Radomir Mudrić, Milan Gužvica

The paper deals with hand block techniques used in karate. Although there is no reliable written or oral information about the earliest techniques, it can be assumed that they were block techniques, due to their self-defense nature and the character of karate skills (of course, after the stance techniques and movement stances, without which no technical upgrade would have been possible). Permanent life-threatening situations have forced man to develop the ability for any kind of defense, applying the so-called ‘atavistic’, uncontrolled and uncoordinated movements. Via everyday practical application, gradually perfecting above all open and closed hand techniques, the knowledge of the role and possibility of manipulating the fingers and hands, especially the thumb, man has quickly managed to articulate them and convert the movements into effective techniques. From these, original self-defense techniques, techniques and blocks in an almost unchanged form recognizable today were developed. With the skills being transformed to a sport discipline, improving the competing system primarily in fights, with a dominant role of attack and stroke techniques which win scoring points, block techniques have virtually lose their meaning and significance. In order to preserve this technique from oblivion, the former karate skills are applied in katas, some forms of prearranged kumite and kihon within the recreation and health practice mode, where the importance of therapeutic exercise is emphasized. The paper analyzes block techniques from a methodical, biomechanical, technical and tactical aspect, with a display of the scientific research results, which speak of their temporal characteristics, the significance and the role of the sports karate fights. The displayed techniques are illustrated with appropriate figures, images and tables.

Keywords: technique, self-defense, block, structural element, kihon, kata

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