Using the WT punch in Shaolin

[dippedappe]

In Wing Tsun I learn to streach my arm all the way out when punching. Normally I punch with the hand, but now I punch with the elbow (hitting with the fist of cause), and not tightening my fist completely. When practicing my Shaolin forms, will it then be a good idea to use the same punch in a way? I mean letting the arm go all the way out, punching with the elbow and a looser arm when doing the shaolin strait punch etc.

[ovine king]

no.

[dippedappe]

Why not?

[ovine king]

different stance and hip useage.

wing chun=fixed hip structure.

typical shaolin=more fluid/dynamic hip structure.

if we are talking about about the same punch then you should realise, since you have more familiartiy with it than a wing chun punch, the movement for the punch in shaolin begins with a c*cked hip (in forms at least), usually in a open sei ping ma perpendicular to the direction you are facing. You then turn your hip which drives your rear foot into the ground, which turns the stance to bow/arrow, which drives the shoulder, which then drives the elbow and the fist follows.

in wing chun, your stance/hip structure doesn't change, with the exception of some rotation depending on how good your stance is.

they don't mix.

[dippedappe]

I wasn't referring to the stance and all that. This is all about the arm and fist techniques. I was talking about doing the exact same movements in the Shaolin forms, but in this case throw the punch with the elbow instead. Throwing the arm all the way out the WC way, with a relative loose arm and fist. In Shaolin we held the punch right before the elbow said "click", and we did it with a hard arm and fist.

[ovine king]

you shouldn't be throwing punches to full extension.

[dippedappe]

What?...I'm pretty sure that thats what I have been taught in WT. They are quite cryptic in some of the things they say, but I thought I had gotten this right.

Handwise only. Not stance and bodystructure talk included. What is a Wing Chun punch?

[viskous]

ya wing chun teaches full extension but its still a different punch i say do your shoalin forms the same as always, if you start practicing your wing chun punch with shaolin structure your not doin a wing chun punch anymore so theres no point................IMO

[White Warlock]

My opinions only, mind you.

The full-extension presented in wc is not to be considered 'standard practice' and not all wc styles encourage this during training. It is a means to develop your ability to recognize the depth you can present when striking from centerline, but the benefits of such are lost when performing side-based strikes. Also, you'll note that when you strike from centerline, using the standard wc strike, your elbow is facing down, which by the way it is used, is better defended than if you were to apply the same from a side-based strike, wherein the elbow is outside of the center and facing out, fully exposed to exploit. There's more, of course, but those are the more obvious points.

On another note, Shaolin is a generic term really. When you are talking Shaolin, what system are you referring to?

[dippedappe]

ya wing chun teaches full extension but its still a different punch i say do your shoalin forms the same as always, if you start practicing your wing chun punch with shaolin structure your not doin a wing chun punch anymore so theres no point................IMO

I dont care if it's a WC punch I do or not. I just want to punch in the most effective way I can in the individual stances.

On another note, Shaolin is a generic term really. When you are talking Shaolin, what system are you referring to?

A Northern Shaolin style. It's white dragon fist.