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In a full-twist martial arts punch, the punch begins with the fist at the hip with the palm upward. The fist then drives forward, centered in front of the body. As the punch extends, the fist rotates 180 degrees, ending with the palm downward. In the three-quarter-twist punch, the fist also begins at the hip with the palm upward. As the fist drives forward, instead of being centered in front of the body, it is aimed slightly inside the line of the shoulder. As the punch extends, the fist rotates about 135 degrees, ending with the thumb side tilted slightly upward.

Background of the Twist

Some martial art styles use the full-twist punch, some use the three-quarter-twist punch, and in some, the full-twist punch is taught to color belts and the three-quarter-twist punch is taught to black belts. The reason for these differences is because the full-twist punch is more traditional, while the three-quarter-twist punch is more practical.

Some researchers believe the full-twist punch was created to make it safer to train young people. When the martial arts began to gain popularity and more children began training, some instructors tried to tone down the more dangerous techniques, so they used the full-twist punch and reserved the three-quarter-twist punch for the advanced students.

Another possible reason for the development of the full-twist punch is aesthetics. Philosophically, the martial arts are involved in the development of character. Many styles that are based on the do (way) of the martial arts have a strong sense of aesthetics. Part of this aesthetic expression lies in the use of horizontal and vertical lines. Whereas jutsu (science or skill) types of martial arts tend to use diagonal lines. For example, in Iaido (a do type art), the sword is most likely to be drawn to execute a horizontal cut followed by a vertical downward cut, while in Battojutsu (a jutsu type art), the draw-cut is more likely to be a diagonal upward slice, followed by a diagonal downward blow. Likewise, in Taekwondo, a do (way) art, the knife hand strike is performed in a beautiful horizontal movement, while in Jiujutsu, the knife hand is performed on a downward angle in the direction necessary for hitting the pressure points of the neck. Similarly, the full-twist punch uses horizontal and vertical lines, while the three-quarter-twist punch uses the diagonals.

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