Just
as one thinks of sticky hands along with Wing
Chun, you can also add the center line punch to
that as well. Understanding and perfecting the
center line punch is a must for those who want to
improve in the art. The center line punch is not just a way of hitting an opponent but the mother
of all motions in Wing Chun. Its key to get
this motion correctly or risk damaging your joints
if you punch wrong. Through my experience
I'd say 95% or more of the Wing Chun community end
up popping there punches. Therefore, I'll
explain the ABC's to doing it correctly, so you
can be on your way to mastering it.
When
you think of the motion of center line punch,
imagine yourself sawing a piece of wood. Thus, its
simply a push and pull motion. The key thing to
remember is that the elbow is doing all the work,
nothing else. Elbow power is from pushing and
pulling, elbow leads the motion. Chair kuen means
pull and punch.
In
the beginning, we normally start the beginner by
placing his fist roughly 6 inches away from the
sternum. There are 2 reasons for this. First of
all, this gives the beginner a sense of awareness
of where his centerline is. (Eventually, this will
not be necessary once you know where your center
is located). Second, if the fist is to close to
the sternum, then the elbow cannot be behind it,
in order to push. (Thus, the rough distance of 6
inches from the sternum.
Prior
to the punch, the fist is in a relaxed state. In
addition to that the fist that you are making is
at a slight 45 degree angle. The beginner
should not be fixated on having a clenched fist.
As Sifu Fong had instructed me, "the more
power you do the less power you'll get, you just
want the hand naturally in place. If
you force it in the beginning you won't develop
that snapping power." In other words, the
power is not going to be generated from tension or
muscle. It is the push and the follow through that
creates that explosive energy. What happens
when you use muscle. Picture this, if I'm
going to run someone over with a car, at the
moment I hit him, I don't hit the breaks, instead
I keep accelerating through him. When you
use muscle at the end of a punch, its like putting
the brakes on before the hit.
While
the punch originates at the sternum level, it will
travel on an incline at the same height of your
shoulder. Now this is very important to remember.
Failure to do the punch properly can lead to
injury to the tendons or joints by the elbow.
Remember, when you push with the elbow your simply
stretching the joints. If you punch at the same
level, you'll end up popping your elbow.
Obviously, that's bad, thus the path is from the
sternum and a rise to the shoulder once you fully
extend. At the same time, while the fist begins at
a 45 degree angle, it ends with a 1/4 turn from
the starting point.
The
rise in the forearm when punching allows for an
uprooting motion, when directed towards the
opponent.
Now
remember that the punch has 2 drilling motions in
one. There is the horizontal turn in the punch, as
well as the vertical motion of the wrist. When
done properly both interconnect with one another.
A common mistake by most individuals is to over
emphasize the vertical wrist motion. Keep in mind
if you do the motion correctly, you don't need to
emphasize the drill motion of the wrist.
When you over emphasize the wrist snap, instead of
punching through your opponent your energy then
sails upward and unfocused.
The
final hit may seem as if the bottom three knuckles
are making the contact on the target. But in
reality, the entire fist hits the opponent, the
main force is coming from the 3 bottom knuckles.
To better understand, imagine a nail by itself, if
laid onto of a chair, its pretty unstable.
However, surround the nail with cotton and then it
becomes stable. Thus, your fist when it hits
is also relaxed, the knuckles represent the nail,
and the fist is the cotton surrounding it.
When the fist hits the target, the fingers
naturally squeeze in through the force, while the
knuckles then drive through to the opponent.
You might be asking why the entire fist? Well,
imagine the fist as a triangle, if you were to hit
the target with anything but the flat surface of
the triangle, the side without the support would
collapse. However, if the triangle hits the target
flatly, then both sides would be supported.
Here's
a list of common mistakes to watch out for:
1)
Popping the elbow, this is the number one mistake
and serious cause for injury
2)
Over emphasis in the wrist snap, its a natural
motion
3)
Punch is elbow lead, not shoulder or hand
4)
When standing in YGKYM, using the entire body to
do the punch, and not just isolating the arm to do
the punch
5)
Fist is to tight before the punch and after the
punch
6)
Over extending the punch and not keeping square
7)
Too much emphasis on the punch, it comes out
naturally. If you try to hit hard, you'll
end up using muscle.
Well,
I hope this gets you started with the right
mechanical motion of the punch. Check out the Windy City Wing Chun student videos
to see how to properly punch. If you have
any questions or comments you can direct them to ed@windycitywingchun.com
