# About the straight punch



## Decker (Sep 22, 2007)

Hi.

I happened to graze the surface of Richard Ryan's Dynamic Combat Method (http://www.dynamiccombat.com/indexfl.html), and noticed that the straight punch he advocates is extremely similar, if not the same, as how Wing Chun's is described.

Unfortunately, I was unable to go into depth of this simple yet interesting technique, so I hope to learn from y'all about it.

Is the straight punch really just a simple straight punch, or are there more, (I'm pretty sure there are ) finer nuances than meets the eye?

I hope y'all could enlighten me on this topic as much as mere text allowed.

Also, I hope I'm not asking something that shouldn't be asked...
I have tried search and found some useful tips, but that's all...
I've heard knuckle/fist pushups help too...

And, if it helps, I have a base in Taekwondo and Sports Kenjutsu/Japanese swordfighting.

Thank you all very much.


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## brocklee (Sep 22, 2007)

Decker said:


> Hi.
> 
> I happened to graze the surface of Richard Ryan's Dynamic Combat Method (http://www.dynamiccombat.com/indexfl.html), and noticed that the straight punch he advocates is extremely similar, if not the same, as how Wing Chun's is described.
> 
> ...



Hello 

Our centerline punch has a very simple concept, but its very difficult to learn.  I must have thrown well over 70,000 punches before I got it down.   Probably about 3 or 4 months  practicing every day, 800-1500 throws.


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## wck dallas (Sep 22, 2007)

I'm not experienced like alot of ppl here... but in my school, Sifu explains that in wing chun our straight punch is "thrown" out on the tendons and rebounds off the tendons for speed etc.  with the muscles having little to do with it. not that I've mastered it...but to answer your question...there is more to it than just a straight punch.


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## brocklee (Sep 22, 2007)

wck dallas said:


> I'm not experienced like alot of ppl here... but in my school, Sifu explains that in wing chun our straight punch is "thrown" out on the tendons and rebounds off the tendons for speed etc.  with the muscles having little to do with it. not that I've mastered it...but to answer your question...there is more to it than just a straight punch.



That's right   no muscle


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## qwksilver61 (Sep 22, 2007)

Practice,opinion & theory;a fist in the upright position is a more natural position as opposed to turning the wrist to the side.Also when striking you will notice rather than hitting with the first two knuckles,the vertical sun punch strikes using the surface area of the last three.The elbow/shoulder generates the forward momentum along the center line to form a triangle when fully executed without being hyper-extended.My instructor used to discourage any kind of weight training or push-up,he explained that any kind of tension only serves to slow a person down (ie;bicep,tricep working against each other)or in other words liken it to accelerating with one foot on the brakes.Yes, repetitive chain punching gets rid of the urge to want to tense up and *power* thought your opponent with brute force, it also builds a whip like smacking power through repetitive wall bag training while preserving the gravity of the trunk.
The end result is a kind of quick springy flexible body.Hope this helps.


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## brocklee (Sep 22, 2007)

qwksilver61 said:


> Practice,opinion & theory;a fist in the upright position is a more natural position as opposed to turning the wrist to the side.Also when striking you will notice rather than hitting with the first two knuckles,the vertical sun punch strikes using the surface area of the last three.The elbow/shoulder generates the forward momentum along the center line to form a triangle when fully executed without being hyper-extended.My instructor used to discourage any kind of weight training or push-up,he explained that any kind of tension only serves to slow a person down (ie;bicep,tricep working against each other)or in other words liken it to accelerating with one foot on the brakes.Yes, repetitive chain punching gets rid of the urge to want to tense up and *power* thought your opponent with brute force, it also builds a whip like smacking power through repetitive wall bag training while preserving the gravity of the trunk.
> The end result is a kind of quick springy flexible body.Hope this helps.



Great description.  The arm following the center line is kind of against the natural motion of the arm, but other then that....right on.  The fist should follow the center line and the arm follows the natural line of the forward going triangle.  That's merely a difference it in grand masters.


