# Do I have to intentionally rotate my body when throwing a cross punch?



## amateur (Dec 3, 2018)

It rotates by itself anyway if I just extend the arm.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Dec 3, 2018)

You generally want more of a rotation then is natural. Your shoulder, core, hip, legs and feet should all be rotating into the punch.


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## Flying Crane (Dec 3, 2018)

The rotation should be driven by the feet and legs, extending up through the torso and driving the punch out.  That is how you get full-body power.

If your arm is dragging your torso into the rotation, then you are not engaging the feet and legs and you are actually diminishing your power.


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## Danny T (Dec 3, 2018)

amateur said:


> Do I have to intentionally rotate my body when throwing a cross punch?


No...you could intentionally not rotate however you will have a lack of power generation.


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## skribs (Dec 4, 2018)

amateur said:


> It rotates by itself anyway if I just extend the arm.



Once you get to the point where it's muscle memory, no.  You don't have to intentionally do it, because it will be automatic.

There are cases where you might want to throw the punch and you don't have the opportunity to rotate your body.  But that will be the exception, and not the norm.


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## Buka (Dec 4, 2018)

Do you?

Yup.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Dec 4, 2018)

*Do I have to intentionally rotate my body when throwing a cross punch?*

If you put your arms behind your back and use your body to punch, you will understand body rotation. MA is to train "body method - how to move your body" which is much more important than how to move your arm.

Here is a good example of body method with body rotation (without using arms). It's not easy to develop it.


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## dvcochran (Dec 4, 2018)

amateur said:


> It rotates by itself anyway if I just extend the arm.


Welcome to the forum. 
No you do not HAVE to but you are losing power. Are you rotating just at the shoulders?


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## Martial D (Dec 4, 2018)

amateur said:


> It rotates by itself anyway if I just extend the arm.


It's all in the hips man. If your hips are rotating, and your weight is shifting, there is power there.


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## drop bear (Dec 4, 2018)

It depends. If it is a lead cross I don't rotate much. But will step a bit.

If it is an overhand I will rotate more.


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## amateur (Dec 5, 2018)

So, what I make of your replies is that the punch is more powerful if I intentionally rotate my body. This is ok during slow motion practice, but, when I try full speed, it's hard to impossible (maybe it's just me) to tell whether it was an intentional rotation or whether my body was just dragged by the arm extension. Am I thinking too much?


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Dec 5, 2018)

amateur said:


> So, what I make of your replies is that the punch is more powerful if I intentionally rotate my body. This is ok during slow motion practice, but, when I try full speed, it's hard to impossible (maybe it's just me) to tell whether it was an intentional rotation or whether my body was just dragged by the arm extension. Am I thinking too much?


Most likely you are thinking too much. But thats fine. And the difference isnt if its intentional or unintentional, its that unintentionally you would rotate as much, and you want the rotation powering the punch, not the punch powering the rotation. Itll take a bit to get used to it.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Dec 5, 2018)

amateur said:


> So, what I make of your replies is that the punch is more powerful if I intentionally rotate my body. This is ok during slow motion practice, but, when I try full speed, it's hard to impossible (maybe it's just me) to tell whether it was an intentional rotation or whether my body was just dragged by the arm extension. Am I thinking too much?


- In training, you rotate as much as you can. You think about power only.
- In fighting, you rotate whatever the time will allow you to. You think about both power and speed.

Power and speed are trade off. If you throw 3 punches in 1 second, your body won't have enough time to rotate fully.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Dec 5, 2018)

Kung Fu Wang said:


> - In training, you rotate as much as you can. You think about power only.
> - In fighting, you rotate whatever the time will allow you to. You think about both power and speed.
> 
> Power and speed is trade off. If you throw 3 punches in 1 second, your body won't have enough time to rotate fully.


In theory, in fighting you don't think about power or speed. Your body makes that choice for you, rotating until you hit.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Dec 5, 2018)

kempodisciple said:


> In theory, in fighting you don't think about power or speed. Your body makes that choice for you, rotating until you hit.


Agree! If you think about

- power, it's not your true power.
- speed, it's not your true speed.

How much that you have put into your training, how much will come out of your fighting.


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## Flying Crane (Dec 5, 2018)

amateur said:


> So, what I make of your replies is that the punch is more powerful if I intentionally rotate my body. This is ok during slow motion practice, but, when I try full speed, it's hard to impossible (maybe it's just me) to tell whether it was an intentional rotation or whether my body was just dragged by the arm extension. Am I thinking too much?


