In several martial arts, including Karate, Kung-Fu and Taekwondo, it is very common to see practitioners performing techniques with one hand while pulling back / drawing back the other hand. This pullback, called hikite (or hiki-te) in Japanese, is evident in blocks, strikes and locks. Many have noted that, while the pullback/hikite is prevalent in the performance of forms and “sterile techniques,” in sparring the pullback/hikite is seen much less often (and, sometimes, rarely). This invites several questions:
- If the hikite is in fact not useful in sparring and self-defense, why do we martial artist practice it all the time?
- What is the purpose of the hikite?
- Can a forceful hikite increase the power of your punch?
- When should you pull back the opposing arm and when should you not?
The Hikite/Pullback
The illustration below shows a karateka performing a front punch (oi-tzuki) with a typical hikite/pullback. As the punching arm moves forward, the opposing arm is drawn back to the hip, into a “chambered” position. The chambering position of the pullback arm could be as low as level with the hips or as high as under the armpit, all depending on the style (ryu) of the martial art. The Japanese word hikite (引き手) literally means “drawing hand:” to draw or pull (hiku 引き) the hand (te 手).
A quick note on terminology: I use the terms hikite and pullback interchangeably. Whereas some martial artists use the term pullback for the act of “pulling a punch,” as in the snapping punch that is common in karate styles such as Shotokan, this articles uses the term pullback to mean the act of drawing back the arm, that is, the hikite.
Common Criticism of the Hikite in Real-World Fighting and Self-Defense
A common argument against the hikite/pullback is that it “doesn’t work in real fighting.”
In sports karate, hikite is typically seen in jiyu-kumite (free sparring). Some sports karate kumite rules only award points to techniques with “good form,” the latter being defined in that style to include a hikite.
The criticism lobbed against such use of the hikite is multi-fold:
- Drawing the hand away exposes the practitioner’s body to a counter-strike.
- Drawing the hand away slows down the speed of consecutive strikes, since the drawn hand needs to travel a longer distance to its target.
- Drawing the hand away is “wasted effort” which serves no purpose. It is the opposite of economy of motion.
The hikite creates an “open position”, which is contrasted with the generally “guarded” punching position of Western Boxing, Muay Thai, and MMA, where the non-punching hand is held in a position covering the face (although, unfortunately, the cover did not help the poor chap below).
Here is a specific example for the criticism of the hikite, in this case from a “real world” self-defense scenario of an overhead attack with a beer bottle. I call it the “perilous hikite” because, as you see, it puts the martial artists in a dangerous position.
One explanation for the hikite is that, in Okinawan Karate and other martial arts, the martial artist uses multiple and near-simultaneous techniques to respond to an attack. This strategy allows the martial artist to get “in-between” the techniques of the perpetrator, break what would otherwise be an onslaught of attacks, and gain control of the fight. In real-world self-defense such a strategy has also been called “searching for a Golden Move” (a Rory Miller term) – a single action which fulfills several goals:
- Protects you
- Injures the perpetrator
- Improves your position
- Worsens the perpetrator’s position
Limb controls through muchimi (pressure and friction) and), grabs and locks play a large role in such strategy.
In the context of controlling the opponent, the hikite is a very useful tool. For example, if the martial artist has grabbed the opponent’s limb, the action of rotating the arm while returning it to the chambered position establishes an automatic lock on the attacker’s arm. See the same beer bottle attack example below, with “proper” use of the hikite:
Another common use of the hikite is to “pull” the opponent into a strike. This is similar to an arm drag technique which can be seen in MMA (although in MMA most commonly the arm drag is used as a setup for a takedown to transition to ground fighting, whereas in self-defense the preference is to remain standing).
So it seems like the general rule is:
If you secured a hold on your opponent, pull that arm back while striking (hikite). Otherwise, keep both hands in front of you during the fight.
