Gyaku Zuki
逆突き
Literally: reverse punch
Also known as: Gyaku tsuki, Seiken gyaku tsuki
A straight fist punch with the hand opposite the front leg, driven by hip rotation; a basic karate counterattack, worth one point in WKF kumite.
Quick Facts
Katas containing this technique
About
Gyaku zuki (逆突き), literally reverse punch, is a straight fist punch with the hand opposite the forward leg. The Japan Karatedo Federation classes it among basic karate techniques: power comes from rotating the legs and passes through hips and torso to the arm, which strikes with a seiken fist. Its counterpart is oi zuki, where the hand on the front-leg side strikes. Oi zuki attacks with a full step forward, gyaku zuki counters from a stance without a full step, hip rotation carrying the punch's impact. It targets the middle or upper level. In WKF kumite, a tsuki strike to a scoring zone scores yuko, one point. The Kyokushin body KWF lists seiken gyaku tsuki as the second item on its hand-strike list and teaches it from 9th kyu.