What are the different hand shapes of Chinese martial arts?

Answer 1

That is an excellent question; Chinese Martial Arts seek to incapacitate the human body from all ranges, and all angles, and as weapons, the hands can be used as more than just fists. The list of hand shapes in Chinese martial arts is generally the same as that of Karate; although the training approach is different, Kung Fu and Karate share all except one hand shape. They are; 1) The fist, common across all pugilist styles, an obvious one. 2) The spear hand; point forward with all of your fingers, keeping them tightly together, tip of the thumb, pressed firmly against the base of the index, the hand, slightly curved. Your hand takes on the shape of a shallow spoon pointing forward, the inward curvature, is to prevent the fracture of the fingers when you drive your hand into your assailant's stomach. Yes, you read right; the purpose of the spear hand is, literally, to stab someone in the stomach. Again the spear hand isn't perfectly straight, nor are the fingers bent back, try to thrust with that and your fingers will break. You know the scoop you make with one hand to drink water? The spear hand is shaped KIND of like that, but much "shallower." The spear hand can be thought of as a shallow scoop, a highly sharpened spoon if you will. Spear is the wrong word; its more like a "combat shovel" than a spear. 3) There is the palm, once again, same shape as the spear hand BUT, the palm strike can be used to box someone's ear, or strike them just below the sternum. 4) There is the index finger all by itself, and this one is difficult to explain. 5) There is the "tiger claw," used both in some styles of Karate, and most styles of Kung Fu. 6) The Dragon Claw, used exclusively in Kung Fu and primarily, mostly, for grasping. 7) There is the famous "Karate chop;" self explanatory, sure you've seen it lots of times. Odd thing about the Karate chop, is that even though there are countless martial arts flicks of all kinds out there, you rarely see it in the movies. The side hand strike is yet another weapon used in both Karate and Kung Fu, although, its origins are with the southern styles, it is very rarely used in northern Kung Fu styles. 8) Finally, unique to Kung Fu, is the "crane's beak." Here is a close up view so you get an idea, word of warning, he's doing it wrong; http://cdn-viper.demandvideo.com/media/32A814D3-9664-4411-8E60-40E51ACBA3D6/jpeg/BEC400D8-BBD1-45A9-8C3C-A6580624D30E_4.jpg Here is the correct way to do it demonstrated by Yang Cheng Fu; http://www.geocities.com/taichi_lungmen/yang-single-whip2.jpg I showed the up-close picture, so you get an idea. The Crane's beak is not unique to Tai Chi Chuan, it is used in virtually all styles of Kung Fu including Shaolin. It serves a medical, rather than a combat purpose; holding the hands in that position, is supposed to aid in the chi flow of the upper body, as the tips of the fingers have important pressure points. This list is by no means comprehensive; there are many others, these are just the most commonly used.