“Ikken hissatsu” (一拳必殺) – What does this maxim mean to you? How do you interpret it?
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“Ikken hissatsu” is a Japanese term that is used quite frequently in karate. The term means simply; “to kill with one blow”, or “one punch, one kill”. The exact definition is “One fist, certain death”.
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Recently a 2nd dan we know was complaining about a senior instructor, stating that he didn’t like his; [quote] “Ikken hissatsu; one punch, one kill, mentality……Good luck with that one.” [end quote] Is he right? There are certain areas where it is possible to ‘kill with only one punch’. But is that what it means?
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First off this is not a phrase that comes from the founders of Okinawan karate but rather was adopted from the mindset of Japan’s most popular art, Kenjutsu. Makes sense when talking about a razor sharp sword. This is not to say that the creators of karate did not have this mindset, just not this exact phrase.
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The concept does translate but not the same definition as in Kenjutsu, where every slash, stab or cut could kill the enemy. It just isn’t practical, or even plausible to think that every strike will kill.
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The founders of karate on Okinawa did have a similar mindset in that their goal was to end the fight as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you think of Okinawa over 150 years ago, it was sometimes a dangerous place to walk the streets at night, and there was the possibility of being attacked by multiple assailants.
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The concept of dispatching an opponent quickly was definitely a desirable concept. Did this mean that every strike killed the opponent? No. The concept was to make the opponent unable to continue their attack, so that you could possibly deal with another attacker. And if one blow wasn’t enough, then use another, and another, but each blow with “intent”, with 100% commitment.
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I think “certain death”, in the context of karate as apposed to Kenjutsu, is taken too literally, and creates an impractical expectation of skills. This I believe is what the 2nd dan was incorrectly referring to.
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Again this does not mean that a single blow can’t lead to death. It simply means that to claim that, at some point in your training, a practitioner can with each strike, affect death, is not practical nor logical, when understanding the nature of a real fight.
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My opinion is that ”Ikken hissatsu” is meant to convey the intent and focus a karate practitioner should train for, to have maximum results. Applying 100% in everything, every-time. 100% effort and commitment to the movement both physically and mentally, in every strike, kick, “block”, or punch (or every workout)…… EVERYTHING 100%….. EVERY-TIME! 
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