The Most Useful Karate Technique



I personally think that the hammer fist is the most useful technique. I base my opinion on two things.

 

1) In some styles including mine, the first kata taught used to be Naihanchi before the Pinan kata were invented, and almost every strike in Naihanchi is almost all hammer fists or some other strike that uses the bottom of the fist and/or the forearm, which uses the same motion. Even the uppercut in the kata could come in from the outside rather than from underneath, making it a hammer fist to the neck, side of the jaw, or temple, etc. Also, many other kata teach gedan barai, soto ude uke, age uke (which all use the bottom of the fist and the forearm) and knife hand far more often than straight punches, and knife hands are just open handed hammer fists.

 

2) Anatomically, the use of the muscles in a downward hammer fist strike is the most powerful and efficient. Just think about how our shoulders and upper bodies are shaped. Our shoulders are designed to lift us up, as in pull ups, chin ups, etc, for climbing, like all primates. When you translate that movement to a strike, it is a descending hammer fist. The most natural and instinctive strike when holding a stick, club, sword, etc, has always been the downward blow, chop or slash for the same reason, rather than a thrusting stab as in a punch. Also, most untrained people when attacking with a knife, often times instinctively use an icepick grip and descending stabs.

 

The hammer fist is simply a movement that is already hardwired into our muscle memory from birth, and also has the added benefit of being safer for the hand than a punch with the knuckles, and I don't think that is a mere coincidence.

 

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