You are viewing the historical archive of The Philosophy Forum.
For current discussions, visit the live forum.
Go to live forum

A question about English expressions for martial arts

quine January 17, 2017 at 08:31 8450 views 13 comments
Hello,

I am concerned with some expressions for martial arts in English. It's because English dictionaries don't describe how to express martial arts expressions.
When people talk about using punches, they express it by 'throw a punch'. For example,

Jones threw a punch.
Jones threw a jab.

...and so on. Now what I am curious about is how to express the situation such that a punch successfully hits the opponent. For example,

Jones threw a punch, and the punch ( ...??? ...) to the opponent.

I want to know about the more general expressions. Can you help?

Comments (13)

Ying January 17, 2017 at 08:35 #47478
"... And the punch connected."
quine January 17, 2017 at 08:36 #47479
Reply to Ying
Is it a general expression?
Ying January 17, 2017 at 08:37 #47480
I guess. You hear it often enough in commentaries.
quine January 17, 2017 at 08:45 #47481
Reply to Ying
Thanks for answer!
Baden January 17, 2017 at 09:42 #47485
Reply to quine

Interesting one.

The verbs "to land" and "to connect" in their non-typical transitive and intransitive versions respectively can be used with jab/punch/blow.

So you can go with:

He landed a punch /the punch landed
Or
He connected with a punch/the punch connected

But not

He connected a punch
Or
He landed with a punch
quine January 17, 2017 at 10:14 #47491
Reply to Baden
Thanks for answer, too!
Baden January 17, 2017 at 10:14 #47493
Reply to quine (Y)
Cavacava January 17, 2017 at 13:31 #47527
Reply to quine

He was knocked around the ring.
He was KO'd ( knocked out-- abbreviation) in the third round
He delivered a knockout shot to the jaw.
quine January 17, 2017 at 14:11 #47546
Reply to Cavacava
Thanks for useful information.
Terrapin Station January 17, 2017 at 14:29 #47550
"Connected" and "landed" were going to be my first two suggestions, too. Both are very common.

"Made contact" is another, though it's more formal/stilted-sounding--it doesn't suggest force as well.

quine January 17, 2017 at 14:36 #47552
Reply to Terrapin Station
Thanks!
Jeremiah January 18, 2017 at 18:34 #47865
"Jones threw a punch."

You don't actually have to say threw a, as you could just say, "Joe punches" or "Joe punched". Or you even just say "Joe punched his opponent." You can add a prepositional phrase if you like, "Joe punched his opponent in the face." Some other examples: "Joe smacked Mark", "Joe beat Mark with his fist.", "Joe cracked his knuckles across Mark's jaw, and Mark swallowed a tooth." "Joe gave Mark a fat lip."

"Mark go fed up, and hammered Joe with a crowbar."

There are so many possible combinations, so just be creative.
quine January 24, 2017 at 08:57 #49571
Reply to Jeremiah
Thanks!