Basic Exercises
Upper Body
Isshin-ryū has 15 basic upper body techniques.
| Number | Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | seiken oi tsuki | Lunge punch | |
| 2 | jōdan oi tsuki | Uppercut | |
| 3 | seiken gyaku tsuki | Reverse punch | |
| 4 | jōdan gyaku tsuki | Reverse uppercut | |
| 5 | gedan barai; seiken tsuki | Low body sweeping block; straight punch | |
| 6 | chūdan uke; seiken tsuki | Middle body block; straight punch | |
| 7 | tegata barai; nukite | Open hand middle body sweeping block; spear hand | |
| 8 | jōdan tegata uke; jōdan tsuki | Open hand head block; uppercut | |
| 9 | jōdan uke; seiken tsuki | Head block; straight punch | |
| 10 | ura uchi; seiken tsuki | Back fist; straight punch | |
| 11 | gedan barai; go den choku tsuki | Low body sweeping block; five punches | |
| 12 | chūdan uke; go den choku tsuki | Middle body block; five straight punches | |
| 13 | shutō uchi; shutō uchi | Chop low; chop high | |
| 14 | o-uchi; o-uchi | Open hand block center chest; two hook punches | |
| 15 | Hiji no ato tsuki | Backward elbow strike |
Lower Body
Isshin-ryū has 8 basic lower body techniques. We also teach two additional kicks, one a variation on shoba konate and the other a standard reverse heel kick (ushiro geri).
| Number | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | mae geri | Forward kick, striking with the ball of the foot (koshi) |
| 2 | mae konate | Front thrust kick, striking with heel (kakato) |
| 3 | shoba geri | Side kick with ball of foot (koshi), starting from same stance as mae geri |
| 4 | shoba konate | Thrust kick to opponent's knee, striking with the edge of foot (sokutō) |
| 5 | hiza geri | Knee strike |
| 6 | fumikomi | Stomp kick |
| 7 | yoko geri | Side kick, striking with the edge of the foot (sokutō) |
| 8 | otoshi geri | Squat kick, stepping on a 45° angle and striking the opponent with the ball of the foot (koshi) |
| 9 (bonus kick!) | sokutō geri | Like shoba konate, but thrown as a snap kick (retracted more quickly) |
| 10 (bonus kick!) | ushiro geri | Reverse kick with the heel (kakato); think mule kick. |