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For something as seemingly simple as delivering a punch, the transition to using the vertical ‘sun’ character Wing Chun punch capable of delivering real power is a surprisingly challenging one for the developing student.

This is not because the Wing Chun punch is complex in itself, rather the action of delivering the punch requires the developing student to understand how to use the underlying physiology and body mechanics that underpin the ability to generate force through relaxed, whole-body structure.

By looking at the mechanics and dynamics of the extension of the hand / arm in the basic punch the intention is to demonstrate that this is a deeper, fundamental action that is applied across all the different techniques (such as Taan Sau, Gaan Sau etc).  

By understanding this basic underlying principle of how to extend (and retract) a forwarding arm, it reveals the simplicity of Wing Chun as the individual hand techniques come to be seen almost as different ‘tools’ that are plugged on at the end of the arm to deliver a punch, a finger strike or for controlling or deflection purposes.  Each of these techniques becoming lost as part of the wider expression of the Wing Chun art.

As such, it is important to realise that the developing student’s Wing Chun journey starts immediately from this most basic technique in the transition to using relaxed structure to generate power rather than muscle alone.    

The deep understanding that underpins relaxed structure and how to use it to generate devastating power may be some considerable way off for the beginning student, however, having a clear understanding of the correct positions and being able to find and, importantly, ‘feel’ these for themselves is vital.

This is the real aim of this article – to cast some light on the pathway that will enable the developing student to realise the deeper understanding needed to master their Wing Chun Kung Fu.   

Relaxed Extension not Tension

The “curse” of most developing Wing Chun students is the unnecessary use of muscle force and muscle tension.   This is most evident in the student within the action of punching, as there is the common misconception that power is achieved through the use of muscular force.

Typically, the punching action within the developing student uses tension in the fist and is driven from the shoulder.  It will be a while before they have developed the understanding of Mai Jang (the forwarding of the elbows inwards and forwards), Jang Die Lik (elbow under strength) and Fong Song (the relaxed extension of the arm).

In the article The Relaxation Versus Structure Dilemma (Article 2) I go into detail explaining how these more advanced abilities are attained through the development of whole-body relaxed structure and unity. 

The aim in this article is to use the ‘four stages of extension’ as a simple, visual way for the developing student to find a pathway to understanding the complex physiological and anatomical description in that article. 

The Four Stages of Extension

In the four figures below, we see four different stages at which the punch needs to pass through to extend the arm out using correct relaxed structure.

Four lines are marked in positions relative to the Wing Chun figure standing in the Yee Gee Kim Yeung Ma stance.  These four lines represent four key places at which the extending arm are positioned during what is actually a continuous process.  

Before examining each of these stages in more detail, it is worth noting that apart from ‘Chamber’ position, which is a recognised Wing Chun term, all other terms (such as ‘Extended battering ram position’) used in the figures above are ones that I have created in order to verbalise the action of the arm in the extension and retraction process.  I have found over the years that these terms, which were helping in reaching my own understanding,  have also been greatly helpful in assisting developing students come to understand the required action and successfully develop this themselves.

Battering Ram Action

A key part of feeling the right action in the extending arm within Wing Chun is to feel the isolated, unimpeded natural weight swinging elbow-action of the arm from the pivot point of the shoulder. Thinking of how a battering ram works is helps in internally visualising this process, but also in understanding how force is actually generated through the relaxed extension of the Wing Chun arm.

A battering ram was first used in ancient times as a siege engine style weapon that was simple in its design but devastating effective at breaking open the masonry walls or wooden gates of fortifications.  It was constructed from a large, heavy log carried mounted into a frame which was able to swing as a pendulum and move on wheels.   The weight of the heavy log was propelled by several people with a swinging and forwarding force against an obstacle which would be subject to these combined, massive forces.

The same principle is used today in smaller, hand-held versions of battering rams used by law enforcement officers and military personnel to break open locked doors.  The same principle applies – a metal cylinder is swung using the pendulum action of the arms into a door to break this.  

