By Kit Leblanc on Sunday, May 06, 2007 - 12:46 am: Edit Posthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqf42bsTXnY
By robert on Wednesday, May 09, 2007 - 06:49 pm: Edit Postironic that people who punch really hard are constantly preaching "relax"...
By Tim on Wednesday, May 09, 2007 - 08:15 pm: Edit Post"Relax" is one of the primary reasons that they do punch hard.
By Backarcher on Thursday, May 10, 2007 - 07:01 am: Edit PostVery true, Tim. Timing your relaxation and tension is key!
By robert on Thursday, May 10, 2007 - 05:56 pm: Edit Postyeah, thats why its ironic, and thats also why most people dont get it... most people think that power comes from huge muscles and volcano like tension.
By chris hein on Friday, May 11, 2007 - 12:07 am: Edit PostAnd it does.
By Jason M. Struck on Friday, May 11, 2007 - 09:51 am: Edit Posttension = force
tension = fatigue
control of repeated tension and relaxation = athletic prowess
By robert on Friday, May 11, 2007 - 12:26 pm: Edit Posti swear that this the last time i use sarcasm on this board...
By Bob #2 on Friday, May 11, 2007 - 02:25 pm: Edit Postyou just did it again.
By Walter T. Joyce, Sr. on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 10:33 am: Edit PostTim,
Would you please explain the use or absence of use of tension in striking according to the principles you teach about striking and those you were taught while studying xing I, ba gua and taijiquan?
I have read and heard both that there should be no tension at the point of impact while striking and that one should tense briefly at the point of impact.
From personal experience I have found that remaining relaxed, even at the point of impact, can be very effective.
Thank you,
WTJ
By Troy on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 01:08 pm: Edit PostYou wouldn't want to be too relaxed when you made contact, that's a lot of force and pressure on the joints. You also don't want to break anything in training, and most definitely not in a fight.
By Bob #2 on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 03:47 pm: Edit Post"anticipation...."
By Bob #2 on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 09:00 pm: Edit Post"anticipay-yaytion...."
By Tim on Sunday, May 13, 2007 - 11:24 pm: Edit PostWalter,
In general, when striking, you want to accelerate through the target. For example, if you wanted to crash your car through a wall you would have a better chance if you continued to accelerate as you hit the wall rather then if you slammed the brakes on just before you hit the wall.
If you tense your body and especially the striking limb before contact enough to slow the momentum of the strike, you will not transfer as much force to the target.
On the other hand, if you are too lax, the force of the blow will often rebound from the target back into your striking limb and body, once again lessening the transference of force into the target.
By Troy on Monday, May 14, 2007 - 03:27 am: Edit PostI always found the best way to test and experiment with proper striking (especially in solo training) is to work out on the bag. Put a pair of MMA or Boxing gloves on, and just test different things out.
You can try striking while being very tense, and also very loose and relaxed. Going from there you can feel what the middle ground is for you.