Gedan-barai 下段払い
Downward sweep, low-level block
The technique, and its job.
A downward sweeping block that clears an attack to the lower level — most often a front kick — with the outer forearm. It is the first block most students learn and the one that opens more Shotokan kata than any other.
Application. Deflecting a front kick or a low straight attack while turning the hips into a position from which the counter is already loaded. It is also the technique that opens Heian Shodan.
Mechanics
What each part of the body does, in the order it does it.
- Stance
- Zenkutsu-dachi.
- Starting position
- Blocking fist raised to the opposite ear, the other arm extended downward across the body.
- Hips
- Rotate into the sweep, supplying the force.
- Elbows
- Almost straight at the finish, but never locked.
- Hikite
- Withdraws to the hip on the same beat.
- Trajectory
- Sweeps down and across, finishing with the fist about a fist’s width above the front knee and slightly outside the thigh.
- Contact surface
- The outer forearm, near the wrist.
- Kime
- Sharp at the finish, arriving rather than swiping.
What survives when the name is forgotten.
- It sweeps the attack aside; it does not chop down onto it.
- The finishing position — above and outside the knee — is what protects the leg and the groin. Too high leaves the leg open; too low overcommits.
- The hip rotation is what makes it work against a kick, which carries far more mass than an arm.
Common errors, and how to fix them.
Naming a fault teaches nobody. Each one below carries why it happens and what corrects it.
Why it happens. Over-rotating, or reaching for the attack.
The fix. Finish outside the line of the thigh, above the knee.
Why it happens. Underestimating the mass of a leg.
The fix. Block a partner’s controlled mae-geri. An arm-only block loses.
Why it happens. Following the arm downward.
The fix. Keep the spine vertical; the arm travels, the torso does not.
Drills
- Gedan-barai stepping down the floor.
- Against a partner’s controlled mae-geri, five repetitions each side.
- Gedan-barai into immediate gyaku-zuki.
Where it appears.
Kihon is the vocabulary, kata is the literature, kumite is the conversation. Every link below was written down deliberately; none of it was inferred from a name matching.
- Heian Shodan Peaceful mind, first level
- Heian Nidan Peaceful mind, second level
- Heian Sandan Peaceful mind, third level
- Heian Yondan Peaceful mind, fourth level
- Heian Godan Peaceful mind, fifth level
- Tekki Shodan Iron horse, first level
- Bassai Dai To storm a fortress, major
- Jion Compassion and kindness; also the name of a Buddhist temple
- Go-no-sen Late initiative — block, then counter
- Defensive kumite Defence and counter
- Gohon kumite Five-step sparring
- Age-uke Rising block
- Soto-uke Outside block
- Uchi-uke Inside block
- Shuto-uke Knife-hand block
- Morote-uke Augmented block, two-hand block
- Juji-uke Cross block, X block
- Kakiwake-uke Wedge block, parting block
The Japanese, explained.
- Gedan-barai 下段払い
- Downward sweep. A downward sweeping block clearing an attack to the lower level, finishing a fist’s width above and outside the front knee.
- Gedan 下段
- Lower level. Below the belt. As a level it names the low blocks and the stamping techniques. Whether it is a permitted target is a matter of the competition rules in force, and so is not stated here as a fixed fact.
- Hikite 引き手
- Withdrawing hand. The hand that pulls sharply back to the hip as the other technique goes out. It is not decoration: it accelerates the working hand by opposing rotation, and in application it is the hand that has just grabbed the opponent and is pulling them onto the technique.
Video
No recording in the register is tagged to Gedan-barai. MMAKF has not filmed this technique, and the discovery pass did not find an external recording specific enough to attribute to it without guessing.
Nothing is shown here rather than a search link dressed up as a demonstration. What has been found, checked and registered is listed in full on the source register.
The video source register →