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.
a slap is almost as hard, and won't hurt the slapper.
But I was responding to the claim slapping is equivalent to punching.
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.
We are kind of talking past each other.
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.
That said, getting slapped has a psychological effect you don't get from a punch, which can be exactly what you want.