King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Hook

Punch in boxing, performed by turning the core muscles and back, thereby swinging the arm, which is bent at an angle near or at 90 degrees, in a horizontal arc into the opponent; usually aimed at the jaw or (less often) the liver

· 勾拳

Type
Punches
Martial arts
Kickboxing, Boxing
Classified as
punch
Learning path
Boxing: step 10 of 23 (intermediate), Muay Thai: step 11 of 32 (beginner)

A hook is a punch in boxing. It is performed by turning the core muscles and back, thereby swinging the arm, which is bent at an angle near or at 90 degrees, in a horizontal arc into the opponent. A hook is usually aimed at the jaw, but it can also be used for body shots, especially to the liver.

Other Kickboxing punches

Japanese terms for punches

TermReadingMeaning
正拳seikenseiken (karate proper fist); straight punch
四つ身yotsumicross-grips (situation in which each rikishi has an underarm grip on the other)
引っ掛けhikkakehook; gab
腕を返すkainaokaesuto place one's arms under those of the opponent and lift them up, in order to prevent an overhand grip on one's mawashi
上手投げuwatenageoverhand throw

External links

Facts from Wikidata Q1569895 (CC0); text quoted from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0); Subskills sports technique taxonomy (CC BY 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.