Tettsui Hasami Uchi
Literally: hammer-fist scissor strike
Also known as: Hammer-fist scissor strike
A scissor strike in which both fists land inward in a hammering arc at the same moment; in Shotokan it is in the kata Bassai Dai.
Quick Facts
Katas containing this technique
About
Tettsui hasami uchi, in English hammer-fist scissor strike, combines tettsui, hammer fist, and hasami, a scissoring motion: both fists strike inward at once, landing with the little-finger edge of the fist, at the upper (jodan) or middle (chudan) level. According to the Antonsson Shihan blog, it is practiced from musubi dachi with the arms raised into jodan morote age uke; after a step forward into zenkutsu dachi, both fists come down inward in an arc. The same source describes it both as a release from a grip and as a strike to sensitive points, the temples, jaw and neck above, the ribs, liver and spleen in the middle. It differs from the basic tettsui uchi, where only one hand strikes, by the simultaneous clamping motion of both fists. The source traces it to traditional Okinawan kata, where a related version was called kentsui and horyu. In the Shotokan kata Bassai Dai (JKA numbering) it is the 23rd movement.