gyaku tsuki, head or body

[sensei8]

here's my input...

when teaching my class for tournament competition, i stress the body because, not only is it an easier target, but you don't really have to control as opposed to a face shot... in fact, in a lot of shobu ippon tournaments that were held here, you can win if you drop your opponent with a body shot... face shots you have to control and accidents do happen... also, i hate to say this but, i had opponents fake the extent of a face shot to either get me disqualified, or get warning's against me... so i started punching full blast to the body for tournaments

that said, i bring in face masks at practice and have them gyaku full blast to face as well so they get practice doing both...

in another forum i was a member of, someone had a lot of footage of lyoto machida in karate tournaments and he threw a lot of gyaku's to the body and sometimes to the face (and he was a successful tournament competitor)... but in MMA, he became famous w/his reverse punch but he always aimed to the face and although he doesn't have a lot of finishes, he has dropped majority of his opponents w/his gyakuzuki to the face

just my 2 cents

A very valid 2 cents, imho!!

[DWx]

here's my input...

when teaching my class for tournament competition, i stress the body because, not only is it an easier target, but you don't really have to control as opposed to a face shot... in fact, in a lot of shobu ippon tournaments that were held here, you can win if you drop your opponent with a body shot... face shots you have to control and accidents do happen... also, i hate to say this but, i had opponents fake the extent of a face shot to either get me disqualified, or get warning's against me... so i started punching full blast to the body for tournaments

that said, i bring in face masks at practice and have them gyaku full blast to face as well so they get practice doing both...

in another forum i was a member of, someone had a lot of footage of lyoto machida in karate tournaments and he threw a lot of gyaku's to the body and sometimes to the face (and he was a successful tournament competitor)... but in MMA, he became famous w/his reverse punch but he always aimed to the face and although he doesn't have a lot of finishes, he has dropped majority of his opponents w/his gyakuzuki to the face

just my 2 cents

Interesting you advise your students to go for the body shot in tournaments (with good reasons). We go the opposite way and advise the head shot instead. Admittedly we have different tournament set up and rules to Karate but we train the majority of the punches to go for the face. The head shot is a more visual target; all corner refs will see it whereas with a body shot usually only 2 referees will score it. The guard usually covers the body too as kicks tend to be more favoured (and people will use them to close the distance) so the head is easier to score a punch on. Plus you can use your punching arm to cover your own head from getting hit. We do wear 10oz gloves so the contact can and is a lot heavier.

[isshinryu5toforever]

here's my input...

when teaching my class for tournament competition, i stress the body because, not only is it an easier target, but you don't really have to control as opposed to a face shot... in fact, in a lot of shobu ippon tournaments that were held here, you can win if you drop your opponent with a body shot... face shots you have to control and accidents do happen... also, i hate to say this but, i had opponents fake the extent of a face shot to either get me disqualified, or get warning's against me... so i started punching full blast to the body for tournaments

that said, i bring in face masks at practice and have them gyaku full blast to face as well so they get practice doing both...

in another forum i was a member of, someone had a lot of footage of lyoto machida in karate tournaments and he threw a lot of gyaku's to the body and sometimes to the face (and he was a successful tournament competitor)... but in MMA, he became famous w/his reverse punch but he always aimed to the face and although he doesn't have a lot of finishes, he has dropped majority of his opponents w/his gyakuzuki to the face

just my 2 cents

A very valid 2 cents, imho!!

Valid 2 cents, but MMA gloves are there specifically to protect the hands of the one doing the hitting. They don't take away from power transfer, which is great, but take those off, and it's much easier to hurt your hand on their face. The head is hard, teeth are sharp. I still advocate hitting with open hands to the head, because I can hit you with the heel of my hand just as hard as I can punch you, and I minimize the chances of hurting my own hand.

[todome]

I've always looked at it from a training perspective. In many ways it's more challenging to perform a reverse punch with the target below shoulder level. Poor balance, improper hara and weak hikate is easier to disguise with a head shot. The sublties learned from striking chudan properly first is more readlily transfered to jodan strikes than the other way around.

Without understanding the basics involved in achieved proper kime punching chudan, students can go a long time performing a weak version of the rising punch found in empi without even realizing it.

[bushido_man96]

That's the problem with Romanizing things. There is more than one standard way to do it, and then they end up getting mixed together into something that makes zero sense.

That's why its always better to just use your native language to describe things.

Interesting you advise your students to go for the body shot in tournaments (with good reasons). We go the opposite way and advise the head shot instead. Admittedly we have different tournament set up and rules to Karate but we train the majority of the punches to go for the face. The head shot is a more visual target; all corner refs will see it whereas with a body shot usually only 2 referees will score it. The guard usually covers the body too as kicks tend to be more favoured (and people will use them to close the distance) so the head is easier to score a punch on. Plus you can use your punching arm to cover your own head from getting hit. We do wear 10oz gloves so the contact can and is a lot heavier.

I wish we sparred this way. The only head shots we see from hand techniques are in one-steps. And defending in one-steps and defending in sparring are two different things.

[bushido_man96]

Because the head isn't an easier target. The head is small and moves a lot. The body is a much larger target. The targets on the body are smaller, but if you hit hard enough, you can do damage no matter where you hit. You're more likely to miss hitting someone in the head than you think.

I agree here, too. Many people will instictually protect their face; it may be with a flinch, but they still try to protect it. Then, if you get someone with a movement skill set, it gets harder to get to. I think its a common misconception that it is easy to hit to the head. Its natural to try to do, but it may not always be that easy.

[sensei8]

The body isn't as nimble as the head. The head goes..."You missed me, you missed me, now you got to kiss me". While the body goes..."Umph...I think I can, I think I can". Or something like that.

Many times we easily move our head out of harms way, to only have our body suffer the attack.

[explosive_power]

The body isn't as nimble as the head. The head goes..."You missed me, you missed me, now you got to kiss me". While the body goes..."Umph...I think I can, I think I can". Or something like that.

Many times we easily move our head out of harms way, to only have our body suffer the attack.

I tried to spar with my friends, and I found out it is harder to hit the head than the body.

thanks for the answers!

[ptr]

i just want to ask why more people tend to use the gyaku tsuki in the body, when the head is a much easier target?

Also, for practice purposes, going for the head makes it much more likely for you to lead the gyaku tsuki from your shoulder, which is plain wrong. If you aim chudan (or even gedan), your elbows will stay low, your hara focused, and your body will learn more about the mechanics behind the technique.

[Kruczek]

"Keri" means to to kick whereas "Geri" means something else entirely (I'll leave you to look that one up!!)

I wish I would have recorded my face when I googled it....

...thank you for correcting my years of saying that.

As for the real question, I won't elaborate - the first response said it all.