Shuto-uchi 手刀打ち
Knife-hand strike
The technique, and its job.
A strike with the little-finger edge of the open hand, travelling in an arc to the neck, temple or collarbone. The open hand concentrates the force on a narrow edge, which is why it is aimed at soft or bony targets rather than at mass.
Application. Striking the neck or temple after receiving an attack, particularly following a shuto-uke that has grabbed and pulled.
Mechanics
What each part of the body does, in the order it does it.
- Starting position
- Striking hand raised beside or behind the opposite ear, palm toward the ear.
- Hips
- Rotate into the strike; the arc is driven by the body turning.
- Elbows
- Extends through the arc, staying slightly bent at impact.
- Hikite
- Withdraws sharply to accelerate the strike.
- Trajectory
- An arc travelling outward and forward — either inward across the body (uchi) or outward away from it (soto).
- Target
- Side of the neck, temple, collarbone, floating ribs.
- Contact surface
- The muscular edge of the hand below the little finger, fingers together and straight, thumb bent and tucked.
- Kime
- Sharp snap at impact, the hand tightening at the last instant.
What survives when the name is forgotten.
- The hand tightens only at impact. A hand held rigid through the arc travels slowly.
- It is a strike to a specific small target, not a general blow.
- The same hand shape as shuto-uke, which is why the block converts into the strike so readily.
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. Poor hand shape, or a bent wrist at impact.
The fix. Strike a focus pad slowly, checking the contact point each time.
Why it happens. Neglecting the hip.
The fix. Strike with the feet fixed and the hips turning; the arm follows.
Drills
- Focus-pad work at neck height, alternating inward and outward strikes.
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 Sandan Peaceful mind, third level
- Heian Yondan Peaceful mind, fourth level
- Bassai Dai To storm a fortress, major
- Jitte Ten hands
- Defensive kumite Defence and counter
- Uraken-uchi Back-fist strike
- Tetsui-uchi Hammer-fist strike
- Empi-uchi Elbow strike
- Haito-uchi Ridge-hand strike
- Teisho-uchi Palm-heel strike
The Japanese, explained.
- Shuto-uchi 手刀打ち
- Knife-hand strike. A strike with the little-finger edge of the open hand, travelling in an arc to the neck, temple or collarbone.
- Shuto 手刀
- Knife hand, sword hand. The muscular outer edge of the open hand below the little finger, fingers together and thumb tucked.
- 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 Shuto-uchi. 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 →