[ithaimyshoes]

I want to protect my face the most, so my arms are up really high ( elbows about mid-nose point, chin tucked, south paw ) I will block body shots and leg shots with my left leg and kick/knee with my right. I will not throw punches too often and I will use elbows when I am on the ground or whenever.

However, how will this affect my other parts of the body if my arms are up high?
Some ppl say that my arms can be broken if they punch my elbow, is this true?

Also, is it better to block with elbows or just parry/evade/dodge the punch?

[stuart]

Elbows mid nose!? You might want to lower them a little...

But having your arms up high really stetches out the ribs and especially leaves your floating ribs more vulnreble to shots (those are your very lowest ribs that dont connect to your sternum)

Some just punching your elbow when bent isnt going to break, its only if someone is holding your wrist.
But a really really poweful blow could break your forearms.

Its always better to avoid, but sometimes you cant and just need to block: but try not just block it. Parry it, knock those punches out the way.
Afterall on the street you dont have gloves to give a bigger area of protection and to protect your face if your hands are pushed into your face.

[Cromwell]

There is variation amongst systems, but, generally speaking, your fists should be no higher than out in front of your eyebrows/forehead area. Perhaps for very amateur school fighting you can get away with what you describe, but anyone who has a clue will beat your body to hell with your hands that high. Besides, what is the point? Your face isn't a forearm's length above your nose, is it?...;-P

What stuart said about floating ribs is spot on, but it is also important to realize that a trained fighter who wants to truly mess you up or even kill you can break those ribs off and do a nice job of spiking your insides with them. It is VERY important to avoid being stretched out and unprotected such that it would be easy to bust those ribs.

Assuming your elbows are bent 90 degrees, a punch will not break them...but it will break the other person's hand. If you can get someone to swing balls to the wall and connect with your elbow, you'll probably finish that fight!

What to do with the punches varies with style. If you don't have training, just remember not to overextend your arms or keep them in too close. They should be about mid-range. If you get panicked, cover up. At that time your hands come in close. Don't just stay in that position, though. You need to be moving your head and usually moving forward into the attacker--maybe clinch, maybe lock/throw, maybe take down, maybe bust them up with knees/elbows, etc. Just don't stand there or they will eventually beat through your guard and/or pull it down.

Finally, it is important to know that there are a lot of variables, and you're bound to get mixed opinions here. This is largely because different styles utilize different tactics and strategies to win the fight. The points I'm giving you are what I think to be decent general tactics for an untrained fighter. It is the way I fought, more or less, before I had any formal training.

Cromwell

[flingha]

I use ur stance (orthodox) and find it gr8 defensively (parrying, blocking and countering). IF you are good at countering after a block or parry then use this stance, but keep your hands to your chin and semi crouch.

[Deadlyfighter]

Its pretty much the same as all others...

But yeah, lower your hands or else there may be a lot of body shots on the way.

[SEALS3rd]

Originally Posted by Deadlyfighter

Its pretty much the same as all others...

But yeah, lower your hands or else there may be a lot of body shots on the way.

for one you dont keep your hands lowerd always keep your face covered at all times take a body shot if you cant handle the pain dont fight you have to be in a state of mind that when you get punched you block it out dont let it get to you thats what breaks you and your stamina down only break your guard when they open there face up break them down break the jaw and always watch for there buttons to be open and when it comes open let no your there to knock them the hell out and hurt them

[stuart]

Originally Posted by SEALS3rd

for one you dont keep your hands lowerd always keep your face covered at all times take a body shot if you cant handle the pain dont fight you have to be in a state of mind that when you get punched you block it out dont let it get to you thats what breaks you

Have your ever taken a good body shot to the floating ribs? To the liver? Been hit good in the solar plexus?

Even if you can "handle the pain" you going to be fighting a lot less effectively.
When the breaths been knocked out of you and every movement hurts then try to fight and win.

Its best to lower the hands and block it.

[hazzius]

parry wont hurt as much as being hit in the arm but it is sometimes hard to judge and could end up coping one

[rockylee]

I would say that your arms are a little too high but the other people covered that. In one way of looking at it, with your arms in that position you would need a strategy. I don't think you have that type of resistance to pain like Rocky so it wouldn't be a good idea to take blows all the time to the body, but you can adopt this at-least when your more advanced and you move your hands to different positions to purposely make the person hit where you want them to hit. What I usually work with and I find is natural for me even in real fight's is a position Bruce Lee uses. He has a southpaw and his right forearm is vertical but close to the body. His lead shoulder is raised just a little bit and his chin is lowerd a little bit and he hunches. It's kind of complicated to describe so here is the picture for you

Heres da site since da pic doesnt work. And I've found this to be good because I also wanted to know what is the best stance and hand position. My advice to you is take a look at it but don't make it rigid. Fit it with your needs and expirience with it: Jeet Kune Do On Guard Position | Nunchuck Guy

[stuart]

I merged your posts together because you double posted. Do not do it again. Next time just edit the first post.