A few nuanced thoughts on Hikite (still does not add power!)

https://www.iainabernethy.co.uk/ A few nuanced thoughts on Hikite! To be honest, the endless “debate” around whether it adds power or not to the other hand (it does not) is one that now thoroughly bores me. Hikite has genuine practical uses in close-range combat. The discounting of these practical purposes in favour of demonstrably false “power generation” arguments both saddens and frustrates me because it is bad for karate. Those who get it, get it. Those who don’t, don’t want to (willingly trapped in pseudo-traditional “sensei says” dogma). However, there remains a few nuances around hikite that I feel it could be useful to highlight: 1) The idea that you pull the enemy onto the strike and hence “double” the impact (like a head-on crash) is widespread, but there are some problems with that idea. In the video, I explain why it does not work in practise. 2) The hikite often pulls far less than many suppose. The problem is that many measure how far the hand moves relative to themselves; whereas it is more useful to measure its actual movement in space. This is explained and demonstrated in the video. 3) As a last-ditch attempt to justify an empty hand being pulled to the hip in combat, some reinvent what hikite is and try to argue from there. In particular, they liken it to folding an inactive arm into a guard. Whist these are very different practises, even then it fails because – when punching correctly i.e. ensuring maximum active mass – the guard is NOT “pulled” backward in space. Again, this is explained and demonstrated in the video. The video concludes with a brief recap of why the classic (but not traditional) idea of “hikite for power generation” fails, as well as looking at where this false notion comes from. As I say in the video, I have zero interest in responding to the same old tired arguments around hikite allegedly being for power generation. If people are genuinely convinced it adds power to punches, then there should be no problem showing that in practise. Film and upload a video showing how hard you can hit with that method. Should be simple enough, right? Those who hold similar views to me can then see the amount of power it actually adds as opposed to engaging in endless “theoretical” debates. To date, not a single person has stepped up and shown the method in action when I have asked (which would seem to be very telling in itself). So, if you do try to argue hikite is for power generation in the comments, know in advance I am simply going to refer you to this text and post, “Show me: hit some impact equipment with the method and film it so we can see how much power it adds in practise. No more theorising. Practical demonstration please.” Surely, that’s the best way to convince me of my alleged folly :-) All the best, Iain