Realization of the Spring Punch

[Abstract]

Punching incorrectly can lead to fatigue and loss of power.  Hard stiff punches can send harmful vibrations right to your spine and head, resulting in headaches and dizziness.  Soft, springy punches redirects the vibrations to manifest in the hand, resulting in saved energy and no headaches.

[Purpose]

After several years of being dissatisfied with my punching method, I found a new way.  The old way would make my brain rattle in its box, causing me to get dizzy and act stupid or zoned out.  The newer method springs into action without shaking my brain.  Its faster, uses less energy, and advocates impulse force rather than pushing forces.  

[Disclaimer]

This method is something that was not taught to me by any instructor.  I developed this on my own because I was relentless at finding a solution to my punching problems.  Other people my not care about the head vibration.  And some may even attempt to get used to it.  This is my own opinion about how to punch and it is not meant to be an authority of how to punch.

[History]

My first exposure to wing chun punching came from a book, endorsed by Ip Chun.  The manuel gave step by step instructions on how to do the siu lim tao.  I liked the punches, the vertical punches, but unfortunately they always rattled my noggin, giving me a pain in the neck and/or a headache.  Keep in mind, that I am punching the air.  My kung fu brothers either weren't bothered by the head vibrations or  they simply swore off punching and just used kicks instead.

Eventually I got a real teacher.  He taught me to punch in a straight line from my sternum to my opponents nose.  The vibrations went away, but my shoulders burned.  I figured that it was normal.  How could you punch without using the shoulder muscles?  Doing push up and loads of punches would make my arms tired and my punching speed as fast as a slug and as powerful as a paper tiger.  

My punches felt powerful.  They felt strong.  Hitting the focus mitts humbled me by showing that I have to work on my power.  Not only that, I need to work on my endurance.

My pinky knuckle would eventually blister and bleed.  I was punching at an angle.  if I were to hit perpendicular to the target, I probably would be fine.  But because I was always punching upward, the fist would slide up upon Impact.

I did not like how my skin was getting hurt.  So instead of punching with a vertical fist, I used a diagonal fist instead.  The same posture as an easy curl bar.  My skin was saved after that change, but I still lacked power and I still fatigued quickly.

I didn't figure out a solution until I stayed over at my friend's Charles and Stuarts apartment.  Stuart was watching videos of his master doing fighting applications.  All it took was three words to get the gears to start turning.  three words to set into motion a theory that I would test and retest and eventually embrace.  "His punches vibrate..." was the keen observation he made.  Did he know what it really meant?

How could the vibration be worth anything?  I've seen a number of youtube masters demonstrate the vibrating punch in the air.  their claim was that it was more powerful.  I basically called it bs.  But like a good scientist, I decided to create a hypothesis and test it out.  If the vibrations is bs, then the scientific method should flush it down the toilet.

{If the vibration happens in the head, the energy is recoiling back into the body, but if the vibration manifests in the hand, the energy is in the perfect place to escape into an external body.}

Above is my theory.  Now the only thing left if to somehow make the vibration happen in my hand.  I started by throwing karate style punches.  The ones that have the elbow down and palm up and then twist at the very last moment.  I noticed that when I would punch like this, my head would shake side to side.  yeah, it was unpleasant.

Eventually I figured out how to make the vibration happen in my fist.  But let me clarify what I mean by vibration.  The karate punch ends with the palm side down, but begins with the palm up.  The punch would teeter totter around the palm side down.  When the hand rotated to the palm side down, it would bounce back and attempt to go back the opposite rotation, but then it would reverse and again, and then again and again, until the energy was dissipated.  This vibration could only be done with a loose fist, causing it to be impractical for punching.

The Shaolin Weng Chun forms taught me something about how to be soft.  The most common movement is a double chop down.  This would create a tug on my head that would also give me a headache.  Sifu simply said to get used to it.  I refused to get used to it.  Everytime I did the form, I did so without an abrupt stop.  This mindset trained me to bounce back my punches, much that same as a yoyo would return.

At first I could only do it with elbow down.  I found it by accident really...It wasn't until a few moments after did I realized I felt no headache, no vibration, and no fatigue.  Push ups ended up making it MORE powerful and MORE springy.  Clearly this punch was using a different set of body mechanics that the ones I was using before.

It finally made sense.  All those ppl claiming that they "don't use shoulder" were right.  

[Instruction]

Shoulder are using to aim, not to derive power.

Power comes from the triceps.  Doing lots of spring punches should fatigue the triceps NOT the shoulders.

You should never have to pull back your hand after executing the punch.  There is a specific point at which it can bounce back.  If you go too far, your bones will collide and that is bad.

Once you feel the springiness, try it on a wooden dummy.  If you are doing it right, the wooden dummy will bounce away from your hand as opposed to maintaining contact.  But not only that, the recoil that you will receive from the impact should either be absent or manifest in the hand.  If you feel the vibration in your head then your springy punch needs work.

Your punch needs to be like a rod with a chain attached to one end with a steel ball at the end of that chain.

