This beginner’s Wing Chun punching lesson breaks down a few of the most important points when practicing the Wing Chun punch.
It details the compact, close-quarters punching of Wing Chun with a vertical fist and the elbow down, the wrist straight, punching through one specific exit point in your fist.
The Wing Chun punch is a bare knuckle strike that begins at your center and is driven to your attacker’s centerline. Therefore it travels along the central plane.
How do you know your punch is driven by the elbow and not the shoulder?
The shoulder must stay down and back in a Wing Chun punch. If the shoulder comes forward when you’re punching, then you know it’s shoulder driven. You can also take your other hand and push up on your punching arm’s elbow. This helps insure that the latissimus dorsi muscle is engaged. This muscle keeps the shoulder down.
The other thing to do, is to place your awareness into your elbow and “think” it forward. The fist is only an extension of the elbow. As you punch, you often forget about the elbow and move your attention into the hand. Through continual training, you can work to keep a relaxed, light hand and a “heavy” elbow during punching. In a Wing Chun punch, its the elbow which drives the fist forward.
*One tip to develop this quicker is to practice to keep the elbow a little lower than the wrist.