Bolo punch

A bolo punch is a punch used in martial arts. The bolo punch is not among the traditional boxing punches (jab, uppercut, hook and cross).

A “Bolo” is a Filipino word for machete. The primary use for the bolo is clearing vegetation, however the bolo is also used in Filipino martial arts and is one of the main weapons trained in the martial art. After the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War, they took over occupation of the Philippine Islands. Many Filipinos began immigrating to the United States, mostly California and Hawaii, as farm laborers. Many of the Filipino immigrants were practitioners of the Filipino Martial Arts which included the boxing art known as Suntukan, Panantukan, ****. Many of these Filipino fighters gravitated towards the local sport boxing matches because they could earn more from one boxing match than working a week on the farms. Many of these Filipino boxers would use false names and traveled around so they could get around the Boxing Commission rules and fight more often without any restrictions. They would often use an unorthodox punch that the non-filipino boxers had never seen before. It became known as the “Bolo Punch” because the movement was similar to swinging a bolo machete when working to cut down crops like sugar cane when working in the fields.