Can you do this?

[CB Jones]

Since all power are generated from the back to the front, we should train more behind our

- chest (our back) than in front of our chest.
- legs than in front of our legs.

Your thought?

I think developing core strength would be better and equal or symmetrical strength throughout your body (front/back, push/pull, etc).

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I may just talk about the "punching" power (not pulling).

Back heel -> back leg -> hip -> spine -> shoulder -> arm -> fist

Back leg, yes. But not the back of the leg.

 

[Flying Crane]

Back leg, yes. But not the back of the leg.

Actually, the method my system uses does develop the hamstrings, glutes and calves to a surprising, and noticeable degree. This is in our fundamental punching method, just from drilling the punch over and over.

 

[Buka]

When Quasimodo applied for the bell ringer job they asked him why he thought he qualified.

He said it was just a hunch. Sorry.

 

[JP3]

If I think I can do it, I can do it.

Power of positive thinking, I understand. Now, it's time for a beer. Happy Friday, y'all.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Actually, the method my system uses does develop the hamstrings, glutes and calves to a surprising, and noticeable degree. This is in our fundamental punching method, just from drilling the punch over and over.

Doesn't the hamstring mostly flex the knee?

 

[Flying Crane]

Doesn't the hamstring mostly flex the knee?

Yup.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Back leg, yes. But not the back of the leg.

The front part of the leg doesn't do much for the power generation. But hip -> back -> shoulder is the most important part.

 

[Oni_Kadaki]

I can do it, I'm not screwed!

 

[KenpoMaster805]

Heck to the no

 

[CB Jones]

The front part of the leg doesn't do much for the power generation. But hip -> back -> shoulder is the most important part.

The Quadricep is the largest and leanest muscle in the leg and is what extends the leg....without it there is no power.

The quad has to support all the power generated or the knee would fold up.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Yup.

Now I'm curious about the power generation that flexes the knee, rather than extending it. That's new information for me.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

The front part of the leg doesn't do much for the power generation. But hip -> back -> shoulder is the most important part.

In the leg, the quadriceps is actually a part of power generation in most styles. On the back side of the leg, the glute and calf muscles are both involved in most styles' moving power generation. All of those are part of driving off the rear leg. (All are much less in the static practice found in many JMA).

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I can do it, I'm not screwed!

Remember the rest of us fondly.

 

[dvcochran]

I can touch fingers but can't quite make the grip.

 

[oftheherd1]

I can still touch past my finger tips with my left arm below, but the grip she shows would take some practice. I cannon with my right arm which I attribute to an injury while visiting the beach in Santa Monica just prior to joining the Army.

I am pretty sure I could never move my legs like she has them.

 

[oftheherd1]

When we get older, our bodies will start to shrink. This exercise can be helpful. If we just do it 60 times daily, we can see good result after 2 weeks.

Horizontal exercise:

Vertical exercise:

I like those exercises. I may try them after my shoulders heal from the stretch you showed in the thread opening.

 

[DocWard]

Id heard that Quasimodo was an archer by profession. Day in and day out, a professional archer of that era would train with powerful bows, with draw- weight usually well in excess of 100#, often hitting 120#-150#. The hunch-back would develop from over-use on one side, not balancing the training by pulling on both sides. Archaeological evidence of skeletal remains of archers killed in midieval battles supports this, showing a regular pattern of deformities in the bones of the spine and upper carriage.

Quasimodo did not become a hunch-back from age.

The use of the heavy war bows that the English and Welsh employed did indeed cause deformities, including pronounced increase in the size of bones and specific joints on the draw side. Joints on the right arm of skeletons pulled from the Mary Rose, which sank with a compliment of archers in 1545, were noticeably larger, and the scapula, ribcage and spine could all show the effects of a lifetime of heavy archery.

The only problem I see is that Quasimodo was French, and they didn't employ longbowmen as the English did. The French actually employed mercenary crossbowmen at Crécy, Poitiers and Agincourt against the English.

 

[Flying Crane]

Now I'm curious about the power generation that flexes the knee, rather than extending it. That's new information for me.

It’s in the rooting that happens when we rotate the torso.

In our most fundamental method for drilling the punch, we rotate the torso so that at the pinnacle of extension, the flank faces forward. Then rotate to the other side for the other punch, so the other flank faces forward. The punch drives out as we rotate to that position. This gives us full body rotation and engagement for power.

The rotation is driven from the feet, up the legs, hips, and torso. But what the feet are also doing is rooting into the ground. We don’t just stand on the ground; the feet are not simply a platform between yourself and the ground. We apply pressure into the ground and slightly outward as a way of bracing our stance. It is an active way of standing, not just passively resting on the ground. The legs are working in order to make that bracing solid and strong.

Think about trying to climb up the inside of a rock crevasse, and you brace one foot against the wall in front of you, and one against the wall behind you. You press with your legs to drive your feet against both walls in order to work your way up.

It is the same idea when we brace against the floor, only the angles are less extreme, instead of directly forward and back, we apply leg pressure forward/down and back/down.

Try standing with your feet together in a neutral standing position. Take one step forward with your right foot, maybe slightly longer that your standard stepping distance. Now try driving your feet into the ground as I described. If you are doing it correctly, you will feel your hamstrings engage in your left leg. Glutes and calves as well.

We keep this rooting braced while we rotate from one side to the other, and back again. And over and over.

The muscles of the back of the legs engage in this process, keeping the root in place during the rotation (the soles of the feet pivot on the ground), which provides for a stable base and adds to the power of the rotation and the punch.

It is something that is much easier to demonstrate in person, than to describe in writing. This is also one of the issues I keep in mind when I discourage people from trying to learn via video or some other method that does not include directly working with a teacher. You could watch someone doing this pivot and you could mimic it pretty easily. Except that what I can virtually guarantee is that you will miss the proper rooting that needs to be done with the pivot. That really needs direct interaction with a teacher in order to know you are getting it right. Without understanding the rooting, the method is much less effective.

 

[Flying Crane]

The use of the heavy war bows that the English and Welsh employed did indeed cause deformities, including pronounced increase in the size of bones and specific joints on the draw side. Joints on the right arm of skeletons pulled from the Mary Rose, which sank with a compliment of archers in 1545, were noticeably larger, and the scapula, ribcage and spine could all show the effects of a lifetime of heavy archery.

The only problem I see is that Quasimodo was French, and they didn't employ longbowmen as the English did. The French actually employed mercenary crossbowmen at Crécy, Poitiers and Agincourt against the English.

I’m not deeply familiar with the Hunchback of Notre Dame story and I did a brief internet search and simply scanned a Wikipedia article that gave a brief summary. I found no mention of him being an archer.

I was told by someone in an archery shop that Quasimoto was a Welsh archer. Perhaps he moved to France after his service was ended. Perhaps he was French, and he travelled and spent time in a Welsh bow company. Or perhaps the fellow who told me this was simply mistaken.

I like to think it could be true, though.