Meaning of 引き手 in the following sentence


In a manga about boxing, a character is explaining what the famous [Muhammad
Ali's phantom/anchor
punch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali_vs._Sonny_Liston#The_phantom/anchor_punch)
is. The phantom punch is basically a fast punch landed over the opponent's
punch, but I can't entirely understand the character explanation:

> ファントムパンチかよ… パンチより早い〝引き手〟に合わせるカウンター…

What is the meaning of 引き手? I understand it has to do with pulling something,
but I can't see how it fits the context. Also, being between quotes, I think
it could have a metaphorical meaning. Here you can see [the whole
page](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SQdbJ.jpg), while here you can se [a video of
the phantom punch in slow motion](https://youtu.be/qFA3DFFavwk). Thank you for
your help!




I think this 引き手 pretty straightforwardly refers to the movement of the fist
returning to the body after a punch was thrown. When you throw a punch, it's
always followed by a 引き手. A normal counter punch starts being thrown when the
opponent's fist is still coming toward you. But this "phantom punch" starts
_after_ the opponent's punch was thrown. It needs to be extremely fast, as you
can see in the video. Note that パンチより早い modifies 引き手に合わせるカウンター as a whole, not
引き手 alone. This パンチ is actually パンチに合わせるもの or パンチに合わせるカウンター.

> パンチより早い〝引き手〟に合わせるカウンター…  
>  A counter punch that is thrown over (the opponent's) 引き手, which is (a
> counter punch) faster than (one thrown over an approaching) punch...

These quotes are used to indicate 引き手 is not a common established term. They
add the nuance of "so to say", "as one might call it" or "so-called". 引き手
seems to mean something else in karate, but it's not a common boxing term.




I think this 引き手 pretty straightforwardly refers to the movement of the fist
returning to the body after a punch was thrown. When you throw a punch, it's
always followed by a 引き手. A normal counter punch starts being thrown when the
opponent's fist is still coming toward you. But this "phantom punch" starts
_after_ the opponent's punch was thrown. It needs to be extremely fast, as you
can see in the video. Note that パンチより早い modifies 引き手に合わせるカウンター as a whole, not
引き手 alone. This パンチ is actually パンチに合わせるもの or パンチに合わせるカウンター.

> パンチより早い〝引き手〟に合わせるカウンター…  
>  A counter punch that is thrown over (the opponent's) 引き手, which is (a
> counter punch) faster than (one thrown over an approaching) punch...

These quotes are used to indicate 引き手 is not a common established term. They
add the nuance of "so to say", "as one might call it" or "so-called". 引き手
seems to mean something else in karate, but it's not a common boxing term.

