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Mawashi Uke

Mawashi Uke is a karate block. Pronounced 'mar-washy-hooky'. This block is a double arm block using a rotation technique that lends to the name of Mawashi Uke, the round block. Used in many styles of Karate and Eastern Martial Arts, the Mawashi Uke is one of the hardest blocks to master in the entire karate syllabus.

An open handed block using one hand up and one hand down, with the arms in the position of a clock reading 12;30. The motion of the block then see's one hand rotate downwards while bringing the opposing hand upwards in a round circular motion. The palm of the hands should both be rotated to face the same direction.

This block can be used both as a strike on an opponent and as a way of releasing from an attacker who has grabbed you with both hands. Quickly switching and passing the arms of the opponents who is caught up in this technique could result in the attacker been left with snapped or broken arms if the technique is carried out effectively.

Lots of practise and patience is needed to perfect this block due to the complexity of the blocking motion.