Best Hand Techniques in Martial Arts

I was talking to a friend recently about the differences in hand strikes in martial arts. She has studied different arts and different instructors have their own theories and philosophies as to which is the most effective. Well, they all are. Problems arise when martial artists try to compare the hand techniques of 1 art to another. The all have something to offer, but one needs to understand that most martial arts techniques were designed to work against untrained (non-martial arts) attacks. In this regard, they are all good. In my opinion, boxing has the best hand techniques. My reasons: 1) It is a full contact sport that can be practiced and provide immediate feedback, 2) All combat sports athletes train in boxing, 3) More statistics exist on boxing than any other martial art (Knock outs). Having spent over a decade training with some of the best in boxing, I will honestly say, I've never met and I've never seen a martial artist who could do the damage of a boxer. A lot of folks will say, that it is a sport with gloves and without gloves it's different. Yes and no. First of all you can hurt your hands (with and without gloves), But to receive a bare fisted punch from a decent boxer will end it. The reflexes, pain tolerance, conditioning, and reflexes of the boxer is better. From experience I will say, you can box with any glove (boxing or fingerless) or not (bare knuckle).