Suggestions for Improvement?

[Infrazael]

The idea is RELAXATION. I believe that traditioanal Okinawan Karate teaches this as well.

Also, your punch is NOT DERIVED from your arms. This may sound contradictory. . . . but your arms are only a SMALL ASPECT of a punch.

Correct stance, positioning, torso rotation, etc. . .

In terms of KUNG FU, unlike Boxing or Muay Thai, we use a Rooted stance. Meaning that the feet are firmly planted on the ground. . . .

Thus generates potentially less power than Western Boxing, but the added advantage is Root, stability, and various other, nasty things we have at our disposal. . . . Also, jamming the legs, arm bridging, longfist techniques, etc. . . all possible.

You should NOT tense up you arm. This creates less power.

Force = Mass * Acceleration (I know this has been done to death, but it's an easy model to use).

Your mass isn't going to magically increase as you punch. Thus, it is IMPORTANT to train your stances, because throwing a punch from a Rooted stance means that a huge amount of power is derived from you. . . . buttock muscles. Also, be sure to use your waist.

A tense arm = a locked arm. No power. No speed either.

(unless you're doing boxing, but that's another story. they generate power differently from kung fu anyways).

Even in Muay Thai kicking and Boxing punching I have been taught the concept of relaxation. For example, a Muay Thai roundhouse has the entire leg as a "dead leg". . . relaxed, loose, everything. Right before impact, you tense up the knees, lock your leg so it's more like a baseball bat, and SLAM into your opponent.

Your kung fu punches should be similar.

[cleung]

It's physics. Power requires speed as well as strength. If you are tight, you won't have that speed and it's not just in kung fu but all martial arts. Sting like a bee as Muhamid Ali did. Bruce Lee use to hit a piece of paper suspended from the ceiling.

[Traditional-Fist]

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.

Don't worry it will all come in good time. Just practise regularly with dedication as kung fu practise is a longterm commitment.

[Traditional-Fist]

Bruce Lee use to hit a piece of paper suspended from the ceiling.

And he adopted that right out of traditional kung fu (and later on traditional karate) training methods.

[submissionmaster]

Bruce Lee use to hit a piece of paper suspended from the ceiling.

And he adopted that right out of traditional kung fu (and later on traditional karate) training methods.

You know, his force was connected espessially with his hard training... but he was well aware of how man could connect the physics laws with spirit will. Because of his hard emotional work he fell apart

[Menjo]

Bruce Lee use to hit a piece of paper suspended from the ceiling.

And he adopted that right out of traditional kung fu (and later on traditional karate) training methods.

You know, his force was connected espessially with his hard training... but he was well aware of how man could connect the physics laws with spirit will. Because of his hard emotional work he fell apart

Interesting, i dont know alot about this subject but what do you mean he fell apart?

[submissionmaster]

He used to work much, without any rest and relaxation (i mean his telecareer) and in paralell he trained 6 times a week...so he became very nervous...and became using drugs as a form of relaxation. He fell apart in his little sport world, smashed if you want, died.

[ps1]

One thing you can do to avoid tightening your muscles when you punch is to do several, and I mean many many many (you may want a partner to help motivate you to work hard) push ups and dips. Immediately afterward, begin practicing your punches. Your muscles will be very fatigued and will want to contract only when they must...ie: when you hit the target. Be careful though, you don't want to develop poor form when doing this. It requires a very focused mind. Concentrate on pulling the punch back faster than you put it out and be sure your movement has the proper hip mechanics.

Incidentally, a good karateka (karate practitioner) also does not tense up when striking either. If you see this, you can bet they have not been training much more than 5 or so years or were not trained well.) A powerful punch must move quickly. The power of your punch is exponentially driven by it's speed with a factor of 2. Power as we utilize the term is actually just Kinetic Energy. The equation is Mass x Velocity squared. Since you can't instantly change the mass of your body, you must increase the velocity.

[SatyagrahaKF]

Thanks a lot for all the advice!! My punch is starting to get quicker and my sifus have noticed an improvement. I've been doing a lot of "Taming the Tiger" push ups, as well as knuckle ones. This seems to help along with bag training. When I do hit the bag I try to focus on the point of impact more than anything. My sifu practiced karate for 10 years and said that he much prefers kung fu because karate is too tense and wooden.