The key points for the Wing Chun student to note is that the impact force of the ram comes from the weight of this propelled into the obstacle under the free-flowing pendulum action of the log suspended by ropes to the frame.  The same applies for the Wing Chun punch, where the relaxed weight of the arm under gravity is propelled by muscles through an arch resulting in the arm and fist being driven at force into the opponent. 

We can further explore the dynamics of this action as we look at the four stages of extension / retraction.

Stage 1: Chamber Position

In Figure 1, the figure has both arms in the retracted ‘Chamber’ Position.     The structural positioning of the arms results in the location of the hands just behind the first line.

Where the Chamber position is held in a ‘neutral’ state i.e., with no forward or backwards force being applied to the elbow position the wrist would actually be located between the first and second lines, as in figure 2, but with the fist held palm facing upwards. 

It is useful to think of ‘neutral’ in terms of being in neutral gear in a car.  Here you are neither in reverse (needed to drive the car backwards) nor are you in gears 1-6 (needed to drive the car forwards) and without the foot on the accelerator.

As such the correct position for ‘Chamber’ requires the elbow to arch backwards to the position shown in Figure 1.  In this way, we need to put the arm into ‘reverse’ gear.

Many beginner students incorrectly use the muscles of the shoulder and exterior muscles of the upper back to pull the hand back into this position.

This has the result of effectively pulling the forearm and hand upwards and locking the arm, shoulder and back together.  The difference in the resulting arm position is visualised below in Figure 6.

In this case, the elbow ends up much further back with a much tighter angle on the inside of the elbow between the upper-arm and forearm.   The hand is also now held slightly further back from the correct position.    The position of the forearm and hand are noticeable higher where the arm is pulled backwards with incorrect muscles.

A correct starting position is fundamental in Wing Chun, as this is the starting position of the four stages of extension.  As we will see as we progress through this article, where the starting position is not correct the following positions that follow are not correct. 

When this combined upper arm/forearm/hand structure is maintained whilst the retraction muscles are relaxed this results in a swinging action of the arm into the incorrect position shown in Figure 7.   The result is that the forwarding pendulum action of the arm has been lost.   At this point, if a training partner stands behind the figure and presses the elbow forward from behind in a forward action the arm now travels upwards with an arch to hit the figure in their own face, rather than correctly extending forwards and outwards into the opponent.

Stage 2: ‘Neutral’ Launch Position

We have seen from the first stage of the four stages of extension that we can move from the correct ‘Chamber’ position to the ‘Neutral’ launch ready position by holding the angle formed from the Chamber position between the upper arm and the forearm whilst letting the muscles involved in the retraction process relax.  In doing so, this uses the weight of the arm under the natural force of gravity to swing like pendulum into the position shown in Figure 2, with the wrist a distance of about a fist from the front of the chest.

Importantly, this is the resulting position.   The arm is not placed a fist distance from the body in a manufactured way.  This is only a reference for the resting place of the fluid arm structure during this stage of the extension process. 

The term ‘neutral’ refers to the action of the elbow, which is now not actively being retracted or projected forwards by any muscles.  Instead, it is hanging naturally, pulling downwards under the weight of gravity.  Here the student should feel that weight pulling down from the neck, along and then down over the shoulder.  The elbow should now feel ‘heavy’, like a metal ball attached at the end of the arm.

At this point a training partner should be able to freely move the elbow forwards, backwards or outwards by pressing this.

Importantly, this transition from chamber to a fist position in front of the body is used extensively in Siu Lim Tao in flowing through the different positions / techniques and returning back to chamber position.   For example, it is from this position that a Taan Sau, or inside Paak Sau are also delivered.  In the context of delivering a punch from the chamber position, this relaxation from chamber into the launch position is a key process of the end-to-end process of delivering the punch.

