Boxing Legend Reacts & Analyzes BRUCE LEE's Punch
- Thread starter Terrible Tim Witherspoon
- Start date
Watching this video now. I like hearing form people outside of Traditional Martial Arts. There's 2 things to the punch. The real side and the Trick.
So the punch is real, The trick is the stance. The person getting hit is the worse possible stance to absorb this punch.. I take that back. Standing on one leg is the worst stance. Standing like these guys come in a close second stance. lol. Because the stance is bad they are easy to knock over. The knock over effect wouldn't be so exaggerated or may not even happen if they were in a fighting stance or a traditional martial arts Bow Stance. The sliding of the chair is caused by the energy of him stumbling backwards. The punch just knocked him off balance. A lot of fighting systems understand the importance of balance and will try to exploit that because you will be at the most weakest when your balance is weak.
The other trick is the type of pad being used. The type of pad that is being used transfers a lot of energy into a wider area which creates a big push effect.. There are certain pads I won't hold up to my chest like that because I like breathing and I like that my heart beats normal lol.
Everything else is good punching technique and power generation. Boxers get bent over all the time with from short punches to the body. I hate to say this but sometimes Martial Arts demos have a lot of tricks in them, which is why people don't get those same results when they fight. When it comes to martial arts you have to watch both the person doing the technique and the one that is getting hit with the technique.
So the punch is real, The trick is the stance. The person getting hit is the worse possible stance to absorb this punch.. I take that back. Standing on one leg is the worst stance. Standing like these guys come in a close second stance. lol. Because the stance is bad they are easy to knock over. The knock over effect wouldn't be so exaggerated or may not even happen if they were in a fighting stance or a traditional martial arts Bow Stance. The sliding of the chair is caused by the energy of him stumbling backwards. The punch just knocked him off balance. A lot of fighting systems understand the importance of balance and will try to exploit that because you will be at the most weakest when your balance is weak.
The other trick is the type of pad being used. The type of pad that is being used transfers a lot of energy into a wider area which creates a big push effect.. There are certain pads I won't hold up to my chest like that because I like breathing and I like that my heart beats normal lol.
Everything else is good punching technique and power generation. Boxers get bent over all the time with from short punches to the body. I hate to say this but sometimes Martial Arts demos have a lot of tricks in them, which is why people don't get those same results when they fight. When it comes to martial arts you have to watch both the person doing the technique and the one that is getting hit with the technique.
Everybody can do this if they have the correct "body rotation".
May be body method is better term than body rotation. If you can punch with your arms behind your back, you can understand the 0 distance punch. You don't use arm to punch. You use body to punch.
We should not care about how far the fist is from the target. We should only care about how much body method that you can add into it. The body method can be
- left -> right,
- right -> left, or
- back -> front (most WC people use this method).
2 feet punch with 0 body method < 0 inch punch with maximum body method
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Wing Woo Gar
Grandmaster
I think it’s odd that so many people think that Bruce lee invented this. It’s ubiquitous in cma. Am I Bruce lee? No. Can I do the 1 inch punch? Yes, me and probably a million other people can too.
Oily Dragon
Senior Master
I'll post some background detail later wheh I have more time on how Lee marketed this, but the one inch punch is actually a really common Southern fighting bridge, Cheun Kiu.
It's not limited to punches, the body mechanics are broadly applicable to everything from punching to pushing to pummeling.
Bruce Lee picked up the concept from Wing Chun, because Cheun Kiu happens to be one of those bridges that is a bit deceptive (like all True Warfare) but the style relies on it heavily, even if many students and teachers never learned this part of their history.
It's not limited to punches, the body mechanics are broadly applicable to everything from punching to pushing to pummeling.
Bruce Lee picked up the concept from Wing Chun, because Cheun Kiu happens to be one of those bridges that is a bit deceptive (like all True Warfare) but the style relies on it heavily, even if many students and teachers never learned this part of their history.
Wing Woo Gar
Grandmaster
Thank you for elaborating this!
