Improving my Gykuzuki

[sensei8]

I'm gonna agree with tallgeese here. A punch with a step through will always be more telegraphed than the punch off the front arm. No matter how good you are or how experienced. Its got further to travel and the leg is moving too. Whole lot more to see.

I like that drill Kuma, might have to try it sometime.

Saying "always" puts every practitioner of the martial arts in the same category, imho, this isn't a fair statement because each practitioner is different for one reason or another.

Will a punch with a step through seem to be more telegraphed than the punch off the front arm? Yes, but again, that'll differ from one practitioner to another. Experience/knowledge is still a key factor, imho.

Kuma, I too like your drill and it's worth trying...thanks!

[Toptomcat]

I'm gonna agree with tallgeese here. A punch with a step through will always be more telegraphed than the punch off the front arm. No matter how good you are or how experienced. Its got further to travel and the leg is moving too. Whole lot more to see.

I like that drill Kuma, might have to try it sometime.

Saying "always" puts every practitioner of the martial arts in the same category, imho, this isn't a fair statement because each practitioner is different for one reason or another.

Will a punch with a step through seem to be more telegraphed than the punch off the front arm? Yes, but again, that'll differ from one practitioner to another. Experience/knowledge is still a key factor, imho.

Kuma, I too like your drill and it's worth trying...thanks!

There are certain attributes common to all practitioners of martial arts built on the general plan of two legs, two arms, a torso and a head. A certain martial artist can be very good at concealing the telegraph for a punch off of the rear hand, perhaps with a subtle feint, the use of counterpunching principles, or superlative timing, but the basic realities of the human body means that it will take more time to get there and involve more movement than a punch off of the front hand. In this sense, at least, I don't think it's 'unfair' to put every practitioner of martial arts in the same category in his particular case: they're always working with the same fundamental tool, the human body.

[DWx]

I'm gonna agree with tallgeese here. A punch with a step through will always be more telegraphed than the punch off the front arm. No matter how good you are or how experienced. Its got further to travel and the leg is moving too. Whole lot more to see.

I like that drill Kuma, might have to try it sometime.

Saying "always" puts every practitioner of the martial arts in the same category, imho, this isn't a fair statement because each practitioner is different for one reason or another.

Will a punch with a step through seem to be more telegraphed than the punch off the front arm? Yes, but again, that'll differ from one practitioner to another. Experience/knowledge is still a key factor, imho.

Kuma, I too like your drill and it's worth trying...thanks!

OK, well maybe "in most cases" might be more appropriate. However I think that if you've trained both the lead arm and the reverse equally and tried to minimise telegraphing in both cases, then the step through punch will be more telegraphed compared to the punch off of the front arm. Having said that, if you spend 99% of your time drilling the step through punch as opposed to 1% of your time on the lead punch, maybe then you're step-through will be less telegraphed than the other one.

[sensei8]

Experience/knowledge is STILL a key factor, imho!

[todome]

I've always worked under the assumption "telegraphing" is the unintentional communication of mental intent ahead of physical effort, a form of kyo.

There's just as many advantages to a long stepping technique as there are disadvantages. It's quite possible to initiate a stepping attack and rely on instinct to sense weakness and choose/find the target in due time. Against a properly controlled attacker, the defender commiting too soon to a particular reaction can turn them into dead duck.

A full step reverse punch can be brutal and with practice can also be wicked fast. Done properly there's a penatrating power to it that can't just be slapped aside. Except at expert levels, more is generally lost to mushy stances and poor balance than distance. In karate, practical is a long term endevour.

[Kuma]

Thanks guys. If you use it, my only restriction is that you let me know how it worked out for you.

[explosive_power]

just asking, im only 2 months into shotokan. why is the gyaku tsuki the most favored techinque in shotokan karate?

[todome]

You haven't been nailed by one yet.

Same reason the right cross is a boxer's favorite. Maximum mechanical advantage. and except for the stance they're a LOT alike.

[explosive_power]

You haven't been nailed by one yet.

Same reason the right cross is a boxer's favorite. Maximum mechanical advantage. and except for the stance they're a LOT alike.

I see,

I guess I should practice it more often.

after watching clips of it in sparring. I think I like it,

Can you do it from a stance? or do you really have to step forward with the punch?

[todome]

Theory favours the stepping punch when it comes to effective power but either way is valid as well as their shifting and shuffling cousins.

The stationary jab reverse punch combination is a training staple because there's so much to learn in doing it although lately I've been prefering to practice rising block reverse punch because of the upper body connectivity it demands.

The stepping reverse punch is worth investigating but starting out most schools emphasize the lunge punch, hopefully not just out of habit but because its itself a great teaching tool. The skills it develops are readily transferable to the reverse punch, which in a lot of ways is a more advanced technique, and its less likely to fool the student into thinking he's more powerful than he actually is.