The Isshin-ryu Fist:
Published: 2-22-13
By Spencer sensei
One of the unique aspects of Isshin-ryu karate, that makes it different from other styles, is the way the Isshin-ryu karateka delivers his/her punches. Isshin-ryu blocks are also delivered slightly different from other systems too, but for now we’re going to focus on the fist positioning. When I first began training in karate, I learned the traditional twist-punch. I walked up and down the dojo floor practicing this punch. I spent hours developing good, hip rotation, shoulder rotation, and weight transfer. This whole exercise was practiced in total synchronization, so that all body motion stopped at the same time that the punch was delivered. After each punch, I would examine my fist position and foot placement within the stance until every aspect of the punch was as perfected. Later, I learned to change the punches delivery, so that it would lead or lag my body rotation to keep my opponent off balance. After ten years of practicing the traditional punch, I began training in Isshin-ryu, and my understanding of the delivery of a forward and reverse punch changed.
As the legend goes, Tatsuo Shimabuku changed the delivery of the twist-punch (seiken-choku-zuki) after watching his students spar. Everyone knows that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so Tatsuo’s students would throw their punches as linear as possible. Shimabuku sensei noticed that his students did not rotate the fist as they delivered their punches while fighting, but kept their fist in a more vertical position. Master Harold Mitchum affirms this story on his DVDs. Mitchum sensei trained longer than any other American with Master Shimabuku, so this story must be given a great deal of credibility. Although this tale is now Isshin-ryu lore, I believe there is more to the change than what see on the surface.
Chotoku Kyan sensei was Tatsuo Shimabuku’s main instructor. While doing research on Kyan sensei, I found that he too used a modified vertical punch in his version of Shorin-ryu. This modified vertical punch can be seen in the kata of the Seibukan. In the 1930s Shimabukuro Zenryo began training with Kyan sensei. When he began teaching the art, he tried to maintain the kata exactly as it was originally taught, so by watching the kata of the Seibukan we have a snap-shot into the past. Watching Shimabukuro Zempo, the son of Zenryo perform kata, the Isshin-ryu student can see the changes Tatsuo made to the original kata, but another point of interest to the Isshin-ryu student is Zempo’s fist position. Kyan’s fist position was not fully rotated horizontally like the fist position in Shotokan or Tae-Kwon-Do kata, yet it is still rotated more horizontally than the traditional Isshin-ryu fist. Could Kyan’s positioning of the fist have been the impetus driving Tatsuo’s change, or did Shimabuku sensei simply want to make the punch faster as the legend goes. Could Kyan’s fist position have been the conformation that led Tatsuo to believe his change was correct? We have no way of knowing. All we do know is that Tatsuo Shimabuku did learn the vertical fist position from one of the most influential karate masters of all time, and this allows us to speculate on Kyan sensei’s influence on the Isshin-ryu punch.
In the mid-eighties I was fortunate enough to attend a seminar with Master Nick Adler. One of the questions he was asked concerned the proper positioning of the Isshin-ryu fist. My first Isshin-ryu instructor taught us that the fist was held perfectly vertical. Adler sensei repeated the traditional story concerning the creation of the punch, but went on to instruct us about the slight rotation of the fist. He said that the angle was about the same as the angle of the rib cage. This made perfect sense. A karateka spends hours training to punch to the solar plexus. If the fist were in this position on impact, the ribs could not protect the Xiphoid Process. Dislodge this little sharp bone and the diaphragm could be lacerated. This changes the attack from knocking the wind out of an adversary to disabling him/her and potentially placing him/her into a life threatening situation. After Adler sensei’s seminar, I changed my fist position and striking philosophy.
Years later I attended a seminar held by a very prominent Shorin-ryu instructor that had trained for many years on Okinawa. He spoke briefly about the rotation of the horizontal twist punch. His explanation for its horizontal positioning was that when karate was introduced into the educational systems of Japan and Okinawa truly deadly techniques had to be modified for the protection of the school children. He explained that the punch was rotated fully horizontal to protect Xiphoid Process. A fully rotated fist will strike both sides of the rib cage before contacting the Xiphoid Process. This technique can still take an attacker’s wind, but does not run the risk of doing internal damage.