Certainty, when the hikite is used to immobilize the opponent, or pull the opponent into a strike, it acts to increase striking power. A valid question is whether, with no grabbing, the motion of the hikite increases punching power. Judging from the prevalence of hikite in the performance of kata or in the way that basics and moving basics (kihon) are practiced in many karate dojos, you would think so. As the logic goes, otherwise what is the purpose of continuously practicing a technique that has no utility?
In training with different instructors I have heard different explanations for the purpose of the hikite even when one is not grabbing. One common direction is:
“If you want to punch hard, pull back even harder”
I also heard instructors invoking Newton’s third law: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction” as a reason for pulling back the opposing arm. That explanation usually goes something like:
“Since your punch is moving forward, pulling your other arm back will provide an “equal and opposite” reaction for the body moving forward and therefore increase the force with which you strike.”
I apologize in advance if I am offending anyone here. However, with no doubt, this invocation of Newtonian physics as an explanation for the hikite does not hold water. Whether you pull back your other arm or not, the third law of Newton will hold. There is always an equal and opposite reaction. The pulling of the hikite arm, in it of itself, does not generate power.
In fact, certain movement of the hikite arm actually reduce the power of the punch. For example, in a square punch (a punch with no rotation at the torso), a hikite will undoubtedly reduce the amount of power delivered to the target. Here is an experiment that will prove this to you: with your shoulders square, hold both arms out in a double punch. While keeping one fist out, pull the other fist to your hips. As you may notice, your body and front fist is moving backward, away from the target you intend to punch. How can such motion increase power?
Digging a little further into the physics, we can discover that the hikite as a power boosting tool does have some utility. Karate and other martial arts use several different modes of power generation, with forward movement being only one mode. Another mode of power generation is rotation. Rotational torque generation is prevalent in Western boxing (and in MMA, where many fighters borrow their striking skills from Western boxing). In that regard, allowing the rotating hikite arm to come closer to the body does increase the rotational velocity of the torso. This does increases power somewhat, although the effect is not large. Without getting into the physics, simply think about how ice skaters increase the speed of their rotation by pulling their arms close to their bodies. Look at Rocky Marciano punching “Jersey” Joe Walcott below. Marciano, regarded by boxing historians as one of the best heavyweight boxer of all times, knew a thing or two about power generation. He won 87.75% of his fights by knockout.
The Mental Hikite
Putting focus on the reverse motion is not entirely misplaced. In a real fight the attacker and the defender are both moving, and the mass being punched reacts to the strike (as opposed to, for example, a heavy bag that just presents dead weight). In such cases we must recognize the importance of stance and proper alignment. As anyone who punched an opponent as the opponent closes in on them has observed, one has to take care not to be knocked back by the opponent. This is done through proper stance and joint alignment, and is referred to as “rooting” in martial arts such as karate and tai chi.
Take a look at the illustration below, of a response to an overhead knife attack. Both the attacker and the defender are moving in and “colliding.” The attacker is a large male, and the defender is a slender female. If the defender is not properly aligned and rooted, her block and counter will collapse and/or they will be knocked back or down. In this particular case, the “block” made by the defender’s left hand is improperly aligned, and is likely to collapse.
In self-defense and street fights, where grabbing and pushing are prevalent (a natural reaction, especially by untrained people), and where you are likely to be attacked by someone much larger than you, rooting is of prime importance. Rooting is less of a concern in sports such as Western boxing, where grabbing and pushing are prohibited, and where competitors are matched by weight. In fact, in combative sports, striking from an unrooted position may in fact be preferable as it allows the combative athlete to generate additional torque and power, and also allows for extended reach. The raised heal position of Western boxing and, by extension, MMA, allows for such extended reach and added torque.
To see how rooting is related to the hikite look at the marital artist in the illustration below, who is punching a Makiwara. Unlike a punching bag, the Makiwara provides a counter-push while being struck, so it simulates what happens when two bodies collide. (For a discussion on the differences between training with a heavy bag and training with a Makiwara, read this.) As you can see, the joints of the martial artist are aligned so as to provide an uninterrupted kinetic path to the ground for any reaction force. (I am primarily referring to the force from the opponent’s reaction to our strike, rather than the third law of Newton.)
