Blocking Power

To my mind, the most difficult of the four blocks to perform is soto-uke. It is awkward and it is the hardest one to do forcefully. To work at all, soto-uke requires the proper use of your centreline.

This may be the reason that the block gets star treatment in Kihon Dosa 1. It is designed to develop centreline awareness. The block is done slowly, with tension, so the student can also get a feeling for which muscles to use and the correct way of moving the arm.

If your centre and hand aren't lined up
as you begin soto-uke, then you are
only using your shoulder strength.

To do the block properly, you have to move your centreline
and arm together, with a rolling motion of the hips.

Beginners are taught a large, basic block motion. However, senior practitioners should be aware that this motion is larger than it needs to be and ineffective in parts. The usual starting position for soto-uke has the student take their blocking hand to their opposite hip, while their centreline faces forward.

If the instructor grasps the blocking hand in this position, the student won't be able to perform the block. Since their centre and blocking hand aren't lined up, the student can only use their shoulder strength.

For the soto-uke to be strong, the arm and centreline have to move together through the entire blocking motion. To get the proper feeling, try this exercise. As you stand in forward stance ready to block, have someone hold onto your forearm with one or two hands.

Now perform the block by rolling your hip in an exaggerated manner, always moving your arm and centreline together. At the end of the block, don't try to angle your arm out past the centreline, because this is a weak position. Concentrate instead on pulling your elbow toward your centreline.

Your whole body should move together. If the arm moves alone, then the block will be weak.

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