(Full speed video)

Dropping Block & Outside Forearm Block

Japanese Term:

Uchi Otoshi & Soto Kote Uke (OO-CHEE-OH-TOH-SHEE & SOE-TOH-TOH-KOH-TAY-OO-KAY)

Instructions:

The transition consists of taking the hiki-te hand and forming a heel palm. This requires bending the thumb next to the palm, while the fingers are held together and bent at the second knuckle. The palm moves upward and forward in a circular motion. At the forty-five degree angle, the hand should be as high as the top of your head. Bend the hand back extending the heel of your palm out. Continue in a downward, diagonal (45 degree) line; like forming half of an X. It passes through the shoulder, solar plexus and then kidney, blocking the incoming technique with the heel of the palm. At this point, the opposite arm is held against the chest, palm up. The striking hand closes to form a fist, palm up, and should be positioned under the opposite forearm. The blocking fist should be under the opposite elbow, while the other hand is held against the bicep of the opposite arm. The arms should be flush with the chest and each other. The blocking arm then rises at the elbow, three to four inches, then the forearm rotates outward, passing the face to the outside. The hammer side of the fist lines up with the ear, and the hand is as high as your eye. The forearm is held at a one hundred degree angle to the floor.

This is the most challenging hand technique. Remember to watch the tutorial several times. Pay close attention to the hand positions and the angle that the arm follows on the dropping block. The dropping block always passes through a forty-five degree angle. It should not drop vertically or move horizontally.