Wen Hsiu Quan

Hello, everyone! Welcome back to this week's post. If you have read the book you would have come across this sequence of movements in the Form.  I have practiced these movements enough times by now to know what they are and what they do. If you have read the words that go with the pictures you would also know. But still- photos of a movement don't really tell show us what we need to see, right? Well... you know by now that I have something to help with that... If only the animation moved a bit slower... right? :D What is actually happening in the gif is this: 1. I lead with a horizontal back fist strike to the side of the opponent's head. He blocks that. 2. In response to the block I take my striking hand around to the other side of the head while covering or trapping the opponent's blocking hand with my non-striking hand. From here I hit the opponent's neck artery or jawbone with an inward knife hand ...

Hello, everyone. We have arrived at the last movement in this kata. I don't remember seeing a knife hand strike in any katas of Okinawan Karate, but I know of 3 katas in Shotokan that feature this inward knife hand strike. Kung Fu practitioners know about the knife hand strike, but I have not seen it used, except by Wing Chun exponents. I have always loved knife hand strikes and started breaking wooden boards out of my own at an early age although neither of the two dojos at which I have studied taught breaking techniques. For me it just felt like the right thing to do. If you are a Karate student, you must have a karate chop. There was no two ways about it for me... :D If you train mainly in competition sparring with the focus on long and medium range fighting this inward knife hand strike would feel too awkward, too slow and just plain too impractical to incorporate into your arsenal. If you understand the setting up and timing of this strike, however, it can serve y...