Hi Tim,

Firstly, I think this is a great site, loads and loads of useful info.

I’ve got a question about punching with fa jing.

I’ve been trying to get away from using arm muscle power when hitting. I was messing around just punching a door and found that if I lock my arm out straight, I can hit with a fair amount of power by gently pressing the floor with my foot, and trying to get the recoil to go through my body, through the arm into the target.

(Reason I tried with my arm locked is to stop me using my arm muscles, which otherwise just take over all the time.)

I get much better results when pressing my feet/foot down instead of trying to get power from the waist or hips.

My question is: is this the right kind of feeling, am I heading in the right direction?


Thanks.

Use your whole body bro. Power comes from the hips, legs, and pelvic girdle (remember that every major muscle group attaches to the pelvis!)
Jake

Not sure what you mean by locking out the arm. Basically the more you lock the arm and when you punch, you will feel the force travelling back up your arm, so there needs to be a certain degree of relaxation. As I was taught, the arm should not be locked as you might hurt your joints. Its that physics law about for every action.... But if you relax and keep a little bend in the elbow, the arm acts like a spring. One of my teachers used say you should "catch" your opponent's face or whatever. Combine that with what Jake said about using your whole body... When I box, I tend to push off the floor as well (my taijiquan background), but I only use it after getting a good set up like using fast jabs to annoy the hell of the guy. I'm not always consistent, I'll admit, but when I get a good hit in, it almost feels like its nothing.

Tim can elaborate if he wishes (and possibly correct me, as I am very basic yet) but force is generated in three different planes if you will:
- Horizontal = such as stepping forward to gain momentum

- Vertical = when you move forward and take a step, that lead leg will "drop" into place essentially "dropping" your body weight (gravity is a factor here as well since we are constantly under the pressure of gravity pushing us to the ground). This is what Dempsey calls a "drop step."

- Rotational = this is generated by the turning of the hips, rotation of the core, and of course proper structural alignment throughout the body.


Put these together, and you will have a good start. I stand to be corrected though.
Hope that helps,
Jake

Thanks for the replies and advice guys: that's given me stuff to think about.

I was locking my arm out at the elbow from the start. That's not how I usually punch, I was just trying to experiment, getting the feeling of using the body for power, not the triceps.

I've always thought that I should use as little muscle power as possible when striking. But then power has got to come from somewhere so that doesnt make much sense. I guess maybe I should use all the muscles - things pelvis around the spine - but just use thm properly and in sequence?

And here's another thought: If I hold a sponge to someone's head and hit the sponge with a hammer, not much will happen. If I replace sponge with a brick, energy will be transferred more effeciently into the persons head. So when striking does it not make sense for me to tense my body on impact of the punch, to transfer energy from floor to target?

Sorry if Im rambling, I cant stop thinking about these things!

"If I hold a sponge to someone's head and hit the sponge with a hammer, not much will happen."

I bet much will happen. ;-)

Experiment with what Jake said. Punches as I understand it are combinations of those three different power generation methods.

KD (remind me of your name again) -
Are you coming from a "internal" martial school? I have to caution you against some of the things you may have heard / read in regards to "internal" arts. Obviously you need muscles to generate power. It is not the size of the muscle that will make you a better striker, but you still need something to use!
It is good that you are investigating stuff prior to learning the hard way (on the street). A lot, A LOT of the •••• you see in the IMA are just that.... ••••!! Practitioner beware!
Jake

lol,

kd, just get a punching bag. xD

Im from the UK, I train wing chun, (wong shun leung lineage). A lot of wing chun is just external but the way we train is internal (though no chi or anything like that, more relaxation and good structure).
I just like to get everyone's points of view, see how how other people do things.
And I think I might just get myself a punch bag and start hitting, before I break my door (or my hand), great idea!

I tried the hammer/sponge vs hammer/brick test you recommended. The brick, being stiff, shattered without transfering much damage to the skull. The sponge however... Well, let's just say I may have to move to the UK soon.

Know any places I can crash/hide out and aquire the occasional leg up?

Bob#2

lol im glad the hammer worked for you bob#2.

I'll need a more specific street address than "lol"
And I hope your davenport isn't terribly itchey.

Bob#2