What is the difference between a punch (tsuki) and a strike (uchi)?
A tsuki is a straight thrust driven from the hip with the two large knuckles (e.g. oi-zuki, gyaku-zuki). An uchi is a swinging or circular strike using the back-fist, hand-edge, fingertips, palm-heel or elbow (e.g. uraken, shutō-uchi, empi).
What are the main karate punches?
Oi-zuki (lunge punch), gyaku-zuki (reverse punch) and kizami-zuki (lead-hand jab) are the three fundamental punches.
What are the open-hand strikes in karate?
Shutō-uchi (knife-hand), haitō-uchi (ridge-hand), nukite (spear-hand) and teishō-uchi (palm-heel) are the main open-hand strikes, plus the elbow strike empi-uchi.