Seiken Jodan Tsuki
正拳上段突き
Literally: fore-fist upper-level punch
Also known as: Seiken jodan zuki, Jodan tsuki
A straight punch with the front of the fist to the head or face; it differs from chudan tsuki only in target level, and scores one point in WKF kumite.
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Seiken jodan tsuki (正拳上段突き) is a straight punch with the front of the fist, seiken, to the upper level, meaning the head or face. Seiken refers to a strike with the first two knuckles, the index and middle finger, and is the most common way to punch with the fist in karate. It differs from chudan tsuki to the torso only in target level. The fist travels palm-up during the punch and turns palm-down only in the last roughly five centimeters of its path. Equally important is the pulling hand, hikite, whose position varies between styles from the top edge of the hip to the armpit. Okinawan karate builds punching power by engaging the whole body, while Japanese styles such as Shotokan emphasize hip movement. The elbow should point downward; if it turns outward or upward, it risks being overextended or injured against a hard block. In kumite under WKF rules, a tsuki strike to a scoring zone is scored as yuko, one point. The Ashihara karate federation treats it as a separate technique.