A fist is the shape of a hand when the fingers are bent inward against the palm and held there tightly. To make or clench a fist is to fold the fingers tightly into the center of the palm and then to clamp the thumb over the middle phalanges ; in contrast to this "closed" fist, one keeps the fist "open" by holding the thumb against the side of the index finger. One uses the closed fist to punch the lower phalanges against a surface, or to pound with the little-finger side of the hand's heel; one uses the open fist to knock with the middle knuckle of the middle finger.
22-486: Speakers of some English dialects may use the word "nieve" or "neef" to refer to a fist. Making a fist is virtually unknown among other primates. This is because while "most primate hands are long of palm and finger [and] short of thumb", the proportions are the opposite for humans. At least one study has claimed that the clenching of one's fist can be used to recall information. Some studies have shown that making fists can help humans to cope with stress or anxiety because
44-458: A "t" sound). In Japanese martial arts and Okinawan martial arts , tsuki is used to refer to various thrusting techniques. In karate and its variants, the term tsuki is used as a part of a compound word for any one of a variety of thrusting techniques (usually punches ). It is never used as a stand-alone term to describe a discrete technique. For example, gyaku seiken chudan-tsuki , more commonly referred to as chudan-tsuki (段突), refers to
66-419: A mid-level ( chudan ) punch ( tsuki ) executed with the rear ( gyaku ) arm. Note that in a compound word, where tsuki does not come first, its pronunciation and writing changes slightly due to rendaku , and it is pronounced as " zuki " (and is sometimes transliterated that way). The choku-tsuki (直突き) – straight punch—is a basic karate technique . It is performed by closing the hand in a fist. Target contact
88-403: A result, different styles encompass varying types of punching techniques. This is not a comprehensive list of all punches and may need to be updated, due to the large diversity of schools of practice whose techniques, employing arm, shoulder, hip and leg work, may invariably differ. In boxing, punches are classified according to the motion and direction of the strike; contact is always made with
110-455: A two handed grip ( morote-zuki ( 諸手突き ) ) and less often with only the left hand ( katate-zuki ( 片手突き ) ). Tsuki is often disallowed for younger and lower graded players in free practice and in competition ( shiai ) due to the higher risk of injury, as a missed tsuki attack can hit the opponent’s unprotected neck and hurt his or her windpipe. While variants of tsuki exist in other martial arts, in kendo it has no variants—the target
132-419: Is made with the first two knuckles of the fore-fist, with the fist rotated slightly, both externally and downwards, so as to align the wrist directly behind the first two knuckles. For a right choku-tsuki , the right fist is chambered at a preparatory position, at the hips or by the ribs, with the palm side of the fist pointed upwards. At the same time, the left arm is extended in front of the left hip. To perform
154-415: Is pushed forward, and the karateka is taught to tense the whole body and to push down his or her rear leg as the punch makes contact. Other examples of basic tsuki techniques in karate include the following: In aikidō , choku-zuki (straight punch, as described above) is a basic thrusting attack from which throwing and pinning skills are taught. However, because in most aikidō schools the straight punch
176-703: Is the only type of offensive technique allowed. In sports, hand wraps or other padding such as gloves may be used to protect athletes and practitioners from injuring themselves. The use of punches varies between different martial arts and combat sports. Styles such as western boxing, Suntukan or Russian fist fighting use punches alone, while others such as kickboxing , Muay Thai , Lethwei or karate may use both punches and kicks . Others such as wrestling (excluding professional wrestling ) and judo (punches and other striking techniques, atemi , are present in judo kata, but are forbidden in competitions) do not use punches at all. There are many types of punches and as
198-431: Is the predominant punch from which defensive techniques are taught, there is little need to differentiate it from any other punch. Thus, it is shortened and simply called tsuki. In the aiki-jō practiced in some systems of aikido and utilizing a four-foot wooden staff ( jō ), tsuki is used literally as part of the name of numerous thrusting techniques with the jō. With the student standing in hidari katate-gamae ,
220-429: The choku-tsuki technique, the right fist is thrust forward in a direct path toward the target, with the elbow directly behind the fist and tracing the fist's path. At the same time, the left fist is pulled back to a chambered position at the hip or at the rib cage. The extending fist remains palm up until the last two inches of the punch, during which it rotates to face down. The elbow remains pointed down, since allowing
