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shotokanman70
shotokanman70's picture
Shuto Uke Flow Drill with some dirt

 

SHUTO UKE, often referred to as 'knife hand block' is a very versatile technique. In this video, a practical application from a clinch will be explored. The rear arm (hikite) is used to trap the attacker's arm while the front limb is used to strike the attacker twice. This is an example of what Motobu Choki called 'Meotode' or 'Husband and Wife Hands'. The hikite in shuto uke is often incorrectly thought of as a means to generate power or to protect the solar plexus. This line of thinking is false as the hikite has many practical applications and such claims in recent Facebook discussions prompted me to throw this drill together. It's simple in nature but I think the dirt incorporated later in the video is important.

Cheers,

Andy

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

Very nice! Always important to drill with “dirt” and to understand what hiki-te is really all about (not “guards” and not power generation!). Thanks for sharing!

All the best,

Iain

TW Smith
TW Smith's picture

Hi Andy, that is an excellent piece of work. I like the up close, grappling work that blends intercepting and striking. Often, this is very challenging to teach. Many times the practitioner is more comfortable with all grappling that turns into wrestling, or pure striking that avaids the grappling. 

I know what the group will work tonight! 

Thank you,

Tim

shotokanman70
shotokanman70's picture

Glas you liked it. It's fun and practical to combine the two.

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

TW Smith wrote:
Many times the practitioner is more comfortable with all grappling that turns into wrestling, or pure striking that avoids the grappling.

That’s a solid observation! I think it’s often a result of the fact that they are taught separately; both within arts and across arts. We hear lots of talk of “grappling arts” and “striking arts” due to the specialisation / omission that occurs when arts start primarily focusing on defeating their own kind. We also see this bleeding into the broader based arts due to a lack of education / imagination when it comes to training methods, and hence the training methods of the specialists being aped.  

Self-protection needs the integrated use of striking and grappling; and the training should reflect that. We should see it across partner drills, pad-drills, sparring, etc.

shotokanman70 wrote:
It's fun and practical to combine the two.

Absolutely! :-)

All the best,

Iain