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## Touch Of Death (Sep 22, 2007)

qwksilver61 said:


> Practice,opinion & theory;a fist in the upright position is a more natural position as opposed to turning the wrist to the side.Also when striking you will notice rather than hitting with the first two knuckles,the vertical sun punch strikes using the surface area of the last three.The elbow/shoulder generates the forward momentum along the center line to form a triangle when fully executed without being hyper-extended.My instructor used to discourage any kind of weight training or push-up,he explained that any kind of tension only serves to slow a person down (ie;bicep,tricep working against each other)or in other words liken it to accelerating with one foot on the brakes.Yes, repetitive chain punching gets rid of the urge to want to tense up and *power* thought your opponent with brute force, it also builds a whip like smacking power through repetitive wall bag training while preserving the gravity of the trunk.
> The end result is a kind of quick springy flexible body.Hope this helps.


I need you in another Wing Chun thread.LOL
Sean


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## Tanizaki (Sep 23, 2007)

brocklee said:


> That's right   no muscle



How do you get your arms to move without using muscle? That must be a neat trick!


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## Jade Tigress (Sep 23, 2007)

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Please keep the discussion at a mature, respectful level. Please review our sniping policy http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/sho...d.php?p=427486. Feel free to use the Ignore feature to ignore members whose posts you do not wish to read (it is at the bottom of each member's profile). Thank you.

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## brocklee (Sep 23, 2007)

Tanizaki said:


> How do you get your arms to move without using muscle? That must be a neat trick!



Oh, its u again   Hi....yea don't worry about it.  You will never understand


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## brocklee (Sep 23, 2007)

Jade Tigress said:


> *ATTENTION ALL USERS:
> 
> Please keep the discussion at a mature, respectful level. Please review our sniping policy http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/sho...d.php?p=427486. Feel free to use the Ignore feature to ignore members whose posts you do not wish to read (it is at the bottom of each member's profile). Thank you.
> 
> ...



omg great   didn't know about that feature.  Now I don't ever have to hear from Tanzanaki again.

/double arm pump


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## Tez3 (Sep 23, 2007)

One thing this thread shows I think is the importance of finding a good instructor who can teach you the proper techniques of your style. A straight punch is rarely _*just* _a straight punch though in any style, in karate I was taught how to relax the arm until just before the punch landed, a more difficult technique than it sounds. I was also taught to let the knuckle/s protrude a little to maximise the impact. I punch too with the fist in the 'upright' position.

Your punch sounds difficult to pick up from description alone! I have a feeling though if I saw it I'd know what it was, unfortunately videos don't work on my computer!


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## Touch Of Death (Sep 24, 2007)

brocklee said:


> Oh, its u again  Hi....yea don't worry about it. You will never understand


There is nothing to understand. Muscles and gravity control your motion.
Sean


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## KamonGuy2 (Sep 25, 2007)

In all honesty, I think there are a lot of differences in wing chun with regards to punching. Some keep the elbows out, other federations  keep them in. Some throw the punch out, others drive it forward.


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## Touch Of Death (Sep 25, 2007)

The idea of not using muscle to punch is a good one, but its just point of reference to try to achieve. Of course you want to eliminate undue muscle tension and let gravity and momentum do most of the work, but the reality of your body requires muscle use or you are a pile of bones and flesh on the floor.
Sean


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## Selfcritical (Sep 26, 2007)

Touch Of Death said:


> The idea of not using muscle to punch is a good one, but its just point of reference to try to achieve. Of course you want to eliminate undue muscle tension and let gravity and momentum do most of the work, but the reality of your body requires muscle use or you are a pile of bones and flesh on the floor.
> Sean


 
I think the idea is that your punching power shouldn't be coming from the muscle in your _arms_, which should just be providing structure and support to convey the force that turning the hips, forward motion, dropping steps etc are generating. Of course, none of this is unique to WC, and if one were to imply that boxers were stupid brutes relying on strength over technique you would be making yourself look very silly.


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## Touch Of Death (Sep 26, 2007)

Selfcritical said:


> I think the idea is that your punching power shouldn't be coming from the muscle in your _arms_, which should just be providing structure and support to convey the force that turning the hips, forward motion, dropping steps etc are generating. Of course, none of this is unique to WC, and if one were to imply that boxers were stupid brutes relying on strength over technique you would be making yourself look very silly.


Agreed.:ultracool
Sean


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