In recent postings the statement "There are no snap punches in Isshinryu" rose its ugly head whereby I felt the need to step in and speak up. I practice the Isshinryu system and I was taught to use a snap punch for various techniques. I was also taught how to use a thrust punch as well as form the fist in a variety of forms depending on the technique. I use the thumb on top form for a lot of my Isshinryu but I don't restrict it to just what someone believes is strictly Isshinryu or strictly NOT Isshinryu.
First, when anyone speaks up and makes a blanket statement such as "there are no snap punches in Isshinryu" or anything else similar I take a quick double take. Maybe as originally taught to some early pioneers Tatsuo-san didn't teach snap punching. Then again, Tatsuo-san vacillated between the vertical punch and the twist punch for years which means some Isshinryu practitioners use the vertical fist and some the twist punch and some both but that does not mean they are or are not Isshinryu.
There is at least one or two first-generation (another topic of heated discussion as to what this means ;-) students of Tatsuo-san who were taught snap punching can speak up and say that this is what Tatsuo-san taught them and you know what .... I believe both sides of this discussion. I believe depending on the time of study that one may or may not have received the same instruction from Tatsuo-san and his leading assistant instructors be they Shinsho, his second son, or those Marines who ended up doing most of the teaching for Tatsuo-san.
The snap punch has it uses much like the hard-to-soft/soft-to-hard maxim. If you take your karate, or Isshinryu, out of the closet and into the light, i.e. beyond the basics, you will find that depending on the moment, the situation and the applications your punching, kicking, elbowing, etc. will differ from some strict cult like rule saying you can't change the original Isshinryu that Tatuso-san taught.
Take the vertical punch, depending to the size of opponents and the targeting not to leave out positioning, etc. it can be effective and it can be ineffective. As a basic teaching form for novices it helps explain many of the principles involved in applying speed, power and force when punching/striking but once you leave that arena all bets are off in the fight for defense on the streets. If you remain cultishly stuck in using the vertical fist because it was taught that way you just might get your assed handed to you by your adversary.
To remain true to a traditional form of karate is fine as to the more esoteric meaning of practice but to keep it practical and relevant to modern day defense you have to have the flexibility to change according to the moment and that means chaos in reality training, etc.
Then, if you are in karate, Isshinryu, for the more sportive aspects then the snap punch will work just fine to get that point to win that trophy but it also has its use in the fight.
Then you have to consider its usage for the type of defense. Take the differences in violence in either social or asocial situations. You have to work this stuff out to see if anything is effective in either or both types when avoidance and deescalation fail to get the job done.
Finally, analyze the snap punch in its various applications according the the universal fundamental principles of martial systems. If it does work and it fits within the realm of principle application, effective principle application, then it works.
I also tell folks who are told, "it ain't in Isshinryu," that if this is true then all those bunkai developed over the years by luminaries like Harrell Sensei are not Isshinryu either. Depending on when you trained with Tatsuo-san then the vertical fist is NOT Isshinryu either.
Practice and use the snap punch if it works for you and if it does and you practice it within the realm of Isshinryu karate, then it is Isshinryu karate.
Note: one such technique is to strike the neck at about the carotid artery area where a snap punch with controlled power works vs. a hard blow that could kill. Notice that this technique regardless of the strike used is dangerous and could lead to death of the adversary. Remember that fighting is illegal and causing death without justification in self-defense is illegal but you get the drift, right?
Addendum dtd September 10th, 2013: Think of the snap punch vs. the thrust punch, i.e. dead energy vs. live energy from universal fundamental principles of martial systems. Dead energy is more a push or thrusting energy while live energy is manifested in a punch like the snap punch. When we snap a punch we conduct wave energy, focusing an instant moment, sharp, of live energy against the target. By snapping we focus most of the force in that small contact point so that point will bear the full force of the punch, i.e. the rooting of the body, the body mass movement, the sequential locking process with alignment and posture, up to the wave energy conducted into that one small point or target causing damage. Often the snap punch is supplemented with dead energy due to variations in applied principles but the idea is to do damage while not moving the adversaries body and with full dead energy we penetrate and move the mass of the body with the mass of our bodies along with other principles and variables to do damage. In other words, both have value and are used according to the situation, technique and targeting, etc.
I quote, "We must snap the full weight of our bodies in all techniques and yet remain in enough control of that energy to apply it appropriately given the technique and its context." - Steve J. Pearlman, The Book of Martial Power, chapter 54, page 212.
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