One thing that I have been emphasizing with my Tang Soo Do students that train with me at the university is the importance of rotating their wrists while they are doing their hand techniques. This applies to all hand techniques. When doing techniques in the air, it can be very easy to miss this, but when training on a bag or with pads, it is so easy to see the increase in power and speed from implementing this change.
Really, along with hip rotation, wrist rotation is a limiting factor for our technique when it comes to speed and power. We can only execute a technique as fast as our wrists and or hips rotate. When trying to get a pop out of our uniforms on a technique, we must also allow for the rotation on our chambers. If we prepare for the technique without positioning the wrist properly in the chamber position, we will have no rotation and thus no power. While chambering for a low block, the blocking hand must have the palm facing the face. While chambering for a high block, the blocking hand must be turned palm up and the hip. For Inside to Outside Block, the hand doing the block must be chambered with the palm facing down at the hip to allow for the rotation and the power.
When focusing on the most raw application of the blocks, the final rotation of the wrist is what pushes or receives the opponent’s attack depending on the intention and energy of the defense. In a deeper but still simple application of an armbar, this rotation is where the arm bar is applied and the opponent is taken down. Without this rotation, the take down is more so reliant on raw muscle than on technique
When doing a straight punch, the punching hand must always spiral from the guard position to the target to achieve power. This holds true regardless of the style that is being practiced whether Karate like styles or boxing like styles. In boxing the rotation is also twofold. On a jab, there must be a swift rotation back to the guard position to protect the face.
Are you rotating your wrist enough on your techniques? If not, give it an intentional try and see how your technique evolves.
