Reverse Punch in Japanese?

[Mr. Karate]

Hello fellow Karatekas. I was studying some Japanese terminology for Karate techniques and came across some confusion with a certain name for a punch. I am confused with what a reversal punch would mean in Japanese. According to the book I'm reading, the best terms would be seiken or gyaku-zuki.

I was taught that a reversal punch requires that you strike with your first two knuckles making a fist while keeping your wrist straight, forearm slightly angled, and elbow bent a tiny bit. It also required that I strike with the hand farther away from my opponent, withdraw my hand that is closer to my opponent, rotate my hips on a snapping motion, tighten my muscules and exhale when I make contact. Majority of which is done simultaneously.

The problem is that the description of gyaku-zuki matches some of the motions I was taught with a reversal punch and vice-versa with seiken. Sorry for this being a little long but it is the only way I can describe the situation.

[cross]

Seiken(punch with 2 knuckles) refers to the type of fist formation you strike with and has nothing to do with any other aspect of the punch.

Gyaku-tsuki(zuki)(reverse punch) refers to a punch coming from your rear hand.

So a seiken gyaku-tsuki is a reverse punch hitting with the 2 main knuckles of your hand.

To the best of my knowledge anyway.

[marie curie]

What I always saw was the gyaku tsuki.

[white owl]

At my dojo we use Gyaku Zuki for reverse punch.

[Zanshin]

Seiken=Forefist

Gyaku-tsuki=reverse puch.

The first is your weapon, the second is the way you use it.

[A. Orstrom]

As English is not my first language, I am a bit confused with the term "reversal punch". If Seiken gyaku tsuki is reversal punch, what do you call techniques such as uraken shomen uchi (うらけんしょうめんうち）?

I'm not trying to cause further confusion, but it would be interesting to get this clarified.

[cross]

As English is not my first language, I am a bit confused with the term "reversal punch". If Seiken gyaku tsuki is reversal punch, what do you call techniques such as uraken shomen uchi (うらけんしょうめんうち）?

I'm not trying to cause further confusion, but it would be interesting to get this clarified.

uraken = backfist

shomen = front

uchi = strike

backfist strike, to the front?

[Zanshin]

As English is not my first language, I am a bit confused with the term "reversal punch". If Seiken gyaku tsuki is reversal punch, what do you call techniques such as uraken shomen uchi (うらけんしょうめんうち）?

I'm not trying to cause further confusion, but it would be interesting to get this clarified.

uraken = backfist

shomen = front

uchi = strike

backfist strike, to the front?

Shomen=your posture at the point of doing the technique, or your target area IE your oponents front/shomen?

[Kieran-Lilith]

Shomen, in aikido at least, is a reference to the level of the attacker's forehead. I think it would make sense to reference the attacker and not yourself, because you're beating the stuffing out of him and knowing where the attacker's body is while you're trying to hit it that's usually important. Basically, anyway.

[NidaninNJ]

Shomen, in aikido at least, is a reference to the level of the attacker's forehead.

I don't think this is right. When I was doing aikido 'shomen' was simply 'the front'. I am pretty sure that's what it means almost universally whether talking about the position of the hips or whatever. Sometimes it means 'to the front' and sometimes it means 'from the front' but I don't think a height is ever explicitly implied when using the term. In aikido, with the use of the overhead strike that is so commonly used for an opening attack in drills, the hand of course strikes down toward the head instead of the body because the head is closer!