Wing Woo Gar
Grandmaster
It’s things like this that make a legend.
Wing Woo Gar
Grandmaster
Same mechanics. I agree, somewhat easier to do. Maybe because contact is already established? Never really thought much about why. it’s fun to show it to new students and then show them what’s really happening. My Sifu would do it open palm with a second guy back to back with the receiver. The second guy would always get thrown forward. When new people would ask how? Sifu would say”that’s why my name is on the sign outside.” in the advanced class he would just blow it off and say “it’s a trick, anyone can do it”.
Wing Woo Gar
Grandmaster
Somebody will be mad at me for saying these things but it is true.
Oily Dragon
Senior Master
This animated GIF sums it up well. Please click on it. The "inch" bridge is at the very end.
See the shadow? Did it take a second viewing? If it did, you're dead.
See the shadow? Did it take a second viewing? If it did, you're dead.
OP
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Terrible Tim Witherspoon
Yellow Belt
You are 100% right about the stance! That is about as bad of a stance to be in when receiving a blow this way. What I find interesting though is the way he is using his body. Not sure if this is from his Kung Fu training or his studies of boxing, especially old school boxing. I know Bruce studied a lot of old school boxing. He was truly a kinesiologist, but I am starting to really look into Kung Fu. Some very interesting motions in the traditional arts.
OP
OP
Terrible Tim Witherspoon
Yellow Belt
Great example or speed and using your coiling
OP
OP
Terrible Tim Witherspoon
Yellow Belt
Very good point
OP
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Terrible Tim Witherspoon
Yellow Belt
You have to understand I am looking at Bruce's Lee's punch from a perspective of someone who has been hit by some of the greatest punchers in history. Believe me I know punching power lol I have also coached a lot of fighters both pros and Amateurs. I have of course seen countless demonstrations of the one-inch punch. I have also seen and felt the punches of people who claim to have amazing power many it turned out were more hype than anything. In the end you gain an insight into punching power. Bruce is showing a very unique ability to use his body and have penetration. I see a lot of people doing these demonstrations in a pushing manner. He is truly penetrating his target and using his body in a very special way. It is actually one of the hardest motions to teach beginners and pros!
I guess we have to look at it from a cultural point of view. During the time of the demo there wasn't a lot of understanding of Martial Arts in the general public in the US.. I think fighters in general understand because a lot of are the same or similar principles that they use and train in.
For me it's probably because I always seek where an opponent is resisting. I can guide the resistance by putting pressure to feel the push back. It's difficult to explain but it's like this. I can feel objects push back. When I push a cup with my fingers it feels like the cup is pushing back. When I push against a wall it feels like the wall is pushing back. That push back provides feedback and tells me the force that I need to apply and in which direction I need to apply it.
So as long as I have some sort of contact prior to the strike I have no problem. But if there's no contact, then it feels empty to me, which in this case I have to perform the strike as I would in a form when I strike the air. I'm goofy like that. lol Contact is very important to me. The longer the contact the better, that includes punches. Here's how it works for me.. Each letter is a punch that makes contact with me.
I know what you are doing = Grappling where contact is 100%
I w r g = Someone who punches one punch at a time..
I Kn w wha ou a doin = Someone throwing combinations
It's possible to detect things like body shift and weak rooted stances through punches. The more I get the easier I can make out the direction they are heading in and what they are trying to set me up. Keep in mind these are punches that I receive to my guard and not to my face lol.
yep the strike is real but like you said it's really difficult for people to get it. It's one of those things that most people won't get until they can feel that connection once, then it becomes easier for them to use the technique.
It's really difficult to say without asking him. It's found in Martial Arts but that doesn't mean that's where he learned it from. It's possible that he spoke to a fighter in his earlier years and that fighter helped him understand the principle. All it would take is a lot of practice and a lot of exploration. I know he had a lot of influences that affected his training approach. Maybe the hardcore Bruce Lee fans can shed some light on this.
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