“Jodan (age) Uke” (High block), is a very commonly practiced defense. It is especially used in many kihon (basic form exercises) for beginners. I will sometimes be using the word “block” all through this article, but please remember that all Karate blocks are closer to the notion of deflecting, rather than stopping the attacking motion.
Jodan (age) Uke Misuse#1:
From a self defense stand point, the main question here is: Can a “Jodan age uke” efficiently defend against a straight punch to the face?
Initially, I believe that a “Jodan age uke” was meant for one thing only, and that is to defend against an overhead strike. However, I do recognize that “Jodan age uke” could somehow also work against straight punches to the face, but only if following the “2 hands” blocking technique.
What is the “2 hands” blocking technique: If you are using your right arm to block with “Jodan age uke”, during the arming, your left hand motion (before going to “Hikité”/hip), can actually deflect the straight punch to the face sideways (similar to a “Nagashe uke” / sideways palm block), while your right arm will then simply push your opponent’s attacking arm away from you (2 moves done almost simultaneously).
If you are not using this “2 hands” technique to block a straight punch to the face using “Jodan age uke”, then I believe using only the final arm doing “Jodan age uke” is simply inefficient. The nature of “Jodan age uke”, as well as the human arm anatomy, does not allow the Karate-ka to block further forward, away from his/her face, like a “Nagashe uke (sideways palm block) would; forcing a block of the opponent’s fist way too close to the face (basically the distance between your shoulder and your elbow). This alone clearly shows that “Jodan age uke” was never meant to defend against a straight punch to the face, even when considering using usual body shifting/ angles while defending.
Personally, I would rather defend against a straight punch to the face with a simple “Nagashe uke” (Palm block), or with a ”Shuto uke” (Knife hand block), using the same “2 hands” blocking technique explained earlier (other hand motion blocking 1st before going to “Hikité”/hip). Using this technique with a "Shuto Uke" can actually deflect the straight punch to the face sideways, while both hands/arms motion are almost simultaneously deflecting the attacking arm away in the same direction. It also gives the defender the option to start blocking farther away from the face at his/her own liking (typically as far as one arm’s length)
I do have a theory about why many Dojos got misled into using only simple “Jodan age Uke” to defend against straight head punches:
Once upon a time, Karate was brought to mainland Japan. “Jodan” (head) level Karate blocks got aligned down with the body at shoulder level, in an effort to standardize Karate Katas. These changes slowly became mainstream Karate.
In older Karate, blocks used to be commonly done at Jodan (face) level in Katas.
“Old style” Shuto Uke
The standardization was never mean to prevent students from practicing “Jodan” (face) level blocks. However, the unforeseen consequence of these changes is that many Dojos simply stopped practicing “Jodan” (face) level blocks, but the “Jodan age Uke”, to the point that the simple “Jodan age Uke” became the only way to defend against a straight punch to the face (The only remaining “Jodan”[face level] block)!. To compensate for the changes in Katas, some Dojos that embraced the shoulder level block standardization, have built drills for all students to regularly practice blocks at “Jodan” (face) level.
This being said, there are a few Karate styles that have kept original blocks at Jodan level in their Katas till today.
From a self defense stand point, I believe that consistently practicing these blocks only at shoulder level is a huge mistake that can easily built false muscle memory over time. The same goes for repeatedly practicing “Jodan age Uke” to defend against straight head punches.
If you really want to take face level blocks one step further, try to figure out different ways of blocking punches at face level, and what technique is best to use according to the type of punch (Straight or Circular), as well as doing it on the inside or outside of your opponent… More research and practice for you to do with a partner!
Jodan (age) Uke Misuse#2:
From a self defense stand point, the other question here is: Can a left , or right “Jodan age uke” efficiently defend against an overhead strike coming from either opponent’s arm?
Like I mentioned earlier, I believe that a “Jodan age uke”s only purpose is to defend against an overhead strike, possibly someone holding a object / weapon and striking downward.
When practicing at your Dojo, it seems like a right “Jodan age uke” can defend against either an opponent right limb attack, or left limb attack. However, when you study a little closely, you will realize that in the real self defense world, there is no such thing as the perfectly downward/ body "center line" aimed overhead strike. Again, the human body/ arm anatomy makes it almost certain that any overhead strike would come down at a slightly “out to in” diagonal angle. For this reason, blocking an opponent right overhead strike with a right “Jodan age uke” highly increases the chances for the block to miss the attack. This is why I believe that “Jodan age uke” against overhead strike should always be done “Right arm against Left”, and “Left arm against Right”!
Time to practice!
Toronto, Alpha - KarateBoost blog