mook jong man
Senior Master
Anyone like to share any drills or exercises they do to develop shoulder power , apart from the forms.
You know , that short range jolting power that comes from the shoulder socket.
One of my old instructors was fantastic at it , just when you thought you had him all trapped up in chi sau sparring , you'd forget that his elbow and forearm were up against your chest , and then boom you would go rocketing back as he struck from another seemingly impossible position to generate any power from.
I usually practice it on a heavy bag , or with a partner holding a focus mitt on their chest.
I train it two ways , from long range where I will extend my arm till it is locked out , because I want to isolate and not have any assistance from the elbow.
Using either a punch or palm hold your extended arm up until it is touching the target , it is important that the shoulder remains relaxed and in a neutral position , you will find that people will try and cheat on the exercise by pulling the shoulder back in an effort to load up the strike.
This is wrong it has to be performed from the natural position of the shoulder and totally relaxed.
When you are ready just shoot your whole arm forward from the shoulder socket with a quick jolt of energy , don't over do it with the shoulder movement otherwise it will throw your whole structure out of whack.
About an inch is probably enough in my opinion.
The next way I do it , is to even further isolate the shoulder and to train short range .
This time bring your elbow/forearm up horizontal till it is touching the pad , palm facing down , don't put your elbow on the centreline this will just create tension in the shoulder.
Think of sending your force through the elbow but still keeping the angle in your forearm , this can be an effective close range strike in itself.
Again make sure you do it very relaxed and from a neutral shoulder position.
It also goes without saying you must sink your weight down into your stance to generate maximum power and not be affected by the old equal and opposite reaction.
I wouldn't recommend training this full power on a wall bag , there is less joints involved to dissipate the shock and it will just end up going through your shoulder joint and up to your skull , and most of you are silly enough as it is.
Using a focus mitt on someones chest is the best bet , its a firm surface and gives a good feel to the strike but still gives the holder enough protection.
You know , that short range jolting power that comes from the shoulder socket.
One of my old instructors was fantastic at it , just when you thought you had him all trapped up in chi sau sparring , you'd forget that his elbow and forearm were up against your chest , and then boom you would go rocketing back as he struck from another seemingly impossible position to generate any power from.
I usually practice it on a heavy bag , or with a partner holding a focus mitt on their chest.
I train it two ways , from long range where I will extend my arm till it is locked out , because I want to isolate and not have any assistance from the elbow.
Using either a punch or palm hold your extended arm up until it is touching the target , it is important that the shoulder remains relaxed and in a neutral position , you will find that people will try and cheat on the exercise by pulling the shoulder back in an effort to load up the strike.
This is wrong it has to be performed from the natural position of the shoulder and totally relaxed.
When you are ready just shoot your whole arm forward from the shoulder socket with a quick jolt of energy , don't over do it with the shoulder movement otherwise it will throw your whole structure out of whack.
About an inch is probably enough in my opinion.
The next way I do it , is to even further isolate the shoulder and to train short range .
This time bring your elbow/forearm up horizontal till it is touching the pad , palm facing down , don't put your elbow on the centreline this will just create tension in the shoulder.
Think of sending your force through the elbow but still keeping the angle in your forearm , this can be an effective close range strike in itself.
Again make sure you do it very relaxed and from a neutral shoulder position.
It also goes without saying you must sink your weight down into your stance to generate maximum power and not be affected by the old equal and opposite reaction.
I wouldn't recommend training this full power on a wall bag , there is less joints involved to dissipate the shock and it will just end up going through your shoulder joint and up to your skull , and most of you are silly enough as it is.
Using a focus mitt on someones chest is the best bet , its a firm surface and gives a good feel to the strike but still gives the holder enough protection.