Bao wrote:Karate I presume?
Sports Karate? If you hit with good punch, why would it be necessary to retract the punch?
Focus should be on penetrating the target as deep as possible IMO.
i dont know if this is pointed to my post ? anyway, in my post i wrote about my AIKIDO teachers teaching on the retraction of ones strike as in some way to pull out the opponents chi, now this was al explained theoretically and was not something we practiced and tried to achieve during Aikido class, in class the opposite was done, throwing a punch trying to physically go tgrough so the other was to borrow/blend with that momentum...... however you are right the retraction of ones punch is done during karate sparring/fighting although the punch is quite comitted, maybe one manage to pull away some of the opponents Qi, however from my own experience its to reload for an eventual next punch, a next punch which should not be neccesary), and its proper conduct to show even that you scored you are still there ready and aware - zanshin - remaining heart(but that part beginning to go lost, i guess) ......Heres a gallery of karate striking