Suggestions for Improvement?

[SatyagrahaKF]

Hello. I am having a hard time developing the speed of my punch so that it is a kung fu punch and not a karate one. My sifu tells me the way you do this is by throwing out your punch with no tension in it and then right before impact you harden it. I am trying this, but it feels that I lose a lot of power. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

[Menjo]

Just make sure to use the correct body connection, i think your punch will follow.

[Kajukenbopr]

if your stance is done well, the hit should work.

you should try to relax your arm, if it gets too tense and meets a hit on your elbow(by your opponent), your arm could break easily.

also, if you are too tense, you wont be able to "feel" your opponents movements well.

[stonecrusher69]

what type of punch are you using?depending on the punch there are different ways of exicuting it..

[scottnshelly]

Don’t completely loosen your arm: that might slow you down. Keep your fist loose until impact. Less tension in the fist means more muscle focus in the shoulder and upper arm. Make sure to tighten your fist before impact though!

[SatyagrahaKF]

The type of punch I am throwing is just your basic level fist. My sifu has told me before that he believes I had studied a martial art before I started kung fu. He tells me karate because I have a lot of tension in some of my movements. I have been working on loosening up though.

[Kajukenbopr]

My style has a lot of movements of tension like in karate, a friend of mine was tyring to teach me how to loosen up(he trains in Wing Chun)- never have I gotten to that point- I didnt understand what he meant, must be a part of me already....

follow ur Sifu's advice the best you can, he will figure out what to do to make you less tense.

[Jay]

I dont know what it is but karate movements are not tense they are strong there is a subtle difference. Dont try to hit hard as that will tighten you biceps up you only want the triceps to work in this one. Just try to hit fast rather than hard, people that try to hit hard they actually have a weak hit.The faster you hit the more powerful your punch will be because Force=MassXAcceleration. Dont bother tensing at the end as that will slow the punch right at the end and that is bad a lot of people are still taught this but unless you do it properly the biceps tense and you get slowed down there will be a stage when you can just tense your fist but if you make a good fist in the first place their is no point because it doesnt make your punch stronger.

[Traditional-Fist]

Hello. I am having a hard time developing the speed of my punch so that it is a kung fu punch and not a karate one. My sifu tells me the way you do this is by throwing out your punch with no tension in it and then right before impact you harden it. I am trying this, but it feels that I lose a lot of power. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

Regular Chi kung exercises will help you relax eventually. Does your sifu teach you such exercises?

Also think about making relaxed movements when you are doing your daily chores. When punching do not tense your shoulder any more than it is naturally necessary. The tension is in the wrist/fist and the forarm muscles at the moment of impact.

Having said that, I don´t know the style of Shaolin that you practise, meaning that there may be slight changes in emphasis to what I have stated.

I remember my own sifu telling me that people with solind karate backgrounds would have a very difficult time obtaining the the relaxation required for effective Wing Chun.

[SatyagrahaKF]

I do practice Chi Kung and it has started to help me relax more with the punch. I am having a hard time with the body positioning and uses my stances to deliver power.