As a trained boxer I just hope I never get in a fight because at the speeds/power I can punch with my wrists will just shatter. Even with huge padded boxing gloves and wrist wraps it takes a month off training before my wrists stop hurting.

I've studied Martial Arts for about 12 years. You're totally right. It takes years of training to learn how to properly throw a punch such that you harm your opponent and do not break your own hand.

And part of that is not attacking targets where you're likely to significantly injure yourself as well as your opponent. There's a lot to be said for not punching someone in the jaw.

and that part about the right way to hit different parts of the body.

a slap is almost as hard, and won't hurt the slapper.

A slap is no where near as hard. Surface area of an open hand vs surface area of 2-3 knuckles. Think hammer vs fly-swat.

It is still possible to knock someone out with a slap. Some bouncers in the UK recommend it as a) it doesn't hurt your hand so much and b) telling the police you just slapped someone doesn't sound so bad. Plenty of videos on youtube of people being knocked out with a slap.

being knocked out is related to the brain hitting the walls of the skull, it has very little to do with what caused that. Slap, Fist, head-butt, concrete, car crash etc.

But I was responding to the claim slapping is equivalent to punching.

Depends on the goal. You're right about it being less likely to break a bone (on the target) or cause bleeding (again, on the target), but a solid slap will cause similar secondary impacts (brain hitting the skull)

I'll take a KO after some body shots and two working hands over a bloodied up opponent and a broken hand. There are much better tools to use against a skull, like elbows (less delicate than hands), but you need to account for range and movement.

You are arguing hypothetical outcomes, I'm arguing applied force.

We are kind of talking past each other.

Just so we're talking about the same kind of slap. If I had to guess, and I can only guess at this point, you're thinking... like... a slap, a swing with an arm.

I'm talking more like an open handed punch, complete with torso rotation and a pivot. Like a hook, just no fist.

oh, oh, got another one.

Look into the impulse of the strike, and the pressure area. Here, you're going to see a big difference, in favor of your position.

You'll have the same amount of force, probably with a significant increase in the speed that force transmits into the struck area. You're right. Past a certain point, though, someone doesn't get /more/ unconscious.

And, to anticipate your possible response, yes, they can end up /more/ unconscious to the point of death, but, cement does a much better job of that than any human body part.

No sir. Been slapped, been punched, and done both. I'm talking anecdotal evidence, you're talking engineering.

There are completely different mechanics in a slap though. With a punch you have different delivery options (looping vs linear vs uppercut etc) all of which affect the way in which the force is generated. With a slap you're pretty limited.

That said, getting slapped has a psychological effect you don't get from a punch, which can be exactly what you want.

Hominids have been using tools for a very long time. Hypothesis: facial adaptations provide some protection from blunt weapons like wooden sticks. EDIT: and rocks.