This was a question raised awhile back somewhere else. Where do you "rest" your non-attacking fist? For me I was always taught to "rest" it on my hip, but someone suggested that I should try resting it on the side of my chest, just below the pecs. The reason being was, although looking and feeling a little silly for me, it generates more power, as it allows the arm to move in a more natural way. Try it and report back. Then if anyone can tell me the reason for the "rest" position in their style, that would even better!!
I have been taught to rest my fist on the lower ribs at my side. From a 'mechanics' point of view, that is the same height as the typical impact of a body punch - so the distance travelled by the fist is less than if the fist is placed any lower by your side. Cheers.
In training your fist is at your hip or a few inches above it. In a fight your hands are up in front of your face to block quicker.
Although not Karate, we in Shorinjikempo hold our arms similar to Bloke in his avatar, while in chudan gamae.
in goju ryu, our chambered hand when we practice punching is kept about 6 inches above the hip, but in our fighting stance, we have open hands, both at about chest hieght. i think kyokushinkai guards are to to prevent kicks to the head
I agree with you. While we are trained in TKD to rest it on our hip, while sparring or training I put it high up against my chest or slightly to the front. Of course during forms or grading, its on the hip.
Filho fights in the K-1...full contact, and is not "sparring" per say like one would in a points tournament
I can't beleive no one has uttered the word 'hikitae' If our 'non combat' hand is anything but, we get an ear full...
When I'm charging in, I hold my fist at chin level/face level. If you really sell the charge, most people hesitate slightly, if they're not ready. So when they do attack, all they go for is the face. And I can easily block that by either moving my head or just stopping the blow with my own guard. When waiting or playing technical defense, I hold my lead arm out, kind of like the thai boxer style, and my inner arm is at the pecs, with my elbow resting near my ribs. I find, with my body proportion anyway, my lead hand can block most high punches, while my inner fist can block kicks or punches at the solar plexus, and the elbow prevents any sneaky teeps or roundhouses to the ribs. This is for full contact karate; for point sparring, I just assume the traditional sparring stance (the "T"), for everything, with my legs in cat stance.
I used to place my fist just above the belt until I was corrected by my sensei. What I was told was that your should when clenched should be making a perpendicular line to the target. So if you were to stand sideways to a mirror, you would notice that if you rest your fist near your belt then it will be pointing down and not at the target thus weakening the strike and also delaying it as it's path will not be as direct. So the answer would be in relation to the length of your arms/torso and where you can make your fist perpendicular to the target/floor.
Depends. Most of our normal stances involve a similar guard to kyukoshin with fists up by the face. All our work is done like this, we are taught to keep the guard up at all times, so we do. Not many ppl get thru my guard these days. In kata it depends on what the kata is, as to where the fist/hand is. Usually in kata such as seiunchin it is at the ribs
When in the shokotan karate class as a visitor, I am 'reminded' to punch from the belt - as this is what the guys will be expecting (and practicing for) in their grading. This is in contrast to my higher holding (ribs) of the chambered hand in Tang Soo Do. Hope this helps.
Your talking about chambering punches. I'm learning IshinRyu Karate and we learn things in the chamber positition. The reason you dont see that in sparring or in real fights is that you cant use the chambered hand for blocking at all, and throwing a punch from down there is too slow. It's more efficient to have your fists able to cover your face and your arms/elbos covering your body like a boxer.
Fist at the waist is a beginner training exercise. The best reason for doing it is that it teaches spinal rotation and fist to fist exchange while punching. When you look at historical footage of masters fighting the fists are always out in front at either chest of head level, intent directed towards you attacker, and guarding the center line. Anything else is dumb and asking for a butt whuppin'. Note if you're going to counter the "dumb" statement, please include a single tactical reason for maintaining a side chamber during a fight. - Matt
At last, people talking sense........ Retracting the fist to the waist is IMO most definately a training aid to engrain the idea of using a full hip rotation when punching as opposed to purely using the arm/shoulder to generate power. It is taught this "basic" way thoughout the mid-lower karate kyu grades. Once a higher kyu grade/BB your sensei should be teaching punching from a more orthodox, hands-up guard, by that stage the use of the hips should be sufficiently engrained that you don't have to retract your fist back to the hip anymore, unless you are doing kata or want to practise the more basic level versions. Least, thats what I've always thougt.
