How to Strike with a Back Fist Attack in Shorin Ryu Karate

Shorin Ryu is one of the two major modern forms of Okinawan Karate invented in the early 1800s by Sokon Matsumura. He was the personal bodyguard to no less than three kings of Okinawa. His fighting style was developed by fusing styles of Wushu he’d learned when he traveled in China as a young man with the traditional Karate of his homeland. Since it was developed it has had several branches of Karate offshoot from it as subsequent martial arts masters developed their own techniques that they felt were an improvement. In any case, Shorin Ryu Karate is characterized by narrow legged stances to allow for greater mobility, direct rather than circular movements, and a focus of attack and defense in time with the rhythm of one’s breath. A basic attack beginners in Shorin Ryu Karate find easy to master and useful in a fight is the Back Fist strike.

Step 1:
Begin by assuming a Back Stance while facing your opponent. This is done simply by placing your off foot a foot forward off your main foot. In most cases this would mean placing your left foot forward. Instead of widening our legs, keep them well under you, no more than 8 inches apart at the ankle. While this tends to make the balance of a student of Shorin Ryu Karate a little more wobbly than usual, it grants him/her the opportunity to move out of the way of an attack or launch an offensive attack much faster. Keep your weight on your back right foot, bending slightly at the knees to consciously avoid locking them. Keep your upper forearms hanging down at your sides. Your lower right forearm should be crossed over your lower chest, the ball of your fist over the solar plexus. The lower left forearm should be extended in front of the body and held at a diagonal to cross over the chest.

Step 2:
Focus on your breathing. When you have committed to the attack, take a deep breath. Exhale and step a step forward into your opponent’s range with your leading foot, following up quickly with your rear foot in order to keep the same distance between your legs and maintain your stance. Your opponent may have his fists raised to defend. As you step forward, open your right hand and push his right arm sharply out of the way, directly to your left in a cross body driving motion, opening the way for your leading left fist.

Step 3:
Inhale as you extend your left fist, lashing out with a back handed swing entirely from the elbow. It should seem a bit like a door opening with your elbow being the hinge. As your fist extends, the back of it should strike your opponent across the left side of his face. The exact point of impact is dependent on your intentions. You could hit the ear, the neck, the nose, the temple. They would all be good targets to cause pain, incapacitation, or injury to an opponent. The impact should be the back of the top two knuckles; the knuckles for the index and middle finger.

Step 4:

Exhale and retract your arm to its previous position. Step back to your original position, back stepping with the rear foot and then following up with the front foot in a reversal of the manner in which you advanced.

How to Do the Upper Cut in Kung Fu

Kung Fu is a term which incorporates the myriad martial arts of China. They developed over many hundreds of years as a means of self defense and military combat. According to legend the basis for Kung Fu was instituted by the godlike Yellow Emperor Chin Shi Huangdi who was known as a powerful general and wrote several treatises on the subject. When we think of Kung Fu we imagine very florid and elaborate moves requiring a great deal of gymnastics and contortions. But these are typically showy techniques made and used primarily for exhibition purposes. Kung Fu is based on combat techniques that work, regardless of whether or not they are pretty to watch. Many of the Kung Fu basics are short and direct. In this guide you will be taught how to throw a basic yet brutal uppercut taught in Kung Fu.

Things You’ll Need:
Practice Room

Sparring Partner or Practice Dummy

Kung Fu Uppercut
Step 1:
Face your opponent squarely. An uppercut must be thrown from a very short distance so you will have to be standing no more than two feet from your opponent. For this reason its best to use an uppercut as a preemptive strike or a finishing attack.

Step 2:
Bend deeply at the knees and reach down with the arm you intend to punch with.

Step 3:
Focus on a point about and inch behind and six inches above the tip of your opponent's chin. When you punch you must make sure to follow through, this visualization will help you to do that and ensure your attack does not glance off the edge of your opponent's chin.

Step 4:
Drive down hard with the muscles in your legs and straighten your knees as if you were about to jump. Bring your arm up in an underhanded swing and twist into the blow with your body. What you are doing is channeling all the force you can muster from your body into a single knock-out punch. The strength of your lower legs, upper legs, waist, abdomen, chest, and arm is all coming together to drive one strike up into the bottom of your opponent's jaw.

Step 5:
Your fist should impact with your leading knuckles well into the flesh under the jaw. This will cushion your hand from the bony parts on the end of the chin and prevent you from hurting your hand. At the point of impact your hand and lower arm should be aligned and completely vertical.

Step 6:
Don't stop driving after the initial contact, keep pushing. If the punch doesn't put your opponent down your driving will knock him/her off balance and leave them open for another attack.

Tips & Warnings
Many basic Kung Fu moves resemble that of self-defense techniques currently taught throughout many countries, perhaps its because Kung Fu was first designed on the same principles; neutralizing a threat quickly and with little effort. It's particularly hard to perform this move if your much taller than your opponent. The trick is to dip your shoulder lower than the level of your opponent's neck. It means you have to crouch much deeper than normal but you also generate an incredible amount of force much greater than a shorter person could.
Do not drive a full force uppercut into the chin of a sparring partner or opponent unless you intend to do them real harm. This punch can break the jaw, cause your opponent to bite off their tongue, and cause neck and spinal damage if enough force is used. An uppercut that's poorly aimed can drive into the opponent's throat, crush the trachea and kill your opponent. Using a practice dummy will allow you to throw uppercuts normally and will prevent you from developing the habit of pulling your punches.