reason to find at all. Fight Science doesn't follow scientific method. They aren't looking to publish in a scientific journal nor do they enjoy any peer review. You might as well tell me you've caught an episode on myth buster and now you believe yourself to have a handle on Dirac's equation.....it describes Fermions, and Antimatter.

[McGoorty]

Interesting question.

I think we can all agree that bare knuckles cause more facial damage due to the impact of bone on bone, but also more likely to break your hand for that same reason. As for whether a fighter will consciously or subconsciously pull his punches to avoid hand damage I think that depends on the situation. In a street fight where you're probably going to be taken unawares and even fighting for your life, not to mention the effect of alcohol on your mental state, then I don't think it's a factor. In a bare knuckle boxing fight on the other hand you're going to be fighting a trained opponent over a long period of time, so you're going to be more protective of your hands. That might cause you to pull your punches or aim predominantly to the midsection, as the old timers were said to have done.

A gloved fist allows you to repeatedly throw with more power, but there comes a point when extra padding becomes just that, extra padding. An 8oz glove causes significantly more damage than a 16oz, yet protects your hand from all but the worst of breaks. Whether the added weight has an effect on the impact of the punch I don't know. Maybe slightly, but it would also affect the speed of your punches over the long haul. I'd say the benefit is definitely in protection of your hands over a sustained period of time.

There are a number of factors involved though. Is the opponent more likely to go down from pain or because he gets his lights put out? Is the opponent trained to defend against ungloved opponents or ungloved attackers? Is the opponent prone to cuts and facial swelling? Are the puncher's knuckles flat or sharp? etc... etc...

Whilst the difference in raw impact might well be negligible, the effects of both types of punches are very different.

I understand you, and you have brought up some interesting points. But one thing was different,... the knuckles of an old bare knuckle pro were great weapons,... bome on hard surface contact over time builds up callouses, and the fist flattens out. I've seen the knuckles of an old Korean artist who was very used to using his fists in no-holds barred style of fighting, as well as punching a brick over a thousand times a day,... the man, although in his late 50's still had the most awesome looking fists I've ever seen...... that method goes way back into long lost centuries........... I dare say that his fists would have very closely resembled those of a Jem Mace or Bendigo. Hitting anything hard causes minute fractures and the bones get harder as a result, a bit similar to the minute tears in muscles when weightlifting, that's how muscles grow.

[BKM-2010]

I understand you, and you have brought up some interesting points. But one thing was different,... the knuckles of an old bare knuckle pro were great weapons,... bome on hard surface contact over time builds up callouses, and the fist flattens out. I've seen the knuckles of an old Korean artist who was very used to using his fists in no-holds barred style of fighting, as well as punching a brick over a thousand times a day,... the man, although in his late 50's still had the most awesome looking fists I've ever seen...... that method goes way back into long lost centuries........... I dare say that his fists would have very closely resembled those of a Jem Mace or Bendigo. Hitting anything hard causes minute fractures and the bones get harder as a result, a bit similar to the minute tears in muscles when weightlifting, that's how muscles grow.

Sort of like the bare knuckle streetfighter Kimbo Slice?

[nomadman]

I understand you, and you have brought up some interesting points. But one thing was different,... the knuckles of an old bare knuckle pro were great weapons,... bome on hard surface contact over time builds up callouses, and the fist flattens out. I've seen the knuckles of an old Korean artist who was very used to using his fists in no-holds barred style of fighting, as well as punching a brick over a thousand times a day,... the man, although in his late 50's still had the most awesome looking fists I've ever seen...... that method goes way back into long lost centuries........... I dare say that his fists would have very closely resembled those of a Jem Mace or Bendigo. Hitting anything hard causes minute fractures and the bones get harder as a result, a bit similar to the minute tears in muscles when weightlifting, that's how muscles grow.