There are advantages to the more vertical version of the horizontal punch. One is the natural positioning of the elbow. In the traditional twist punch many students allow their elbow to rotate into a horizontal position. This is an invitation for a defender to trap the punch and drive a forearm into the punching arm just above the elbow thus hyper-extending the joint. A few Okinawan Kempo schools teach the fully horizontal rotation of the punch, but emphasize keeping the elbow pointing towards the ground. This modification to the twist punch removes the potential for an adversary to hyper-extend the elbow joint when throwing the punch, but the twisting of the joints decreases the amount of power that can be generated.
Another quirk of the Isshin-ryu punch is the thumb positioning. The thumb is positioned on top of the fist to lock the wrist in place. This punch like the horizontal twist punch focuses on striking with the top two knuckles. Watching film of the students that trained with Master Shimabuku, one quickly notes small differences in the thumb placement. Modern-day Isshin-ryu instructors, not unlike their predecessors, slightly vary their thumb placement too. Some instructors place the tip of the thumb into to bend of the first knuckle of the forefinger, while others hold the thumb to the side of the forefinger with the thumb knuckle slightly elevated. In my humble opinion placing the thumb on the side forefinger locks the wrist better, yet I’ll be the first to acknowledge I could be wrong. Still it is the position of the thumb that makes the Isshin-ryu punch distinctive between different styles of karate.
Yet another difference in the Isshin-ryu punch, from that of the traditional karate punch, is that the fist is pulled back an inch or so after it is extended. Pulling the punch backwards is done for a couple of reasons. One the recoil bends the elbow and prevents it from being hyper-extended. A bent elbow also protects the ribcage, and the snapping action creates a whip like reaction to the striking area. A power punch pushes the lines of force forward only, and during the collision resistant force is driven back into the puncher’s fist. The fist absorbs a portion of the elastic collision. Snapping the punch drives the force forward, but the recoil removes the forward force allowing the assaulted area to snap back into the original position. It is like punching the same spot twice. If you have ever powered through a pile of wood, and later snap punched the same number of boards you can feel the difference when they break. Powering through the wood hurts because you’re absorbing a portion of the impact, but if the punch is delivered with a snap there is little or no pain. The traditional twist punch is like getting hit with a hammer, but the Isshin-ryu vertical snap punch is like getting hit with a hammer followed by being struck by a chain. This pulling back of the punch is another distinguishing trait of the Isshin-ryu punch.
Still another difference between Isshin-ryu punching and the more traditional karate punch is the positioning of the chambered hand. Everyone knows that the chambered or returned hand is placed on the obi because you’re pulling the attacker forward while driving your fist into the adversary’s vital points. This action creates a head-on collision and increases the impact of the punch. The traditional hand positioning of the chambered fist calls for the fist to be placed palm-up against the obi, but in the Isshin-ryu punch the palm faces the student’s obi (belt). Instead of pulling the attacker forward and twisting the trapped limb upwards the Isshin-ryu return or chambered fist pulls the attacker forward in a more natural motion.
Tatsuo Shimabuku’s changes in my opinion were revolutionary in their practicality. His changes were disdained by other Okinawa karate masters. These instructors viewed Tatsuo’s changes to Shorin-ryu karate as a form of martial arts heresy, yet Isshin-ryu has become one of the prominent styles of Okinawan karate around the world. These changes have made Isshin-ryu different from other karate styles. Isshin-ryu competitors have on occasion been penalized by black-belt judges unfamiliar with the Isshin-ryu nuances. During competition, these slight differences appear to be sloppy technique. Different does not mean its wrong, nor does it make the technique less viable simply because it does not comply with the historical norm. Shimabuku sensei did not arbitrarily change his karate for change sake. His changes were a process to make Isshin-ryu a more practical system of self-defense.