Tettsui
鉄槌
Lower, little-finger side of the clenched fist, literally “iron hammer”. In karate it strikes from above or from the side like a hammer.
Quick Facts
Term typeAnatomy, target levels and striking surfaces
LanguageJapanese
Formnoun
Pronunciation[tet-tsoo-ee]
Alternative Nameshammer fist, lower edge of the fist
Readings and romanizations
Reading (kana)てっつい
Hepburn romanizationtettsui
Word breakdown
鉄tetsuiron
槌tsuihammer
Definition
Tettsui (鉄槌) means “iron hammer”: tetsu is iron, tsui is hammer. The striking surface is the lower, fleshy side of the clenched fist on the little-finger side. In a strike the fist moves like a hammer, from top to bottom or from the side, and does not land on the knuckles. The same surface is also called kentsui (拳槌), the fist hammer. In karate, tettsui is used in the strikes tettsui-uchi. Because it does not land on the knuckles, it can be used to strike even where a straight punch with the fist would risk injury to the hand.