Empi
猿臂 / 肘
The elbow as a striking surface. Empi means “monkey arm”, the common word for elbow is hiji. An elbow strike is called empi-uchi.
Quick Facts
Term typeAnatomy, target levels and striking surfaces
LanguageJapanese
Formnoun
Pronunciation[ehm-pee]
Alternative Nameselbow
Readings and romanizations
Reading (kana)えんぴ / ひじ
Hepburn romanizationenpi / hiji
Word breakdown
猿enmonkey
臂piarm
Definition
Empi (猿臂) literally means “monkey arm”, and in karate it denotes the elbow as a striking surface. The common Japanese word for elbow is hiji (肘), and so an elbow strike is called both empi-uchi and hiji-ate. In karate the elbow strikes from below upward, from the side, backward and from above downward. It is a technique for the shortest distance, when there is no room for a punch. The same surface is also used for blocking, as in empi-uke.