The Karate Method of Striking

  When we practice Taekwondo, we must remember that a great deal of our techniques originate from Japanese Karate. Understanding your origins is very important, so here is a post detailing Karate hand strikes, in particular the standard punch.

 

We will start with the "tsuki" (thrust or strike in Japanese). Some terms you might need to know when reading this are "Kihon" (fundamental), "Ken"(fist), and "Sei" (correct or proper). These are often combined, eg. "Seiken"(Proper fist or horizontal punch).

A basic understanding of muscle groups and how they work is also important, so I would recommend keeping a Google tab open to look up what you don't understand!
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1 - KEEP THE SHOULDERS DOWN, AND FIRM AGAINST THE TORSO:
  This is in reality an oversimplification, as the shoulder should ASSIST the movement, but for developing an isolated Kihon Tsuki, lowering the shoulder girdle is the order of the day (With or without significantly abducting the shoulder girdle, which some styles do, like Shotokan). It is done mainly by contracting the Latissimus Dorsi and Serratus Anterior muscles*, which pull the shoulder girdle down and brace it against the torso, for more effective force transfer through postural structure (By this meaning the structure that you create in your torso by adjusting your posture, which is equally as important as the structure your limbs create by moving).

2 - THE PUNCH COMES FROM THE ELBOW, NOT FROM THE FIST:
    In order to create proper structure for a basic Tsuki, the trajectory has to be as straight as possible. For this, the shoulder joint flexes first, and then rotates medially, mainly through action of the Anterior and Lateral Deltoids, the Pectoralis Major and the Latissimus Dorsi (Along with minor action from other muscles), while the Triceps Brachii extends the elbow joint*. Visualize trying to “push” the fist, with the elbow, and THROUGH a target.

3 - DO NOT TWIST THE WRIST:
    Twisting the wrist (Forearm pronation*) causes the forearm bones to come out of alignment, and your Seiken will not be properly supported by the elbow nor make contact properly, making your punch less effective and potentially dangerous for your hand. While there IS wrist action during a Tsuki, it is mostly due to a return to a more neutral position during the punch, as the Hikite has the forearm almost completely supinated*, along with a slight abduction in order to fully expose the Seiken, although at a proficient level it integrates with item 4 and can be used to augment the effects of items 1 and 2.

4 - AIM WITH THE SEIKEN: I
  Imagine a straight line running from the crook of your elbow, through the Radius bone and past your wrist. You should align your fist so that the Index finger's knuckle and Metacarpal bone lie on that line, by, as previously mentioned, bringing the forearm to a neutral position and abducting the wrist slightly. That way, the elbow pushes "into" the seiken as the arm extends. This will only change when we start to deal with variant punches, where the alignment must change to follow the trajectory of the strike.
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Many thanks to Fish of Doom for letting me use his guide on this matter!