It's the primary (and some feel it's the only) weapon in wing chun and drills, either partner drills, or solo drills require a lot of chain punches being thrown. Once you're past that initial learning curve, chain punches do feel quite natural and can be quite powerful.
Looking at the concept of chain punching, is the idea of chain hitting. Combining non stop attacks from all weapons - punches, kicks, elbows, knees in a continuous flurry. It may not look like chain punches anymore..and may not even contain chain punches. the concept is functional and that's what matters.
But have you tried this before? Have you tried training this way? It certainly wakes your body up - and also tells you how your body is quite limited to chain punching, i might add. It's a crude awakening. And it's also freaking exhausting, draining your energy reserves quite fast.
You gotta make each hit count - no rabbit punches here - it's incredibly difficult to do. Most people would only be able to throw 1, 2, MAYBE 3 punches max at full blast, and after that they're outta steam...or the punches/hits thereafter are pretty much harmless.
If you don't know what I mean, I think you should try it. Try to chain "hit" not just chain punch and at full capacity - make it count. Do this for 30 seconds and see where you're at on the stamina level.
The answer may surprise you.
Until then.
4 comments:
Would you recommend doing this in the form of shadowboxing-airpunching, of striking a surface? If a surface, what do you think is best, a wall-bag, a heavy bag, dummy?
Pablo, i don't think it really matters. if you're not used to it - then just try shadow boxing..go slow at first, medium speed and then full blast...going all out for 10-30 second bursts. attacking with knees, elbows, punches, etc..not just chain punches. let me know how it goes!
This is a great idea to add to my training schedule, thanks for this! I've been working on doing slow practice runs, attacking in slow motion, making sure my body coordination is right and that there's weight behind my punches, that I shift right.
Just tried it at a higher speed, and it's a great workout! I think I'll try to work in the idea of timed bursts, like: slow motion attack sequence for a minute, then full blast for half a minute, slow mo, full blast, etc. And end with a full blast for as long as possible.
I train my impacts on a wall-bag too (though I hold back a bit when I punch - don't want to give myself arthritis due to the impact), but I've been considering getting a heavy bag for training so that I can do attack combinations on a target which gives way a little and which I can move around and through when I hit.
Seeing as how you've been doing boxing training too, how useful do you think a boxing heavy bag would be to supplement training like this?
On a sidenote, I've bought those MightyBands you use and I really like them, they're great for improving structure and training with a bit more resistance than just plain airpunching.
Also, I just want to say that I think your blog is really great. I've read and reread it several times and it's had a real impact on how I train, and what I focus on with wingtsun training. I hope you keep on posting, cause your posts and those of your sifu Ralp Haenel on his blog are some of the best posts on the internet on training, which go beyond mere basic technical explanations.
Thanks Pablo - appreciate the feedback! The heavy bag could be of use, but you'd probably get more out of just training wing tsun. For me, the heavy bag and boxing workout is just another means for me to get a good cardiovascular workout. the punching dynamics are very different between the two..at least for those of us who are still training our punch. I've seen some heavy punches in the boxing gym..but it's nothing like what Si-Fu can deliver..and not even close to the safety and skillset of being able to defend while attack like Si-Fu. Look forward to your comments!
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