Shuto-uke 手刀受け
Knife-hand block
The technique, and its job.
A block made with the open hand, the little-finger edge cutting outward, almost always performed in kokutsu-dachi. Because the hand is open it can become a grab or a strike in the same movement, which is why it is taught as the most versatile of the receiving techniques.
Application. Receiving an attack while withdrawing the body, with the option to grab the attacking limb and pull the opponent onto the counter.
Mechanics
What each part of the body does, in the order it does it.
- Stance
- Kokutsu-dachi, hips hanmi.
- Starting position
- Blocking hand at the opposite ear, palm toward the ear; the other hand extended forward.
- Hips
- Half-facing at the finish, which narrows the target and pre-loads the counter.
- Elbows
- Bent, held in front of the body, not locked.
- Hikite
- The other hand withdraws to the solar plexus, palm up — not to the hip, and this differs from the closed-fist blocks deliberately.
- Trajectory
- Cuts outward and forward, finishing with the hand open at shoulder height, elbow bent, forearm angled slightly forward.
- Contact surface
- The outer edge of the hand, fingers straight and together, thumb bent and tucked.
- Kime
- Sharp cut at the finish.
What survives when the name is forgotten.
- An open hand can receive, grab, pull and strike. That optionality is the technique’s real value.
- The hanmi position of kokutsu-dachi is inseparable from the block — the two are learned together.
- The fingers must be together and the thumb tucked, or the hand is a liability rather than a weapon.
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. Not attending to the hand itself.
The fix. Check the hand shape at every finish. A splayed hand breaks fingers.
Why it happens. Habit from the closed-fist blocks.
The fix. It finishes at the solar plexus, palm up, ready to strike or grab.
Why it happens. Practising the two separately for too long.
The fix. Slow repetitions insisting on one beat.
Drills
- Shuto-uke stepping backwards down the floor in kokutsu-dachi.
- Shuto-uke into nukite or into shuto-uchi, so the open hand is used as an open hand.
- Kihon ippon kumite using shuto-uke as the receipt.
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 Nidan Peaceful mind, second level
- Heian Sandan Peaceful mind, third level
- Heian Yondan Peaceful mind, fourth level
- Heian Godan Peaceful mind, fifth level
- Bassai Dai To storm a fortress, major
- Kanku Dai To view the sky, 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
- Kihon ippon kumite Basic one-step sparring
- Age-uke Rising block
- Soto-uke Outside block
- Uchi-uke Inside block
- Gedan-barai Downward sweep, low-level block
- Morote-uke Augmented block, two-hand block
- Juji-uke Cross block, X block
- Kakiwake-uke Wedge block, parting block
The Japanese, explained.
- Shuto-uke 手刀受け
- Knife-hand block. An open-handed block cutting outward with the hand edge, almost always in kokutsu-dachi, with the other hand at the solar plexus rather than the hip.
- Kokutsu-dachi 後屈立ち
- Back stance. Roughly seventy per cent of the weight on the rear leg, the feet forming an L with both heels on one line, hips half-facing.
- Hanmi 半身
- Half-facing. The hips turned roughly forty-five degrees away from the opponent. It narrows the target presented and pre-loads the rotation a counter will use, which is why so many blocks finish in it.
- Shuto 手刀
- Knife hand, sword hand. The muscular outer edge of the open hand below the little finger, fingers together and thumb tucked.
Video
No recording in the register is tagged to Shuto-uke. 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 →