Boxing Legend Reacts & Analyzes BRUCE LEE's Punch

[Wing Woo Gar]

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 have no doubt you know more than most including me. I would not claim to be anything near to Bruce lee or you for that matter. I am critical of the set up however. You are correct about the penetrating force in my opinion. My Sifu could “stack” people and then strike the one in front but move the one in back. Kinda like the 5 metal balls suspended in a row where the middle 3 don’t move but the ones on the ends swing and trade impact.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

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.

That is Newton’s third law in action. Equal and opposite forces.

 

[Oily Dragon]

One of the best illustrations of the concept of the "one inch" power, good old Grandmaster Lam from Canton.

This is not Wing Chun, but it's an open secret that the "one inch" bridge below is also biu ji, a core Wing Chun concept.

What's probably not clear to many is why in the photo below, the snake is at the full extension of its strike, but in demonstrations of inch "ging" power, the distance is a much shorter. About one inch, hence the name.

Basically, the idea is that the more you can put into a shorter distance, the more powerful the impact. Like a spring. Hence the coil of the snake leading to the last inch of nasty pointed teeth.

 

[Oily Dragon]

Pai Mei's "what if an enemy is three inches in front of you" scene from Kill Bill 2, same idea. Three inches, saam cheun.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

View attachment 27820

Pai Mei's "what if an enemy is three inches in front of you" scene from Kill Bill 2, same idea. Three inches, saam cheun.

From the flying guillotine to Tarantino. Pai Mei!

 

[Oily Dragon]

Another perspective from the Choy Li Fut side.

One of the Ten Seeds, the Na/La 拿 bridge, is a core piece of CLF's snake form.

拿 means to seize with the hand (not exactly "shooting fingers" like the Wiki says) but it's executed as biu ji techniques (definitely means darting snakey fingers) for a reason, that last inch doesn't have to be a strike the way Lee did it, it could be a grab. It could be a strong push, too. It could be chest to chest. It's all still the same one inch bridge.

You'll also see Southern family Crane techniques in this video, because like a lot of animal forms, they tend to mix in animal energies that go together like Snake and Crane. I always find it helpful to compare things like Wing Chun and CLF, you can see where Wing Chun has lost some of its mobility compared to the broader, deeper styles.

 

[Yanli]

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.

I agree with you to a point, the stance is the reason why the person is knocked back so easily, I have seen it many times, but keep in mind, Bruce Lee has them stand like that because if he hit them while they had a solid stance, he would of greatly injured them.

 

[Yanli]

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.

Look at the punch as driving your force, balance, and movement forward. I do not know how you were taught to throw a punch, but one method is to hand to your side totally relaxed, slowly focusing all your energy and strength in your forward motion, and you have your arm and hand fully solid at the point that you hit the target. That is essentially doing with the 1 inch punch.

 

[Cynik75]

... Bruce Lee has them stand like that because if he hit them while they had a solid stance, he would of greatly injured them.

Or would not injure them at all...

 

[Yanli]

Or would not injure them at all...

I assure you, it would hurt, a lot.

 

[Yanli]

Another perspective from the Choy Li Fut side.

One of the Ten Seeds, the Na/La 拿 bridge, is a core piece of CLF's snake form.

拿 means to seize with the hand (not exactly "shooting fingers" like the Wiki says) but it's executed as biu ji techniques (definitely means darting snakey fingers) for a reason, that last inch doesn't have to be a strike the way Lee did it, it could be a grab. It could be a strong push, too. It could be chest to chest. It's all still the same one inch bridge.

You'll also see Southern family Crane techniques in this video, because like a lot of animal forms, they tend to mix in animal energies that go together like Snake and Crane. I always find it helpful to compare things like Wing Chun and CLF, you can see where Wing Chun has lost some of its mobility compared to the broader, deeper styles.

I am not exactly sure by lost its mobility, but to guess what you mean, I would answer that what was lost is because it was wasted movement and energy. Wing Chun is a more direct approach, not the circler, this makes less movement to respond to, and saves energy.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I agree with you to a point, the stance is the reason why the person is knocked back so easily, I have seen it many times, but keep in mind, Bruce Lee has them stand like that because if he hit them while they had a solid stance, he would of greatly injured them.

Sure. Because Magic Chi Balls.

 

[Yanli]

Sure. Because Magic Chi Balls.

Well, one can see it in different ways, I would put it in a more physical manner. Think of it this way, put your hand to your side, palm facing upward, as you slowly go to throw the strike, slowly tighten up your muscles starting from your shoulder and going to your fist, and you get all those muscles fully tightened right at the point you get to the target. Of course, stance and movement plays a vital roll in the strike.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Well, one can see it in different ways, I would put it in a more physical manner. Think of it this way, put your hand to your side, palm facing upward, as you slowly go to throw the strike, slowly tighten up your muscles starting from your shoulder and going to your fist, and you get all those muscles fully tightened right at the point you get to the target. Of course, stance and movement plays a vital roll in the strike.

I've trained for over 50 years. I know how to throw a punch.
The notion that a single strike will "greatly injure" someone is... far fetched. By far the most likely result of the strike would be a bruise.

 

[Cynik75]

I assure you, it would hurt, a lot.

I assure you it wouldn't hurt.