One does not, for example, seek to employ muscle power to launch the punch from the chamber position.  It simply is not needed, as the relaxed weight of the arm under gravity moves quicker than attempting to do so using muscle.  Importantly also, the weight and movement places the arm in the correct position without the practitioner having to think about where to put it, as this was how the style intended the arm to be in this position.   This use of allowing a limb to find the correct position itself is a key part of Wing Chun that is used in many places in the different forms.

Stage 3: Extended Battering Ram Position

Having now been able to correctly retract the arm into Chamber position and maintain the correct angle whilst relaxing into the ‘neutral’ position, the arm is now structurally relaxed in front of the body on the centreline ready to be projected forwards.

The correct path the arm takes is shown in the figure below.

Actually, the above figures show an intermediate phase (the central figure)  – a demonstration only of where the arm would be positioned if the practitioner where to artificially stop halfway through the motion of punching.  Importantly, this is the exact same position that the extended arm relaxes back to for the fourth stage.  It is useful understand this, but here specifically to be able to visualise the route the arm takes from the ‘launch’ position where the arm is propelled forwards using muscles to the ‘landing’ position where the arm is fully extended.

Actually, as part of moving from the ‘Neutral’ launch position as the arm engages the ‘forwarding’ muscles, the arm moves slightly inwards, and forwards slightly passed the second line marking.   This  moves the elbow forwards around a fist distance from the body.

In Figure 9 we see the ‘Neutral’ position.  In figure 10 we see the application of the forwarding intention with the engagement of the propulsion muscles to drive the arm forward.  Importantly, this would extend the hand forward only enough to be in the Wu Sau (Guard Hand) position.   What stops the arm moving any further forward is the downward force of the weight of gravity pushing backwards towards the ground.   This equates to the ‘biting’ point achieved in driving a car – where the forward acceleration and gearing of the car is sufficiently balanced on a hill start against the downward force of the car rolling backwards that it maintains an equilibrium. 

It is this forwarding intent under the weight of the arm that allows for the ‘spring’ action in the arm, and the wider weight of the body pressing down into the body and legs that allows the sinking / springing action through to whole body.

Before  seeking to move on to deliver the punch it is important to check this stage is correct by working with a partner.   First, spend a lot of time working by yourself to get comfortable that you can get the ‘biting point’ easily.   Then, working with a partner, get into the ‘neutral’ position from the correct chamber position and then engage the forwarding action ‘biting point’.   The training partner can then hold your wrist and lean weight into your structure.   Releasing this incoming force should cause your arm to ‘spring’ forwards by itself, without any further projection of muscles needed.    You, and the partner, should feel that the incoming force / weight the partner adds extends down into the body, through the legs and into the ground.

If the correct ‘Neutral’ position is not achieved from the correct chamber position, no forwarding intent will be possible.   The practitioner will be able to move the hand forwards, but the weight of the hand and arm will be held incorrectly from the shoulder muscles.  

This means that it is not possible to achieve the ‘biting point’ as the forwarding pressure is no longer from under the heavy elbow projecting diagonally up the length of the forearm forwards, towards the opponent.  Instead, as shown in Figure 12 above, the elbow is lifted from the shoulder pressing in a straight line horizontally.

When the partner presses weight into this incorrect structure and releases it there will be no automatic forwarding spring.    Under more weight, the practitioner will feel the incoming force into the shoulder, which will quickly fatigue.   Continued incoming force will either collapse the arm structure back in on itself, or the action of using muscle power and tension to forcibly hold the incoming force at bay, will result in the practitioner knocking themselves backwards out of their stance.

Having correctly engaged the ‘biting point’, engaging the forwarding muscles in a state of equilibrium with the weight of the arm under the force of gravity, the punching motion / extension of the arm is continued with additional power being applied through the muscles.  

Having already engaged these at a minimal level – what we will call effort level ‘1’, it is just a case of turning up the dial explosively through to level ‘10’ – resulting in the relaxed arm being propelled forwards and the relaxed structure of the hand whipping forwards and hitting into the opponent like a projectile with the power of the forearm, the heavy weight of the elbow and the feeling of the structure of the rest of the body behind it acting like a battering ram into the opponent delivering a massive amount of power and damage.

