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Hiji Ate, Mawashi Empi and Empi Uchi

Hiji and Empi are karate elbow strikes. Hiji and Empi both stand for the Elbow in Japanese karate, and the motion of the elbow used for striking is limited only by your own physical possibility but is mainly either upwards or sidewards.

The rising elbow smash of Hiji Ate, starts with the fist clenched at the standard preparation point at the side of the body just above the waist level. Keeping the arm bent, the fist is then brought up towards the rear of the head, in a similar motion to the answering of a telephone. This motion should engage the elbow into a front striking position and with a decent amount of power can be a very lethal close quarter strike to the under chin of an opponent.

The round elbow strike of Mawashi Empi starts with a clenched fist at the level of the chest or solar plexus. The arm and elbow should be pointed out to the side. To strike simply throw the elbow forward at this position keeping the fist close to the body. This is also known as the chicken wing strike due to the shape of the round elbow striking motion.

Elbow strikes used correctly can be very effective. The body is able to draw alot of power into elbow strike as the core muscles of the chest and torso help drive the upper arm behind the elbow. The elbow itself is also a very tough bone in the human body.