When you throw a strike, a punch for example, which moves first, your hand or your body?
Many people say the hand moves first and the body follows through.
If you’ve practiced the Silk Reeling exercises of Tai Chi you know that movement begins in the feet and channels upward through the waist and is released through the hand. In other wards, the hand completes the movement, it doesn’t begin it.
It’s like snapping a towel.
You can generate tremendous force for knockdown punches, but you need to practice correctly or you’ll have big problems with telegraphing.
Here’s a drill you can do to develop this skill. Stand facing a heavy bag, a target being held by a partner, or any other appropriate surface. You’ll eventually want to be able to do this from a fighting stance (though you may not want to move from a “stance” on the street). Now, rotate your body very slightly back and forth. As you do this feel the movement beginning in the feet, moving upward through the legs, continuing through the pelvis, waist and torso, and concluding in the hand. If you do this slowly and pay attention to the timing of your rotations, you’ll notice that the hand strikes as the feet are just beginning the next rotation - so they’re actually beginning to rotate against the direction of your strike.
As I said, it’s like snapping a towel. Experiment with this and see if you can’t generate greater, more relaxed striking.
Until next time,
Rob LaPointe
Sparring and Pushing Hands Gold Medalist Rob LaPointe has been practicing martial arts since 1973. He holds black belts in Kenpo Karate and Tien Shan Pai Kung Fu.
In addition to teaching martial arts and presenting workshops to members of all the Armed Services, including special forces members, as well as CIA, DEA, FBI, Department of State Foreign Service Officers, U.S. Customs Officers, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and Exxon-Mobile Corporation, Rob has presented numerous workshops to Washington, D.C. area businesses and agencies, including Georgetown University Hospital, Northern Virginia Hospital Center, Alexandria Hospital, Arlington Public Schools, USA Today, and Intelsat.
In 1999 he received an invitation from the American Physical Therapy Association, and was a featured speaker at their Annual Convention, which took place that year in Washington, D.C.
Rob’s main websites are http://kungfufightingtips.com/ and http://indyinstructor.com/
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