Gyakuzuki while retreating and taking an angle

https://www.iainabernethy.co.uk/ Some clips from one of the drills we did in the dojo last night. We had been working on throwing punches while retreating. In this clip, we specifically look at throwing a reverse-punch / cross / gyakuzuki while retreating and taking an angle. The idea is the opponent has explosively advanced with a jab. We immediately move offline and back (away from the opponent’s other hand) while throwing the punch. We don’t move then punch (too slow) or punch then move (we may get hit by the jab). The movement and punch are simultaneous. We get power by leaning the top half of the body in the direction of the strike, and by making use of the opponent’s forward motion. Some folks don’t like this because you are hitting while in the air (myth of “you need to be rooted in a good stance to hit hard”) and leaning forward (myth of “the spine must always be straight up and down as ‘good posture’ is a needed to hit hard). There’s also the falsehood of you being “off balance”. If you are exactly where you meant to be, then your NOT “off balance”. Bottomline, I have a room full of karateka who can hit powerfully this way and regularly use the method effectively in sparring. Cicero was right when he said that assuming something is impossible because we personally can’t do it is a common human error. Sadly, karate has developed some problematic dogma based solely on arbitrary aesthetics. As one of my instructors says, “Seek function and aesthetics develop as a side product of efficient movement. However, if we primarily seek an arbitrary aesthetic, there is no guarantee of function.” While this is primarily a method for consensual violence / fighting it does have use when keeping mobile and maintaining space when escaping groups. My App: https://iainabernethy.co.uk/iain-abernethys-applied-karate-kata-bunkai-app Shop: https://iainabernethy.co.uk/shop/ My Newsletter: https://www.iainabernethy.co.uk/join-newsletter-and-get-two-free-e-books