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Check with your doctor to see if karate is safe for you.
The karate chop is probably one of the best-known strikes in the martial arts. It’s been immortalized in moves and print since before many of us were born. Charlie Chan used it. Captain Kirk subdued many a bad guy with it. Kimball Kinson from E.E. Doc Smiths Galactic Patrol even used it and we should never forget Kato’s (Bruce Lee) fast action moves in The Green Hornet. We’ve all seen board breaking demonstrations of the power of this strike. Why with just a tap on the back of the neck or on the shoulder the bad guy falls out cold. That’s television and hopefully the knowledge of choreography will make you realize the majority of what you have seen is fake.
The truth is that when used correctly against the proper target; the chop is a viable, and valuable weapon. You can cause pain, paralysis, incapacitation, or even death so a great deal of care must be used when performing this blow. Never enter into a physical confrontation or use physical force against another lightly. No matter who wins, you both loose.
To begin, let us go over the proper delivery of this hand technique. To do so, you must have strong foundation so start out by assuming a fighting stance. To get into a fighting stance, turn your strongest side forward. Most people are right handed so for the sake of this article, all instruction will be given from the right side. If you are left handed, simply turn and do the same movements but use the other hand.
You wish for the opponent to have the smallest target available so turn so only your right side towards him or her. Place your feet at shoulder width apart and well under you. It is important that while doing this you don’t lock your knees. Having them slightly bent will allow you to move more quickly and easily. It will also guard against your opponent throwing a low placed kick that could cause permanent injury to your knee. Keep this in mind if you are in a life-threatening situation though. If an attacker’s knee can’t support him, he will be unable to fight or chase you.
Make sure your weight is evenly distributed between the balls of both feet, as this will also give you the advantage of speed in your movement. Whenever moving stay in a circular motion. Make sure both feet are on the ground before trying to execute a chop or any other type of strike. Keep your steps close to the ground by almost sliding your feet.
Check your stance to make sure your hips are at a 90-degree angle to your opponent. It is very easy to allow your hips to turn forward which then causes the upper body to follow. An example of this would be on the face of a clock. If your hips and chest were facing twelve o’clock, then your opponent would be at three o’clock.
Shoulders should be square over the hips and the back should be straight. Whenever fighting an opponent, keep your shoulders and head back. By leaning into the chop you leave your head open for a retaliatory strike as well as shifting your center of gravity. This shift in gravity can cause you to become off balance and give your opponent an unwelcome advantage. You may not feel your center of gravity has become off until your attacker has thrown a good punch or has time to grab your hand after you have executed one of your own. If your center is off, you could easily find yourself on your rear looking up at your opponent. If you are in a tournament ring, the judges will simply call break and allow you to get up. If you are in a life threatening street fight, you may never get up again.
Your head should be turned to face your opponent with your right fist up and just under your eye level. Your elbows are kept close to the body and the arm is in a parallel line with your side.
Now then, let's get on with the proper hand position of a chop. This isn’t that hard to do, after all you’ve seen this hundreds of times in moves, on TV, or in magazines. Flatten out the right hand and place the thumb against the hand not across the palm. Ensure that the wrist is straight. Keep the hand in a fist while you’re in the on guard position until ready to actually execute the chop.
For starters you have a forward and a reverse hand so if you throw the chop off of the forward hand it’s a forward chop, off of the backhand it’s a reverse chop. We’ll start with a forward chop. From the right fighting stance place the fingertips of the right hand to the right ear and then bring the hand down at a forty five degree angle just as if you were using an axe to cut wood only in this case your hand is the blade of the axe. Strike with the edge of the hand. Practice this move. With out practice you’ll never develop power but be careful ensure that you maintain your balance. If your opponent should move and you miss you don’t want to fall on your rear.
You only touch the ear in practice to get your form down but practice is a must. It is important to remember that off the forward hand the blow will get to the target fast whereas the back hand it will get there with more power.
The reverse chop is a little more complicated to throw but well worth the trouble of practicing. Off of the reverse hand now lift the fingers to the ear twist the torso to bring the shoulders at a ninety-degree angle to the target while at the same time pivoting on the heel of the left foot and the ball of the right foot. Again keep the body straight and maintain your balance. Bring the hand around in an arc at about a forty-five degree angle to the target.
When you first start out practicing, do so on something soft like a kick bag, pillow or even a bag of dog food. Do this practice full speed and with as much force as possible. Once you get the feel for the actual strike, alternate practice with a sparring buddy but be careful of your power. By alternating, you will retain the feel of full speed and power and are less likely to pull your strike when against an actual assailant.
Some possible targets for the chop are the back of the neck at the base of the skull, the base of the skull on the sides just behind the ears, the trachea, the side of the neck at the carotid artery and each of the collar bones.
Nothing can replace the instruction of an accredited sensei and it is to be hoped you will check out classes at a local karate school or college. It must also be remembered that no technique will work one hundred percent of the time in any given situation. This and any move must be practiced until it becomes second nature so when the actual time comes, there will be no hesitation in its execution.
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