In the context of rooting, the mental hikite is very useful. By mental hikite I am referring to the mental intent for generating a strong root. Unlike the physical hikite, the mental hikite does not require the opposing arm to be pulled back. The mental hikite is responsible for creating the uninterrupted kinetic chain to the earth.
Just as with a tree, the root grows in a direction opposite to the trunk’s direction of growth. So if we intend to generate a striking or blocking force forward, the root must grow backwards. And in this regard the mental hikite and the physical hikite are the same – they both go in a direction opposite to the main “action.”
At a basic level, at the same time that I am striking or blocking forward, I am creating a root backward. At a more advanced level, to counter the opponent’s reaction, we can grow the root by expanding our intent in all directions – up, down, forward, back, right and left – as shown below. (See this article on power generation and gamaku (center) for more information). As Yang Luchan, the founder of the Yang style of Tai Chi said:
“With an upward comes a downward, with a forward comes a backward, and with a left comes a right. If your intention wants to go upward, then harbor a downward intention.”
I can’t help feel how close this Tai Chi explanation is to the karate explanation of the hikite.
In Summary
In summary, the hikite is a useful physical and mental tool in martial arts. Using both hands in tandem is a hallmark of Okinawan karate as well as other martial arts. A general rule for the hikite is:
If you secured a hold on your opponent, pull that arm back while striking (hikite). Otherwise, keep both hands in front of you during the fight.
The hikite is also valuable when the opposing arm is not physically retracted. In that case, sending and intent backwards creates a root for the forward technique.
What do you think about the hikite? Your comment is welcome below.
Keep training!
The hikite is used to propel the tsuki in a catapult fasion whilst at the same time grabbing, pulling and ripping body parts, hair skin and arteries which actually makes the tsuki into a mai hikite.
All the while and at the same time a well drawn hikite is also an oshiro m.p.
And more.
Studying the hikite takes years.
Hikite should not be taken lightly as a secondary technique but is actually an important and leading technique disguised as a lesser one.
Hi Elad!
I agree that, like (almost) everything we do in Okinawan Karate, power comes from the lower body and core, and then gets channeled through the limb. When we use the term “pull back” it is really not the arm muscles pulling back, but rather the legs and the core.
The utility of the hikite (physical or mental) is indeed vast.
引手は非常に大切で、私も稽古中は厳しく指導しております。
For those who are not versed in Japanese: What Hiroshi-san is saying is that the hikite has been very important in his karate training, and a strong focus has been placed on training the hikite.
Points on the advantages and drawback of hikite is taken. This one is really a good read.
Hi James! It’s not so much that the karate hikite has advantages and disadvantages. It’s more that there are circumstances where the hikite is appropriate, and others where it is not appropriate. Generally, I tend to think “if your arm is holding/seizing something than pull back. Otherwise, leave it at guard.”
Keep training!
Brian
This movement is first taught through patterns. Patterns are precise movements representing theories of power. They also teach students body awareness. Exactly where are my hands, where are my feet and to have control of both. Every punch or kick is rechambered to a certain extent depending on the circumstance and target. Targets change on the fly so knowing where my body is in relationship to my opponent and what target is open dictates what technique I use.
Downblocks are another technique that is misrepresented. Many artists say it’s used to block a kick. Not true. I’ve held shields while people kick and if you used a downblock to block that kick you’d have a broken arm. Downblocks are more appropriately used as strikes such as to break someone’s grip on a wrist and rechambering the arm that was grabbed now gives you an effective palm heel or elbow to use.
Hi Debra!
With respect to “blocks” in martial arts and karate, there has been a misconception that they are solely intended for blocking. This is not true.
First, the Japanese word for the what we call “block” is uke, and uke means “to receive” and not “to block.” As you pointed out, trying to employ some “blocks” for the purpose of blocking, can result in a disaster. A karate practitioner trying to block a strong kick with their arm is one example.
