the shuri te fist how is it made and why

[larry nicholson]

I see the shurite fist is made different I would like to know the why and how.

[Jonathan Forrester]

Hi Larry - Good to hear from you. I will try to answer your question.

How -
The Shuri-Ryu fist is made like a regular fist with the exception of the index finger. The nail portion of the index finger is kept straight with the thumb wrapped over it.

Why -
When making a regular fist with all of the fingers bent, the middle knuckle will extend slightly. The index finger will also extend forward slightly in front of the index finger. (Look at a regular fist from the index finger sideways). When making a correct Shuri-Ryu fist, the index finger flattens out making an even parallel with the middle finger. This provides a flat surface when striking. Coupled with correct wrist and arm alignment, this will provide proper bone alignment. This fist also will lower the possibility of injury to the hand.

Hope this helps - - -

[Jonathan Forrester]

Correction: The Index finger will also extend forward slightly in front of the middle finger.

[Bart Scovill]

I was shown an article once (wish I still had the copy) that explained the use of this fist. The article made no mention of Shuri-Ryu, but explained that this type of hand position was used at the higher levels of many Karate styles. Among other things, it speculated that having the index finger extended strengthened the wrist similar to when the index finger is extended when doing a joint lock.

I trained a few other styles before coming to Shuri-Ryu, and I have to admit the fist took some getting used to, but now it does feel stronger and more natural.

[Jonathan Forrester]

Article link: "Secrets of the Old Okinawan Fist"

The fist does take time to get used to - but I've done it for so long that it is my "Natural" way of making a fist now.

[Bart Scovill]

Thanks Jonathan, that's the article.

[Lawrence Jessup]

One thing I noticed when I started using the Shuri fist, it almost forced me to use the first two knukles as a striking surface. It's not a physical ramification of using the fist, more of a mental association. When you extend the index finger, it causes the first two knuckles to stand out and I think it mentally tunes you into it so you strike with them.
And as Sensie Forrester and Scovill said you can feel the alignment fall into place and strenghten the hand/wrist.
The up side is far less broken hands. I don't know how many of you saw the Uriah Faber Vs Brwon fight two weeks ago but Faber hit Brown on the top of the head and broke his hand. When the fight ended and they took off his glove and you could see the swelling and disfigurement of the pinky and ring fingers he broke. (props to him though, he broke it in the first minute of the 1st round and fought the whole 5 rounds with one hand. He used elbows, again showing the multitude of weapons available)

[SheepDog]

My Daito-Ryu Aiki-jujitsu instructor taught us to make a fist that way. It was hard to get used to... Usually in our TKD style we use the "Korean" fist (which is to say, I think, the "Shotokan" fist) or the variation with the thumb knuckle out to the side.

Regardless of how it's formed, I like the Okinawan idea (got it from "The way of kata" - Kane/Wilder) summed up by: "Hard to soft, soft to hard." Following this, you'll never slam your fist into a skull or jawbone. That's why God gave you palms!

[al mendoza]

The fist has a couple of advantages- it allows for holding small weapons, can adapt to forward first knuckle position(vertical and horizontal), can extend the first finger to poke, can be used to grab and hold/ release for a strike, is good for holding a small flag, can easily switch to/from the no no no sign, and with a bit of color will make interesting pictures while holding a brush...
Sort of like baking soda ain't it :)

[Jonathan Forrester]

No - it isn't like baking soda at all.

[al mendoza]

no sense of humor, pity

[Jonathan Forrester]

I have an excellent sense of humor - when something is funny.

However, this was a serious question from one of my friends who is a Shito-Ryu player and was trying to understand how and why we make our fists the way we do. So I thought it deserved a serious discussion. The purpose of this forum is to exchange information so I try to keep the humor to subject discussions which deserve them.

[larry nicholson]

Thank you very much, I will have to try this way.