I hadn't considered that. It's true that a lot of hardcore martial artists have extremely conditioned fists which would lessen the effect of breaks (though probably hugely increase the risk of arthritis in later life). Even boxers' knuckles tend to flatten out over time. Getting clocked with a solid lump of partially fused bone doesn't sound like much fun when put in that manner. I still contend that gloved fists allow a fighter to repeatedly deliver hard concussive shots, but you've given me food for thought.

[McGoorty]

Sort of like the bare knuckle streetfighter Kimbo Slice?

Yeah, except unlike now,.... EVERY fighter fought bare knuckle 150 years ago........ good old Kimbo, nice to see his name again,..... I was spewing when that dude (whats his name ??) on DAY-NAH's private little Telly show....... you know,,...."THE ULLLLLLLLLLTIMATE FIIIIIIIIGHHHHHH- DDDDDDERRRRR", Thats as close to the right spelling I think..... lol.

[McGoorty]

I hadn't considered that. It's true that a lot of hardcore martial artists have extremely conditioned fists which would lessen the effect of breaks (though probably hugely increase the risk of arthritis in later life). Even boxers' knuckles tend to flatten out over time. Getting clocked with a solid lump of partially fused bone doesn't sound like much fun when put in that manner. I still contend that gloved fists allow a fighter to repeatedly deliver hard concussive shots, but you've given me food for thought.

Let me tell you, old Mr. KIM is certainly paying for it now,.... but he liked it that way,......... ....... he was an extremely HARD CORE sort of character, a Korean Martial artist who was as tough as they come, he was a 7th degree ex-world class TKD champ, but he knew hard core military stuff, he was an unarmed combat instructor to the U.S. special forces, a bit like a 5ft 2in Korean version of those Russian Sambo Special forces (Spetnaj or something like that,... think Fedor type),......... anyway I digress,... The point of this reply was the arthritis that you alluded to.......... He was also a funny little guy with the women (it's all right Mr. Kim,..... you have a name like Smith,... lol),,,,,,, he used to think that showing off those knuckles to the Aussie sheila's would turn them on,. ........... Ha ha lol,... you should have seen the look's on all those chicks faces,......lol. it must have been a cultural faux pas (whatever that means)..

[The Surgeon]

Quick question, ive heard it both ways since i broke my hand and fractured a finger the last couple of scraps i got in, Does a break or fracture make u MORE likely to Re - Injure the hand or LESS so?

[McGoorty]

Quick question, ive heard it both ways since i broke my hand and fractured a finger the last couple of scraps i got in, Does a break or fracture make u MORE likely to Re - Injure the hand or LESS so?

I'm no medical expert but breaks like that aren't helpful, while the actual fracture usually heals up at that point much re-inforced, it wont mean the part next to it wont snap. No I think what we're dealing with here is not a few fractures over time but many many many times. If someone snapped their bones too seriously at an early stage of their training and couldn't be properly re-set, their days as fighter would be over before they had begun. However Kim told me that with his training the breaks were minor and they only let the hands heal to a point not quite healed before you start hitting hard things again, over time that forces not just the bones but all the surrounding tissue to harden to an amazing extent, and this applies to the entire body (except for your willies gentlemen, I don't recommend goin that far with your training), not just the Knuckles. That is what My friend Marchegiano is talking about when he writes about the Spartans standing toe to toe punching each other for hours upon hours every day from the age of 7 or eight till death. but that was nothing to a Spartan. He began his training minutes after birth, The new-born was immediately taken from his mother and left exposed for the whole night outside in a land teeming with wolves, (summer or winter).......................................... The Spartans would then go out at first light to see if baby was alive, if the baby was dead,,,.,,.... so be it,.... in the mind of a Spartan, anything that was weak enough to die from such a minor thing as exposure to snow and wolves, didn't have a right to life.... imagine what the greens would say to that !!!!!,................. and the Spartan, didn't read books, in fact the only activity a Spartan knew was WAR,,,, He was a full time soldier until he finally dropped dead,,,,,,,,. and he spent every night of his life in the barracks,......................................... .................................................. ................. ...................... Anybody wanna become a Spartan ?????????..... any takers ??