“Blocks” can be used for parrying, trapping, hitting, locking, throwing, and much more.
Perhaps a subject for a future blog article.
Brian
Blocking is not parrying, etc. Blocking is using a hard part of the body to connect with and make the opponent hurt. Parrying and redirecting, soft defences, are similar to one another but still different. A strong kick can be blocked but it must not be in direct line with the leg. Most kicks would be blocked from the side such as the side and front kicks. Crescent and round kicks need to be blocked with double arms to maximize damage prevention to oneself.
Thank you for your comment!
There can be multiple uses for a “block” in karate / martial arts. Hitting / destroying the opponent’s body part that is executing the incoming strike is one of them. Just “stopping” the incoming attack is rarely an objective of the “block.” The “block” either diverts the incoming strike, to put you in a better position, or strikes the incoming strike.
By the way, with respect to “blocking” kicks, trying to stop a strong kick with your arms (even two arms) is going to result in injury to you. This is not the preferred way to respond to an incoming kick.
Brian
You stated hikite does not fulfill the laws of physics through Newton’s Law. If not, then you need to have an assessment and explanation of how you believe the laws of physics do apply to the generation of power.
Rotary motion is, in fact, how power is generated through hikite. As the arms and fists change positions, they move as tangents to and from the circle with the spine as the axis. The retraction becomes a reciprocating motion. The faster the reciprocating motion, the faster the opposing motion, the punch. Hip rotation adds to the power.
This rotary motion also happens when not using the traditional punching techniques. The biomechanics are more complex but understanding these principles can greatly improve punching power.
Your example of a spinning skater deals with a different portion of rotary motion. The has to do with the decreasing radius of the skaters arm. The skater moves faster because the power generated needs to be conserved therefore the acceleration of the rotation.
The example of extending the arms assumes the fist makes contact when the arm is full extended. This should never happen. It should make contact just prior to the peak of the power curve and stop prior to the arm locking.
Hello Ron!
Thank you for your post!
You are not alone. The hikite is an often misunderstood aspect of karate.
It is fairly prevalent in the karate community for instructors to encourage students to actively and forcefully pull with the hikite hand. I have often heard instructors claim the following:
1. Pulling back with the hikite hand increases the power of the punch (and we are assuming here that we pulling just our hand and not the opponent with the hikite hand).
and,
2. That the reason the punching power increases is because of the Newton’s Third Law (“For every action has an equal and opposite reaction”).
Because the laws of physics apply (as they always do!), the statement that puling hard with the hikite hand will significantly increase punching power is incorrect (again, assuming you are not grabbing the opponent with that hand). You can punch with as much power with the hikite/pullback hand not moving to the hip hikite position. A simple experiment is to stand in a front stance and pull hard with the hikite hand while doing nothing else. No matter how hard you will pull with the hikite hand, the punching hand will not magically fly toward the target.
The power in the punch is generated by the use of the large muscles of the body (legs and core) to generate momentum (mass times velocity) in the direction of the target. This can be both linear momentum (as when you are closing distance with the opponent) as well as angular momentum (body rotating toward the opponent.) There is another and very powerful way to generate power, which is to harness gravity (as in dropping weight into the target), but for the sake of keeping this discussion simple, we will stick to the above.
By the way, with angular momentum, more power can be gained by rotating about the far hip, rather than about the spine. So, if I am punching with my right hand, I will think of my left hip as the hinge, and rotate around that hip. Everything to the right of my left hip will be moving toward the target. This way, the maximum amount of my mass is moving toward the target. Think door on a hinge not revolving door. When we rotate about our spine in a punch, we are taking half of our mass and moving it away from the target. This reduced overall power. If you take a look at boxers, many are very good at this “door hinge” concept.
While pulling the hikite hand back does, though conversation of angular momentum, contributes to an increase in body rotation, that increase is very small. Angular momentum is equal mass times angular velocity. The mass of the hikite arm and fist is very small and, at the beginning state (before we start to punch), the velocity is also very small.
