Unit 02

Punching

Punching is one of the basic forms of attack in karate. Japanese doesn’t really have a word for “punch”, but the word “tsuki” means “thrust” and that’s close enough for us. Just be aware that there are other “tsuki” attacks that aren’t punches. Think of it this way: A punch is just a thrust with your fist.

Making a Fist

Before we can throw a punch, we need to make a fist. Punching something with a bad fist is a good way to break your hand, and hurting yourself is the opposite of what we’re trying to do in karate.

The easiest way to make a fist is to pretend you have something valuable in your hand and someone else is trying to take it away.

To make a fist, start with your hand open, and then:

1. Fold each finger in half so that the tip of each finger touches its own base.
2. Bend your knuckles to roll your bent fingers tightly into a fist.
3. Fold your thumb across your first two fingers and squeeze.

When making a fist, there are a few common mistakes:

• Folding your fingers too loosely.
• Putting your thumb inside your fist.
• Allowing the thumb to stick forward, beyond the fist.

Straight Punch

A “straight” punch is performed while standing still, typically from a “natural” stance. In Japanese, a straight punch is called “ren zuki” or “choku zuki.”

Because there are so many “moving parts” in a karate punch, we’ll start with a different movement and eventually transform it into a punch. For now, we’ll start with “palm up” punches:

1. Begin standing in a natural stance, with your feet shoulder width apart.
2. Make fists with both hands and put them on your hips, palms up.
3. Extend your left arm to the front, keeping it palm up for now, so that your fist is directly in front of your solar plexus.

Now imagine you’re holding a rope in both hands, and that rope winds around your back, so that extending your right hand will cause the rope to pull your extended left hand back to your waist. As you extend one hand and retract the other, try to make both hands start and stop moving at the same time.

Your hands are just “trading places”, but your emphasis should be on five things:

• Only the arms move. The body remains squarely facing to the front.
• Both hands begin moving and finish moving at the same time.
• The punching hand goes in a stright line towards its target.
• The finished punch is in front of your solar plexus. (Don’t punch too high.)
• Your elbows scrape your side as your arms extend and retract.

Once you’ve mastered this motion, we only need to make one change: As the punching arm extends, just before it reaches the end of its motion, flip it over. The punching hand should end up palm down while the hand on your hip remains palm up.

Your hands are still just “trading places” but, keeping the same points in mind as before, we have a sixth important point: Don’t flip the punching hand over until the very end.

As we said before, karate punches have a lot of “moving parts”, so there’s a lot that can go wrong, but we can make it easier on ourselves by not making things more complicated than they need to be. In general:

1. Concentrate on “punching with your elbows.” If your elbows move correctly, your hands have no choice but to come along for the ride.
2. Don’t move anything that doesn’t need to move, and don’t move anything more than it needs to move.

Moving in Stance

Sometimes we need to move towards, or away from, our assailant, and we need to do so while maintaining a good stance. It may seem like you have to learn to walk all over again, but moving properly in stance is essential. It maintains a stable “platform” from which you can launch techniques and helps maximize the force you can bring to bear.

We’ll start with stepping forward in front stance, breaking the motion into two counts. Start in zenkutsu dachi with the left leg forward. For now, put your hands on your hips. Then:

1. On the first count, pull your rear leg up so that your feet are together, without standing up. (Keep your knees bent.)
2. On the second count, step forward with that same leg, landing in front stance.

Once you’ve practiced this in two counts, try it in one count. Just step smoothly through the motion until you end up in front stance with the other leg forward.

While you do this, remember:

• Keep your back straight and upright.
• Keep your hips at the same level throughout the motion.
• Be sure to be in a good front stance as soon as your foot touches the floor.

When stepping forward in front stance, the leg that starts in front does most of the work. It starts by pulling you forward. Then, once your hips pass in front of your center of gravity, that same leg becomes the back leg and pushes you the rest of the way forward.

Lunge Punch

To make a “lunge punch” (Japanese: “oi-zuki”) we simply step forward in front stance and add a straight punch. The only problem is … there’s nothing simple about it.

In karate, we want everything to stop at the same time. However, because your legs are longer than your arms, if you start moving them at the same time, your hands will always get done first. To prevent this, we have to give our legs a head start. Again, we’ll do this in two counts:

Start in zenkutsu-dachi with the left foot forward. This time, extend your left arm as though you just punched with it and hold your right fist on your hip. Then:

1. On the first count, pull your rear leg up so that your feet are together but do not move your arms.
2. On the second count, step forward into front stance with the right foot and punch with the right hand, making sure your foot, fist, and breath all stop at the same time.

Once you’re comfortable with this, try to smooth it out by reducing the length of the pause between count one and count two. Eventually, remove the pause. If you still have to count to two in your head, that’s okay, but the stepping punch should eventually become one fluid motion.

The two biggest mistakes most people make when learning oi-zuki are:

1. They move the hands too soon. Remember, your hands don’t start moving until your feet come together.
2. The hands start moving in anything but a straight line to the target. Remember, the hands go straight from point A to point B.

What is Karate?

Karate’s history is the subject of a different lesson. For now, understand that karate is an Okinawan martial art, designed for civilian self-protection. Today, karate is practiced in many different ways, and for many different reasons.

“Styles” of Karate

Karate is a “martial art” and like any art, how it’s performed tends to be classified into “styles” over time:

• The art of “painting” has styles: Impressionist, modernist, surrealist, etc.
• The art of “music” has styles: Rock, jazz, classical, etc.

All of these styles are characterized by distinctive performance elements. There can be a blending of styles but, in general, no one would call Metallica a “classical” band and no one would call Salvador Dali a realist painter.

In the same way, karate is divided into many “styles”, the most popular of which are:

1. Shotokan (the style we practice)
2. Shito ryu
3. Wado ryu
4. Goju ryu
5. Kyokushin

Although they all share a common “family tree”, and contain similar techniques, over time each style came to execute them differently and with different emphasis. As more time passed, differences arose even within styles. The core elements of each style are generally intact, but you can expect things to be done differently in every dojo you visit, even if they’re from the same “style.”

“Aspects” of Karate

Regardless of style, karate training can be broken into three very broad classifications, depending on your training goals.

Karate-jutsu

“Jutsu” means “technique”, “method”, or “skill.” Karate-jutsu typically deals with the practical application of karate for personal self-protection.

Karate-do

“Do” means “way”, or “path.” Karate-do typically deals with using karate as a means for overall personal betterment. It’s less about using karate for self-defense and more about becoming a better person: mind, body, and spirit.

Sport karate

Sport karate is exactly what it sounds like. Since the 1950s, karate competitions have become more and more popular, and even reached the Olympic Games as a demonstration sport in 2020.

Balancing all Three

As you can imagine, these three different ways of training karate can come into conflict. For example, karate-jutsu is all about ending a threat, but karate-do teaches us to avoid conflict. Likewise, sport karate emphasizes safety and excludes “unsafe” techniques that karate-jutsu relies upon for ending a fight quickly.