From the artificially placed ‘launch’ position, the fist continues to be ‘pushed’ forwards by muscle propulsion to a final position where the arm is ‘locked’ out and the elbow ‘pops, as shown in Figure 14 below.

This is because the force direction of the elbow is travelling upwards at a near vertical angle.  This puts all of the pendulum action force into pushing the elbow upwards, which is dangerous and damaging – resulting in tennis-elbow for those practitioners who fail to move away from this incorrect application.   Unsurprisingly, with the force energy of the elbow travelling upwards and not directly into the opponent, the force of the impact of the fist on contact with the opponent is a fraction of the force achieved from the correct technique.

It is through this incorrect type of application that Wing Chun is mistakenly labelled as lacking power.  When applied correctly, the force is enough to sending an opponent flying through the air or do massive internal damage to organs.

Stage 4: Relaxed Battering Ram Position

Having delivered a punch through the incorrect technique the arm remains locked-out and fully extended.  This is a very dangerous position for the arm to be in, as this can easily be broken with force from under the elbow whilst holding the wrist.

The full extension of the correct technique is shown below.  Here we see the relaxed, heavy elbow is projected forwards through the pendulum action and the forearm angle is adjusted and moved forwards.   The end position does not have the arm locked out, but there is a clear, albeit small, angle of the arm.

Importantly, the forwarding intent at full power / level ‘10’ is reduced immediately back down to ‘Level 1’ – enough only to achieve the ‘biting point’.  In doing so the arm retracts back from step 3 in Figure 15 above back to step 2.  Here the arm is now being maintained at the extended position with forwarding intent.  

The same tests can be applied to check the structural integrity and forwarding of this arm.   It is also important for the developing student to practice finding this extended ‘biting point’ at the end of having whipped out the punch and allow it to recoil back to this position of structural integrity.

Return to Chamber Position

Although we have not formally captured this as a stage in the extension of the arm, the process of getting from Stage 3 back to Stage 2, involves turning down the forwarding intent sufficiently to allow the weight of gravity to allow the weight of the arm to retract the structure back through its outwards expression back to either (1) the forwarding intent biting point (with the elbow a fist distance from the body) or (2) completely switching the forwarding intent off to the ‘neutral’ position.

From the ‘neutral’ position, the reverse action can then be applied to take the heavy elbow from the natural, relaxed weighted arm under the force of gravity, back into the correct chamber position.

Summary

Even the seemingly simple first stage of having a ‘lightbulb’ moment and feeling the correct relaxed structure, forwarding intent, ‘biting point’ balance and the correct retraction of the arm through gravity actually being able to do this as second nature will take lots, and lots, and lots of time, practice, and focus.

Having a training partner to help you, or even better the learned guidance of a Sifu to instruct you, is a key part of being able to realise this.   In order to test your Wing Chun is working it has to come under external pressure.  After all, it is a fighting art intended to work in the face of an opponent attacking you.   Being able to train in the ‘feeling’ and learned response whilst then being able to apply the extension of the arm for the punch allows the more advanced student to project their arm forwards to employ any of the techniques, using subtle variations in the wrist and hand positions to deliver different strikes, for the purposes of deflecting or controlling the opponent.

The retraction of the arm back to a position of relaxed structural integrity is a vital part of being able to strike again or to switch between techniques without the incorrect action of pulling the arms backwards towards the body.  This is another key area where the beginning student must learn the correct technique.  This is covered in the separate article The Importance of Retraction – Creating and Filling the Gap which again focuses on providing insights and working examples of how to ‘find’ and ‘feel’ the different four stages, but also allow the interchange of techniques from one arm / hand to another, simultaneously employing both to project devastating force into the opponent.

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Copyright @ Craig Sands