Having said that, in real combat the hikite is extremely powerful. The Old Masters of karate understood the main purpose of the hikite as a tool for seizing, pulling and disbalancing the opponent – all very important concepts. By pulling the opponent as he is being punched you can significantly increase the efficacy and power of your technique. While he is busy trying to regain his balance, he is being hit. Also, you are pulling your opponent into your punch, as in a head-on collision. Still, to just pull back when nothing is being grabbed does nothing to increase power. If you look through early karate texts such as the Bubishi or Gichin Funakoshi’s and Kenwa Mabuni’s early writings you will not find any bunkai illustration where the hikite hand is pulled back and it is not holding the opponent. The hikite hand is ALMOST ALWAYS busy grabbing, seizing and locking the opponent. This is why almost all techniques in karate kata involve a hikite. The masters wanted their student to constantly fight while utilizing both limbs.
Hope this help!
Brian
Hi. I’d like to respond to the points you made.
The idea of grabbing and pulling with hikite hand has merit. However in kata we’re not practicing the grabbing part. We say we could be grabbing, but the intent is not there, and neither is the execution. So if grabbing and pulling with hikite hand is the idea, then we’re not practicing what we preach. The muscle memory isn’t being built.
What is being built is the retraction of the hand. Over and over we teach to retract the hand back. Needless to say that’s very bad for passive defense.
So we end up not training the technique we aim to train, and at the same time creating a bad muscle pattern with each strike. That’s about as ineffective as it gets.
If we look at how kata were adopted and adjusted in Karate history, it may be that the kata we practice into our old age were meant as purely beginners’ tools, as a way to help untrained people understand a complex motion. Maybe as you progress, most kata should be discarded.
You will notice that higher kata use much less hikite, if at all. You will also notice that Goju and especially Uechi systems use much less hikite – and they have not been Japanized the way Shuri-te lineage was.
Maybe we now have better tools and understanding of how to train people than Chinese did 200 years ago.
Hi Alex!
Thank you for your comments.
I do believe that grabbing is absolutely a part of karate kata. In close quarter combat (e.g., for self defense) we always want to put ourselves in a superior position to the adversary. We never want to allow both sides to stand upright and exchange blows. So grabbing / gripping is essential. Grabbing / gripping can be used to clear limbs out of the way (so we have a “straight shot” at our target), to disrupt the opponent’s balance (so they are not able to hit with power), and also to lock and throw (possibly with the intent of joint destruction for locks and afflicting serious harm with throws). All of those are absolutely the intent of the masters put into kata.
Just hitting it OK. But in combat we want to use overwhelming force the end the fight as quickly as possible. And the kata is teaching us how to do that: get a purchase of the opponent, and then disrupt, throw, lock, etc. I would venture to say that there are more moves in katas that show such techniques then moves that show simple strikes with nothing else.
In combative sports things can be different. Some sports, such as boxing, do not allow grabbing. (One could say that this is on purpose, so that fights would last longer, for the benefit of the audience ). But in the old masters’ karate, the main focus was unarmed combat, and in such combat you should use all tools in your disposal to accomplish your goals as quickly and efficiently as possible.
In martial spirit,
Brian
If I may add a point. I would argue with this part:
“A simple experiment is to stand in a front stance and pull hard with the hikite hand while doing nothing else. No matter how hard you will pull with the hikite hand, the punching hand will not magically fly toward the target.”
Indeed it will not. In fact, if you were able to be loose enough in the waist, the punching hand’s shoulder would move slightly backward. The mass of the retracted hand would be going, say, counterclockwise relative to the vertical axis of the body, and the rest of the body would be rotating clockwise to balance. Which seems to suggest that the power of the punch is reduced by the pullback. But that understanding is incorrect.
Conduct another simple experiment. Get into your fighting stance, left shoulder forward for the sake of argument. Punch with your right hand, as you would normally. Use only the rotation to generate power.