242-410: The activation of muscles, from lower body to upper body, to create a "wave" of power. In those styles, the body is typically well aligned and relaxed throughout the strike. On the other hand, Japanese karate styles, such as Shotokan , emphasize the movement of the hips as the main mean for generating power: The hips twist as the withdrawing (non-punching) hikite arm is pulled back while the punching arm
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#1732852188996264-411: The advanced leg and fist are on opposite sides, or oi-tsuki (追い突き, forward punch or lunge punch) if the leg and fist are on the same side. The mechanism of power generation in thrusting techniques varies with karate style. Various karate styles and, in particular, Okinawan karate, emphasize the use of the entire body to generate the power that is delivered through the punch. This can include sequencing
286-404: The elbow to rotate to the side or upwards exposes it to injury from either self-inflicted hyperextension , or from a stiff block by the opponent. Ideally, the fist contacts the target in a vertical to a 45 degree rotated position, with the rest of the fist's rotation taking place following initial contact. Karate gives special emphasis to the withdrawing hand – hikite (引き手) – which pulls back as
308-419: The jō with palms down, and thumbs forward. Tsuki is one of the five target areas ( datotsu-bui ) in kendo (along with men , do , hidari kote and migi kote ). It is a thrust of the point of the shinai to the throat. The target area ( datotsu-bui ) for tsuki is the tsuki-bu , a multi-layered set of flaps, attached to the men (helmet) that protects the throat. Tsuki is most often done with
330-431: The knuckles. There are four primary punches in boxing: the jab , cross , hook , and uppercut . Punching techniques in karate are called tsuki or zuki . Contact is made with the first two knuckles ( seiken ). If any other part of the hand is used to strike with, such as the back of the fist ( uraken ) or the bottom of the fist ( tetsui ), then the blow is classified as a strike (uchi). Karate punches include
352-446: The mind gets preoccupied with the tightening of the muscle to focus on the issue at hand. Formation of a fist for the purpose of punching is the most basic knowledge taught in the sport of boxing. Fists are taught in martial arts like karate, kung fu, and taekwondo for the process of punching and striking. Fight 100% says "more than 90% of the people actually don't know how to make a fist correctly", and adds that correct formation means
374-445: The pinky and ring finger. The name derives from the fact that such injuries are most common in boxers and practitioners of other fighting arts. The raised fist is also a symbol of rebellion, militance, resistance and unity. Various phenomena include the term "fist" in their name, such as the sexual act of fisting and the fist bump greeting. Pounding one's fist on the table is often done when frustrated. In 1983 , Don Francis
396-404: The thrust punch oi-zuki made using the lead-hand, straight punch choku-zuki , reverse punch gyaku-zuki , made from the opposite (lead) hand, and many other variations. Choku-zuki Tsuki ( 突き ) derives from the verb tsuku ( 突く ) , meaning "to thrust". The second syllable is accented, with Japanese's unvoiced vowels making it pronounced almost like " ski " (but preceded by
418-407: The thrusting arm punches. Practitioners are advised to pay as much attention to the pullback action as to the extension of the main punch. Different karate styles will have slightly different pullback chambering positions, varying from as low as on top of the hip, to as high as the armpit. A straight punch executed from a front stance ( zenkutsu-dachi ) is called gyaku-tsuki (逆突き, reverse punch) if
440-406: The user "won't break [their] hand", "won't strain their wrist", will "be able to launch very powerful punches", and "be able to knock someone out in one punch". Improper formation of the fist whilst punching or striking an object can cause bruising and broken small bones in the hand known as Boxer's fracture . Boxer's Fracture occurs when metacarpals or small bones in the hand break on the side of
462-399: The weapon is lifted to the right hand, which slides to the bottom end of the weapon. The student shuffle steps forward (suri-ashi) and the right hand pushes the weapon for the strike, allowing it to slide in the left hand, and coming to rest with the left hand gripping the jō one third the distance from the bottom end. Picture striking a billiard ball with a cue stick , except both hands grip
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#1732852188996484-465: Was at a meeting with the CDC to discuss about the transmission of AIDS through blood transfusions. When his colleagues ignored the warnings, Don Francis pounded his fist on the table demanding to know, how many deaths did we need before we acted? Punch (combat) A punch is a striking blow with the fist . It is used in most martial arts and combat sports , most notably western boxing , where it
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