new version is up! thanks, cosmic! the article has been completely re-written, so i invite everyone to give it a read, even if you read the old version .
Kanazawa was one of my karate heros when I was a teen, saw him demo Unsu in '77 - great picture of him at the start of the post. IMO the 'traditional' karate punch, particularly training Gyaku tsuki, is an awful method to teach anyone on how to punch effectively and efficiently. Forget the tradition of perfecting Gyaku tsuki and oi/jun tsuki form and concentrate on the principles of punching and principles on power generation. ie. correct body alignment, connection, compression, rotation and head movement..... In my experience none of the above principles seem to be taught in most traditional Karate schools, with the majority concentrating on form over function. Straight back, square shoulders, restricted hip rotation, static head, hand on hip are archaic and contradictory when looking for effective and practical results. Just my twopenceworth.
You are a freaking genius. Though my head is about to explode half way into this I need to get some fresh air 'fore I continue.
This was a great piece. However, FWIW, double-jointed folks like yours truly must keep the shoulder engaged while using tsuki, (especially in sparring/combat) lest the shoulder pop out.
cheers karatesloth @mat: verily! you're speaking to someone who is the opposite of double jointed and still managed to sublux his left shoulder reaching down to his right foot really fast still, a bit of shoulder use (it's the muscle activation that matters, not the degree of forwards displacement of the shoulder joint) can let you get a bit of extra oomph when there's a body in the way to stop the tsuki from extending fully, and is something that can be worked with impact training such as makiwara punching, padwork and bagwork.
You're exactly right. I learned that the hard way. :bang: After my first few dislocations I talked to my trainer and he taught me about "engaging" the joint, better shoulder positioning, etc. No problems since.