Now, with that as a baseline, find a doorway or a pillar. Get in the same stance but have your left shoulder blade rest against the structure. The rest of the body is unsupported, only the left shoulder is supported from behind. Execute the same punch. You will see how the whole body, on rotation, is propelled forward the way it was not before. The left shoulder is now an anchor that increases your ability to utilize rotation. If you rest the left elbow on the structure and pull back the effect will be even more pronounced.
Absent a structure, the pullback utilizes the mass of the left hand to balance the upper body in the rotation. Thus, yes, increasing the power of the punch.
Hi Alex!
Karate teaches several modes of power generation, with rotational power being one of those. (Other power generation modes include dropping, spinal wave, thoracic hinge, etc.) Either way we are always dealing with physics and anatomy. The more mass we have moving toward with opponent, the more power there will be in the strike.
For now, let us focus on rotational power. (For historical reasons into which I won’t get into here, rotational power ended up being almost the exclusive power generation mode taught in many dojos.) If we want to maximize the mass moving forward, toward the opponent, we want as much of our body moving forward. Your pillar analogy is good. I like to imagine my opposite hip as a “hinge” of a door, and for rotation power have everything on the “door” side move forward.
So if I am punching with my right hand, I imagine my left hip socket as being a hinge, and have my entire body (right and left sides) move forward with respect to that hinge, just as a door would. The left side of my body is NOT moving backwards. Rather, the left hip socket is the hinge over which the entire body rotates and moves forward.
Again for historical reasons, some dojos teach rotation techniques where the spine is the axis of rotation. In that variation, when you punch with your right arm, the right side of the body moves forward and the left side of the body moves backwards. I call this the “revolving door” method, since it resembles the rotating doors you find at the entrance to some buildings.
I can say that the power generated in the “door hinge” method is higher than in the “center hinge” method. Either way, whether you decide to pull your arm (hikite) or not, does not have a material impact on the power generated.
Now, if you were to grab and pull the opponent while grabbing, of course more power would be generated in the version utilizing the pullback. Also, some other beneficial things will take place, such as the opponent being in a disadvantageous position, and also in a position where they “automatically” present targets to you. But this is a subject for another discussion.
Keep on training!
Brian
Two minor notes: torque does not get used to creating punching force. Torque is not a force; therefore, this question is meaningless. Since torque is generated by applying a force on a rotating arm at a distance from the axis of rotation, Newton’s Third Law would dictate that an opposite force be applied by the rotating arm on the agent applying the force that generates the torque. If you think about a person as an immovable pole with the arms parallel to the ground and try to rotate the person using their hands, the body rotation (AKA the moment) is torque. If the body rotates to move the arm, there is no torque anywhere between the body and hand.
Secondly, only straight punches have velocity and not others. Any movement can have speed and moment but only objects moving in a straight line may have velocity. Race cars on oval tracks have velocity (equalling speed) on straightaways but will have zero velocity when curving,
A note on hikite history: Funakoshi sensei wrote in his books what hikite was meant for (the grabbing, etc but not power) but the modern powers that be decided, I guess, they knew better. East Asian arts (I avoid any “martial” reference to non-military specific skills) are flawed in many ways and it is up to us to A) keep their traditional thoughts or B) help them to grow in modern times with newly obtained knowledge
Great food for thought.
Thank you for your comment!
The torque to which I refer in the article is the mode of power generation in martial arts and karate by which we create forward motion in the body by rotating the entire body over a pivot point. The pivot point is usually the hip socket and not the middle of our spine. Rotating around the hip socket results in the entire body moving forward. To maximize power generation, we want to have as much as our mass moving toward the opponent. Using the pine as the pivot point is counterproductive. This is because when we rotate around the spine, the motion pulls one half of our body away from the opponent.
Re/ your physics question on velocity: Velocity is a vector which has magnitude and direction. A car has velocity when it is moving — both on a straightaway and in a curve. In a curve acceleration causes the velocity vector to rotate.
Hope this helps!
Brian