Oi-zuki 追い突き
Lunge punch, stepping punch
The technique, and its job.
A punch delivered by the hand on the same side as the stepping foot, arriving as the step lands. The whole body mass travels into the target, which makes it the heaviest punch in basic karate and the slowest to arrive — the trade that defines it.
Application. Closing a large distance with maximum weight behind the technique. In sport kumite it is rarely thrown as a first attack against an alert opponent because of what it costs to commit, but it remains the standard by which basic power is judged.
Mechanics
What each part of the body does, in the order it does it.
- Stance
- Zenkutsu-dachi, stepping through into zenkutsu-dachi.
- Starting position
- Rear hand chambered; the rear foot begins the step.
- Hips
- Square at the finish. The hips travel forward with the step rather than rotating.
- Shoulders
- Square and level. The commonest fault is the punching shoulder reaching ahead of the hip.
- Hikite
- The lead hand withdraws to the hip as the punch extends, on the same beat as the foot landing.
- Trajectory
- The punch begins only as the stepping foot passes the supporting leg, and finishes exactly as the foot lands. Too early and the body arrives after the fist; too late and the momentum has already been spent.
- Contact surface
- First two knuckles, arm almost but not completely straight.
- Kime
- Foot, hip and fist arrive together. If they do not, there is no kime — only a punch and a step.
- Distance
- One full step. It is the technique that covers the most ground.
- Timing
- Committed. Once the step begins there is no recalling it.
- Breathing
- Exhale through the step, sharpest at the landing.
What survives when the name is forgotten.
- The timing IS the technique. Fist, hip and foot on one beat is the entire lesson.
- It is the most committed attack in the syllabus, and therefore the most punishable. Distance and timing have to be right before it is thrown.
- The step must not rise. A head that lifts through the step is visible from across the dojo, and from across the tatami.
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. Anxiety to arrive, or practising the arm and the leg as separate actions.
The fix. Step first with no punch at all, then add the punch and insist it starts only as the foot passes the supporting leg.
Why it happens. Pushing up off the back leg instead of pulling with the front hip.
The fix. Step under a low bar, real or imagined. Keep the crown at one height.
Why it happens. Reaching for the target rather than travelling to it.
The fix. Keep the shoulders square to the hips and let the stance deliver the distance.
Drills
- Stepping up the floor without a punch, watching head height and stance width.
- Stepping with a partner holding a pad at the exact landing distance, so early and late are both obvious.
- Counting the beat aloud: one movement, one sound.
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
- Jion Compassion and kindness; also the name of a Buddhist temple
- Kanku Dai To view the sky, major
- Maai Engagement distance
- Gohon kumite Five-step sparring
- Sanbon kumite Three-step sparring
- Kihon ippon kumite Basic one-step sparring
- Choku-zuki Straight punch
- Gyaku-zuki Reverse punch
- Kizami-zuki Jab, leading-hand punch
- Age-zuki Rising punch
- Tate-zuki Vertical-fist punch
- Ura-zuki Close punch, inverted punch
- Morote-zuki Double-hand punch, augmented punch
The Japanese, explained.
- Oi-zuki 追い突き
- Lunge punch. A punch with the hand on the same side as the stepping foot, arriving exactly as the step lands.
- 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.
- Kime 決め
- Focus, decision. The instant at which every part of the body arrives at once and the technique becomes solid — and the instant immediately after, when it relaxes again. Kime is a moment, not a state. Tension held after impact is tension that slows whatever comes next.
- Zenkutsu-dachi 前屈立ち
- Front stance. A long stance with the front knee bent over the foot and the back leg straight. About sixty per cent of the weight is on the front leg.
Video
No recording in the register is tagged to Oi-zuki. 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 →