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Paul_L
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Striking, Kicking and Thrusting Techniques

In Karate Do Kyohan I read “Finally, Although Karate does have throwing techniques it relies principally on striking, kicking and thrusting techniques.

Does anyone know what is meant by thrusting techniques?

I thought it might refer to moves like at the beginning of Kushanku where you might “thrust yourself arms forward into the enemy before he can get a swing at you?

Leigh Simms
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I have a feeling it may just be a translation of the word tsuki/zuki which is normally translated as "punch".

Philios
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Tsuki actually means to thrust.  We just happen to use a punch for most applications.  It actually gives us some insight into possible applications which we typically think of as just a punch.  A closed fist could simply be a punch, but it could also be grasping something like the opponent's wrist, clothing, or even hair.  Thrusting could then also be considered as a way to "make space", as a way to reposition oneself  and setup other techniques.  

VolkerSchilling
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Hello Paul,

my take on this is, that thrusting or tsuki-waza are linear techniques that involve at least two joints (most often elbow and shoulder, if we ignore power generation) while striking or uchi-waza are rotational movements that sometimes only involve one joint. The same distinction is not made with kicking or ashi-waza as most kicking in katas is linear.

Chris R
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VolkerSchilling wrote:

my take on this is, that thrusting or tsuki-waza are linear techniques that involve at least two joints (most often elbow and shoulder, if we ignore power generation) while striking or uchi-waza are rotational movements that sometimes only involve one joint.

I used to think something very similar, but I am unsure about that now, because the names of various strikes seem to suggest something different. Take mawashi-tsuki for example; it is a circular/rotational strike, but yet it has "-tsuki" in the name, which literally means "thrust." It then follows that the rough translation of "mawashi-tsuki" would be "turning thrust." So I'm not sure if thrusts are always linear techniques, but I might be missing something. What are your thoughts on this?

Marc
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Paul_L wrote:

In Karate Do Kyohan I read “Finally, Although Karate does have throwing techniques it relies principally on striking, kicking and thrusting techniques.

Does anyone know what is meant by thrusting techniques?

I'm gonna try an answer, but must say upfront that I am only theorising, because neither do I have the original text, nor am I an expert in the Japanese language. Anyway, I can make an assumption and try my best to make sense of what follows from it. Just because I like to try to understand kanji. :) So here we go...

My assumption is that in the original text Funakoshi might have used the terms "uchi ()" for striking, "keri (蹴り)" for kicking, and "tsuki (突き)" for thrusting. - Maybe somebody with access to the original and the necessary reading skills can confirm that?

uchi (打) - strike; hit; knock; pound

According to the dictionary this kanji is a combination of the radicals for "hand" (left half) and "feathered stick" (right half). I imagine a) to use the hand like a stick, or b) to hit with the hand as if feathering a stick. Both would come down to using the hand with impact.

Also look at the use of "uchi (打)" in other expressions. They all have to do with making an impact - literally like "hammering" or "batting" or figuratively like "making a big impression".

tsuki (突き) - a thrust; a pass; a lunge; a stab

The second character there is just the pronounciation ("-ki") which seems to make it a noun.

The first character 突 is the kanji "tsuku" - stab; protruding; thrust; pierce; prick; collision; sudden

The kanji is a combination of the radicals for "hole; aperture; slit; cave; den" (upper half) and "large; big" (lower half).

So as a verb it bears the meaning of "making a large hole".

"uchi" versus "tsuki"

Both can be understood as impacting techniques.

Comparing the meanings of "uchi" und "tsuki" I would suggest that the difference is in the way the impact is affecting the target. An "uchi" slashes like the long side of a stick or the blade of a knife, whereas a "tsuki" stabs like the pointy end of a stick or a knife.

I think of a "tettsui-uchi" (hammerfist strike) to the neck with the entire forearm as being a fine example of an "uchi", and a "gyaku-zuki" (reverse thrust punch) to the solar plexus as a good example of a "tsuki". The former is like hitting the neck with a baseball bat, and the latter is like punching a big hole into the body.

In the end these differences seem a bit academic. Both are about hitting/striking/punching to create damage.

I hope my interpretation of the kanji is not too far off. If anyone knows more about this stuff, please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm still learning.

Paul_L
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Thank you for the answers. Turned out to be far more into this than I first thought.