Tsuki - Karate, Its Variants, and Other Arts

Karate, Its Variants, and Other Arts

In karate and its variants, tsuki is used generally as a part of a compound word for any one of various punches, and virtually never stands alone to describe a discrete technique. (Note that in a compound word, where tsuki does not come first, its pronunciation and writing changes slightly due to rendaku; this is transliterated as zuki.)

Some examples of use for basic techniques include:

• Age-tsuki (上げ突き), rising punch
• Choku-tsuki (直突き), straight punch
• Gyaku-tsuki (逆突き), punch with the rear arm
• Kagi-tsuki (鉤突き), hook punch
• Mawashi-tsuki (回し突き), roundhouse punch
• Morote-tsuki (双手突き), augmented punch using both hands
• Oi-tsuki (追い突き), punch with the lead arm (when stepping forward - lunge)
• Jun-tsuki punch with the lead arm when stationary or moving back/away
• Tate-tsuki (立て突き), vertical fist punch into the middle of the chest (short-range)
• Ura-tsuki (裏突き), upside-down fist punch into solar plexus area (short-range)
• Yama-tsuki (山突き) or Rete-zuki, two-level double punch (combination of ura-zuki and jodan oi zuki)