Sounds to me like you were never taught a way to systematically practice the method.  You need a teacher who understands it and can effectively help you to understand it and how to go about it.  A lot of “teachers” are surprisingly lacking in this kind of thing.

At any rate, it takes a lot of practice, over time, before it becomes automatic.  This is not something you will be able to read a little advice on, and then go work on it by yourself for a few hours or a few days or weeks, and then be able to do.  You need ongoing instruction and guidance, and you need to be willing to put in the work for the long haul.


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## amateur (Dec 5, 2018)

Kung Fu Wang said:


> - In training, you rotate as much as you can. You think about power only.
> - In fighting, you rotate whatever the time will allow you to. You think about both power and speed.



Wow, this makes so much sense. It reminds me of when I decided to try eastern style punches (the ones thrown from the chamber) and, in the videos I watched, they said you should twist the punch the last fraction of a second, which I could do in slow motion but it was impossible at full speed. At first, I thought I was just unskilled, but then, when I watched in slow motion the full speed punches of the masters in those videos, I noticed that they twisted earlier than in the last second as well.
So, if I got it right, you'll never be able to replicate at full speed what you do in practice; a lot of practice just brings your full speed self as close to the proper technique as possible. Did I get the right message?


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Dec 5, 2018)

amateur said:


> Wow, this makes so much sense. It reminds me of when I decided to try eastern style punches (the ones thrown from the chamber) and, in the videos I watched, they said you should twist the punch the last fraction of a second, which I could do in slow motion but it was impossible at full speed. At first, I thought I was just unskilled, but then, when I watched in slow motion the full speed punches of the masters in those videos, I noticed that they twisted earlier than in the last second as well.
> So, if I got it right, you'll never be able to replicate at full speed what you do in practice; a lot of practice just brings your full speed self as close to the proper technique as possible. Did I get the right message?


Honestly...most likely. A lot of us like to imagine we throw picture perfect in a fight or sparring match, but in reality that's not normally the case. The idea is to make it automatic,because then you'll get 'pretty close' when you need it. If you could learn to throw a punch perfectly, you wouldn't have to practice that punch anymore.


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## drop bear (Dec 5, 2018)

kempodisciple said:


> In theory, in fighting you don't think about power or speed. Your body makes that choice for you, rotating until you hit.



Nah. You can make a choice.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Dec 5, 2018)

amateur said:


> Wow, this makes so much sense. It reminds me of when I decided to try eastern style punches (the ones thrown from the chamber) and, in the videos I watched, they said you should twist the punch the last fraction of a second, which I could do in slow motion but it was impossible at full speed. At first, I thought I was just unskilled, but then, when I watched in slow motion the full speed punches of the masters in those videos, I noticed that they twisted earlier than in the last second as well.
> So, if I got it right, you'll never be able to replicate at full speed what you do in practice; a lot of practice just brings your full speed self as close to the proper technique as possible. Did I get the right message?


To throw a 60% powerful punch that land on your opponent is better than to throw a 100% powerful punch that land into the thin air.

The best product is not the product that has 0 defect but cost a lot. The best product is the product that has the least amount of defect with the best price. You can have a pretty wife that doesn't cook. You can also have a not so pretty wife that can cook well. It's a trade off.

When you punch, for some MA systems, in

- training, your body push your arm.
- fighting, your body chase your arm.

When a mosquito flies over your head and you use both hands to smash it, your hands will go first and your body will follow afterward. That's for speed.

When you push a car, your legs will push onto the ground first. That's for power.


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## amateur (Dec 6, 2018)

Kung Fu Wang said:


> When a mosquito flies over your head and you use both hands to smash it, your hands will go first and your body will follow afterward. That's for speed.



Why would you smash a poor mosquito?


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## Kung Fu Wang (Dec 6, 2018)

amateur said:


> Why would you smash a poor mosquito?


It's an example that in fighting sometime speed can be more important than power. A 10 lb force that land on your opponent's eyes can cause as much damage as a 100 lb force can.


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## pdg (Dec 7, 2018)

amateur said:


> Why would you smash a poor mosquito?



Because self defence, obviously.


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## Dirty Dog (Dec 7, 2018)

amateur said:


> Why would you smash a poor mosquito?



Mosquitoes are the most dangerous animal in the world.


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