Karate: Parts of the Body 5

Nakajubi Ipon Ken


The second knuckle of the middle finger is used here. The thumb (the fingerprint area) presses against the first knuckle of the middle finger, creating the necessary support.

Usually, it is applied to the muscles of  an opponent; but it can also be used to break things as well. For this reason, it should not be used in karate class or at competitions, especially in the head (temple) area.

Hitosashi Ubi Ipon Ken










It employs as the same idea as above, but the pointing finger used here.


Hiji

This is the elbow area. Please note that the joint area of the elbow is very sensitive, so it can only be used for attacks on the soft areas, such as abdomen muscles. For ''breaking'' types of strikes, the next-to-elbow parts are used, where the bones can be conditioned and the muscles are shielding the bone.

Sune

This is the part of the leg which is used for blocks and attacks. It can conditioned to become much less sensitive to pain.

Chesoku

The toes are bent as far back as possible (practice helps). The area that is used for the strike is the part of the foot under the toes.

Haisoku

This is used for blocks and attacks. In many karate schools, you cannot use chesoku for kicks in the head (for safety reasons); thus, haisoku is used. Also, it is ideal when you don't have much room for movement, as the haisoku is aligned with the sune. So if your opponent is too close for you to kick with the foot, you can always use the sune area instead.

When you need to give a quick kick, this technique will give you some advantage, too.