[Conclusion]
Spring punches feel good.  

Wing Chun Folklore part 3: Fight for love, not victory

The girl Wing Chun had a lover that she wanted to be with.  But there was a prick of a warlord that wanted to marry her by force.

They made a bet, that if he could beat her in hand to hand combat then he could have her.  They fought.  She won.

She had a big goal.  It wasn't victory over her opponent.  It was to choose her own husband.  To chase after love.  To choose her own path,  not the one that someone else forces upon you.

She won, not because she wanted to win, but Because she wanted to love.

---
To broaden this view.  Having the right vision is very important.  In a competition, a fighter may choose to be the best.  And to be the best means claiming the title at the biggest baddest tournament.  "Being the best" is a horrible vision to have because it can backfire.

If you become the best, then what will you do.  Stop?  If you stop, then someone else will be the best.  If you don't stop then you will be constantly tested to see how long you can remain the best.


If you fall short of becoming the best then your basically a failure and will probably stop trying.

It is a lose-lose situation.

The best visions are ones that are further down the line.  Wing chun wanted to find Love and it just so happens that beating up the warlord was part of the journey.

In terms of battle, the goal is attacking the center line.  Beginners usually attack the hand or the arm.  Attacking the arm is a short sighted goal.   The only time you attack anything besides the center line is by collateral damage.  Yeah, you guessed it, the Warlord is your opponents arm.  Don't aim at the warlord.  Aim the goal further down the line.

Wing Chun Folklore part 2: My body is a temple

Five holy people gathered together to create the ultimate fighting style.  They were masters of Kung fu. But their knowledge was vast and they wanted to simplify it and make it smaller.  One of these ppl was a Monk named white eyebrow and he named the style white eyebrow. The more famous one was a nun named ng mui.  The government tried to kill all of them but these two holy ppl escaped.

Ng mui found a girl named Wing Chun and taught her this simplified Kung fu.  Wing Chun fought a few fights and won.  She asked her Sifu the name of the art and she called it "Wing Chun",  the same name as the girl.

See what I did there?  White eye brow named it white eye brow.  Wing Chun got it named as Wing Chun.  Why?  What does this all mean?

And let's not forget that the temple where the art originated was named weng Chun.  Chinese ppl and their puns.... They really like puns.  So what does this all mean?  You sir are confusing me!

Basically it means that it isn't the style that wins,  it is the individual.heck... I should t be calling my Kung fu wing Chun at all.... I should be calling it Derrick since it is me that is the driving force.  It is the user that wins, not the tool.  In otherwords,  its the horse that drives the cart full of goodies.  People tend to forget the horse and go straight for the goodies.

The temple is a metaphor that symbolizes the Inside of the the individual.  The government presented a threat to that.  The nun fled,  because she wanted to die another day.  She wanted to live until she could rebuild the temple inside someone else.  She rebuilt the temple inside the girl named Wing Chun.

Gives a whole new meaning to " my body is a temple"

@the Kung fu was inside the weng Chun temple.
@The Kung fu found wing Chun.
@The Kung fu was born inside wing Chun.

concluding notes:
People usually try to make Kung fu a thing that they do or participate in.   Something external like a tool.  A gun is a good example.  Is the gun the danger or is it the man pulling the trigger.  The true danger is in the one who made the gun in the first place.

Some will say that it was the Style of Kung fu that made them dangerous.  Some will say it was the person's mis-use of the Kung fu.  But really, the dangerous one is the one that made the art in the first place because that person had the intent of breaking people and wanted other people to follow.

Lastly, to be awesome at Kung fu, you have to be One with it.  Once kung fu has been taught to the temple, let a new form for kung fu get born within the temple.  Spread.  Pollenate. Repeat.

Wing Chun Folklore part 1: the name

Translates to eternal spring.  Is that referring to the metal coil or mating season? 

Well, both.  Cars would be very uncomfortAble without a good suspension.  No matter how much force the road hits you with, the springs can handle it.  It will take the force and just bounce it away instead of collapsing.

This is a metaphor for my punches.  I used to punch stiff and the shock wave would hit my brain hard.  After a long session of training I'd be dizzy like a drunk.  It's like driving a car without suspensions.  It is a very bumpy ride and most likely nauseating.  Once I discovered that my biceps made a great spring I've never been happier.  Gone are the days where I punch and then pull back.  I simply let them bounce back.

Eternal spring time refers to mating season.  Procreation.  It points to one possible goal.  Goals are what allows people to become successful.  Kung fu is hard work so to get through it you need a good goal.  Wing Chun is not about saving yourself cause that would be too short sighted and cowardly.  If a bad guy threatens your family with a knife a coward would run away and leave his family.  Since his goal was to save himself, running was the best option.  To fight the bad guys would be a contradiction to self preservation.  But if his goal was to protect his legacy then he must fight the bad guys to ensure that his children can have a future.   It is about saving your children.

If he is single then he must do what it takes to stay alive until he has the chance to procreate.

Also... No matter how bad and chilling the winter gets,  spring will always be around the corner and life will blossom.