Uchi-uke 内受け
Inside block
The technique, and its job.
A block travelling from inside the body outward, meeting the attack with the inner forearm. It is the natural partner to soto-uke, covering the line that block does not.
Application. Clearing a straight middle-level attack off the centre line and countering into the space it leaves.
Mechanics
What each part of the body does, in the order it does it.
- Stance
- Zenkutsu-dachi or kokutsu-dachi.
- Starting position
- Blocking arm crossed low across the body, the other arm extended.
- Hips
- Rotate to drive the block outward.
- Elbows
- Remains bent and close to the body throughout.
- Hikite
- Withdraws to the hip on the same beat.
- Trajectory
- Sweeps upward and outward from the centre, finishing with the fist at shoulder height, elbow bent at about ninety degrees, forearm vertical.
- Contact surface
- The inner forearm.
- Kime
- Sharp at contact, the forearm arriving rather than pushing.
What survives when the name is forgotten.
- Outward from the centre: it clears the centre line, which is the line most attacks travel along.
- The forearm finishes vertical. A forearm that finishes horizontal has become a push.
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. Using the shoulder to generate the movement.
The fix. Keep the elbow in and let the hip supply the force.
Why it happens. Over-travelling past the shoulder line.
The fix. Stop at the shoulder line. Anything beyond it opens the ribs.
Drills
- Uchi-uke stepping down the floor.
- Uchi-uke into gyaku-zuki, and into kizami-zuki, so the same block feeds two different counters.
This one is not settled.
See the note on soto-uke: which of the two is called "inside" and which "outside" is not consistent between Shotokan organisations.
It is written here rather than resolved silently, because a student whose instructor teaches it the other way should find that acknowledged and not contradicted.
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
- Kanku Dai To view the sky, major
- Go-no-sen Late initiative — block, then counter
- Defensive kumite Defence and counter
- Age-uke Rising block
- Soto-uke Outside block
- Gedan-barai Downward sweep, low-level 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.
- Uchi-uke 内受け
- Inside block. A block travelling from inside the body outward, meeting the attack with the inner forearm and clearing the centre line.
- Chudan 中段
- Middle level. The torso, from the collarbone down to the belt. It is the level most often attacked in basic practice, because it is the largest target and the one a beginner can strike with control.
Video
No recording in the register is tagged to Uchi-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 →