Uraken ganmen uchi¶

Name¶

Romaji:
Uraken ganmen uchi

Japanese:
裏拳顔面打ち

English:
Backfist strike to the face

Terminology¶

Uraken refers to the back of the knuckles. Ganmen indicates the face. Uchi indicates a strike.

Sequence position¶

Block:
Migi sanchin-dachi

Placement in the sequence:
Technique 3

Preceded by:
Seiken jōdan tsuki

Followed by:
Uraken sayū uchi

Starting position¶

Compact guard with the hand close to the body.

Commands¶

Follows in the same block after the straight tsuki techniques.

Count¶

Trained in repeated count in block 1.

Kiai¶

Used according to the block’s main count.

Execution¶

The backfist strike travels short and fast toward the face. Contact is made with the back of the knuckles. The technique should be snapping and direct, not heavy or sweeping.

Technical key points¶

short movement
compact arm path
quick return
relaxed but directed wrist snap

Common errors¶

arc too large
raised shoulder
contact with the wrong part of the hand

Purpose¶

To train a fast, compact hand technique toward a high target zone.

Relation to further training¶

Idō Geiko: Carried forward primarily as a compact hand form.

Kata: The uraken form recurs in several kata.

Kumite: Fast short- to mid-range technique against the high line.