Week 7: 1000 Chain Punch Challenge

Daylight savings has really screwed me up and it's only an hour! ha! On that bombshell, here's week 7: chain punch challenge drill!

Step and double punch (one punch high, one punch low - one aiming at throat, other aiming at lower center of the lower abs). When you complete the step and double punch, repeat the double punch (alternating hands between high punch and low punch) 50 times.

Repeat the drill for a total of 10 times.

the next section part of the exercise:

Simply place your hands behind you, relaxed, in the SNT stance. Step forward as fast as you can and then return to the SNT stance. Step forward with the other foot and then return.

Do this drill for a total of 50 steps each side.

Until then

Painful Lessons

Last Monday night, I had the pleasure of working with my Si-Fu one-on-one for a good 35-45 minutes (I really don't know how long it lasted, to tell you the truth). It was a mix of lat-sao, chi-sao, stress, physical endurance, punch training, and resistance training..all in one. You tell me of any other training that does all that at once? It is probably the most efficient hybrid form of training in the world!

This type of training is, in my opinion, a rarity. Generally, when it comes to training regardless of lineage, many of the chi-sao sections or drills are done in a manner where it's done slow, done fast, soft, or fast, detailed, or focussed on memorization of the movements.

But Monday night highlights a specific way of training wing chun that beats any workout that any weight, machine or combination of the two that exists on the planet.

Essentially, my Si-Fu provides pressure, resistance and opposing force in such a way that makes it feel like my arms, legs and entire structure are working against giant springs, where each spring is independent of the other (think of that bowling ball mattress!). Imagine performing a tan sao, a punch, a fook sao against a constant spring-like force, that's constant throughout each move and during the transition of the movements.

It's common practice to provide a force at the beginning of the move, and at the end of the move. but in between there's nothing. Just imagine the arm position in between the tan sao and bong sao. Usually the partner generally lets you complete the movement. But in this spring-like resistance training, if that "in between" movement isn't performed with proper forward pressure and muscular endurance, that "in between" movement is essentially dead and is an opportunity to get hit.

The more I write, the more difficult I realize it is to describe with words.

Anyway, it was a fun night. About 40 minutes after, it was painful. My arms were all bruised, my chest was bruised. Blood vessels popped and I'm getting funny looks from co-workers all day. Of course, this type of "physical abuse" isn't for everyone and is generally not performed on a regular basis (in case the picture ispotentially scaring new students to wing chun).

Until then.