Hand Techniques

Although a wide variety of striking surfaces is used in karate, the basic weapon is the fist. For our purposes, however, this must be capable of striking surfaces of high resistance with great power and speed without injury to oneself. It is therefore most important that the fist be correctly formed.

Starting with the hand open, curl the little finger over until the tip of the finger meets the base. Curl the other fingers in turn finishing with the index finger. Now bend the fingers together from the roots, so that the back of the fist and the front (the first phalanges of the fingers) form a right angle. Finally, bend the thumb firmly over the second phalanges of the first and second fingers. The striking area of this basic fist (seiken) consists of the knuckles of the first and
second fingers and should be toughened by regular practise with a 'makiwara'. When striking, be sure that the fist is squeezed as tightly as possible and that the wrist is not bent.