If you’re punching you need to condition and prepare the fist – (SDTS Module 6).
As long as you take ground and attack your target – cause more injury to him than you’re receiving – heck you could use a frying pan. Bruce Lee’s Straight Blast was a good example of this.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not “against” punching – it just needs to be trained a specific way – a way most martial arts experts don’t know, don’t have the equipment or want to teach.
Conditioning the fist hurts and most people don’t want to do it. It’s much easier and faster to focus on edge of hand and heel of hand striking first.