Also, "Kaiten Nage," page 250-255 of A. Westbrook and O. Ratti, Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere: An Illustrated Introduction, Tuttle, 1970.
Also, "Vagus Nerve (Kube Shioku Yoko Nage)," page 130-131 of George Kirby, Jujitsu Nerve Techniques: The Invisible Weapon of Self-Defense, Black Belt Books, 2001..
Also, "Monkey threading a needle," page 169 of Patrick McCarthy, The Bible of Karate Bubishi, Tuttle, 1995.
Also, "Spinning the Mark," pages 47-54 of Quinn, Peyton, A Bouncer's Guide to Barroom Brawling: Dealing with the Sucker Puncher, Streetfighter, and Ambusher, Paladin Press, 1990.
Steps 18-21 are the four knife-hand "blocks" at the end of Heian Shodan. "Shuto uke" is the knife-hand block. "Shuto uchi" is the knife-hand strike. In H. Shodan, that flat hand out in front is striking, not blocking. The block happens earlier, during the stackup of the technique.
The modern shuto uke in backstance isn't the historical technique. The original version swung both hands in the same direction, using hip rotation in the same direction as the sweep of the hands. Both hands struck the punching arm, one at the wrist and one at the bicep/deltoid notch. It was a circular (soft-style) technique that deflected the opponent's arm sideways.
The modern technique has been modified by the addition of hiki te (pullback hand) dynamics. The hands move in opposite directions, linked by contracting muscles across the shoulder blades. The power of the "block" is directed straight ahead, and comes from the hind foot through a focused rotation of the hips at the moment of impact. (Most students have never mastered this hip rotation, and therefore have weak blocks.) This is linear (hardstyle) technique, driving power directly into the opponent's body. The point of contact is still the bicep/deltoid notch of the upper arm, where a sensitive nerve is exposed against the bone.
For kata testing, we must demonstrate the modern version of shuto uke. For applications, however, I think our students are better off with the ancient version. It is much easier to do, and is very practical. The two-handed block makes it easy to stun the punching arm and capture it.
Here's the drill for teaching the applications of shuto uke/uchi:
- Stand in "yoi" stance (shizen tai or hachiji dachi). Your opponent takes a left front stance at a distance that will force him to step in deeply to reach your face. (All ippon kumite begins this way.)
- Have your opponent step in (right foot) and perform a wide, swinging punch to the face. Use the punch you are likely to meet in a bar, not the linear oi zuki.)
- You will step forward with your right foot, turn into the punch, and block with two shuto ukes. Your left hand strikes his wrist, holding it away from your face. Your right hand cuts into the bicep/deltoid notch, which is the dip in the muscles about halfway down the upper arm. (You'll know when you have hit the right spot because your opponent will start to complain and rub his arm between attacks.)
- After stopping the punch, close your left hand around his wrist. Use your right hand to deliver a sharp shuto-uchi to the vagus nerve in the side of his neck, about two inches below the earlobe. You can probe for this spot using the tip of your thumb until you find it. It is very sensitive to pressure.
The shuto to the side of the neck is painful and disorienting, so we don't really do it to our practice partner. Stop the blow two inches short of the target. - With the opponent stunned by the neck blow, it is relatively easy to throw him on his back. The technique is Ami Uchi or Kaiten Nage from aikido (references above). It involves gestures that are exactly like stepping in and stacking up for the "next" knife-hand block.
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After striking the opponent's neck, let your right hand grasp his neck. (Your palm is on the side of his neck below his right ear, so your fingers hook around to the nape of the neck.) Use your left hand, still gripping his wrist, to push his arm down and to his rear, just touching his right hip in passing. Continue to move his arm back and up, locking the shoulder. At the same time, pull down on his neck with your right hand, forcing him to bow. By pushing down on his neck and levering up on his arm, you can flip him into a forward roll. He ends up on the floor and you still have his right wrist. You can proceed to a submission hold from there.
Peyton Quinn illustrates this technique as "Spinning the Mark" in his book on barroom brawling, but instead of flipping the enemy over on his back he just keeps him bent over and knees him in the face over and over. (Reference above.)
To teach that drill using the fully-modern shuto-ude/uchi technique, simply change the initial block. Instead of using the two-hand shuto-uke, have the student "stack up" for a right shuto-uke. The student's right hand crosses to the left side to intercept and deflect the incoming punch. That's the "block." The student's left hand reaches toward the opponent to work some nerve mischief. For instance, the student can use the knife-edge of the left hand to strike the bicep/deltoid margin. He can also jab the fingertips into any number of other nerve pressure points exposed in the opponent's face, throat or shoulder. Jamming the fingertips into the arm pit works wonders. This technique is called "monkey threading a needle" in the Bubishi, the ancient textbook of Okinawan karate.
But that was just the stackup! The student now completes the shuto-uke by stepping in with the right foot, drawing the left hand back to trap the opponent's right wrist, and striking shuto-uchi to the side of the neck. Then execute the ami uchi throw as before.
