An Inch Power

[SPJ]

An inch power or Zun Jin;

How do you define it?

How do you practice it?

Does your school of MA training include Zun Jin?

Would you call it external or internal or both?

Does it apply to palm, finger and fist or even hip, shoulder, chest or elbow?

It is secretive but is it practical?

:confused:

[SimonM]

QUOTE]Originally posted by SPJ
An inch power or Zun Jin;

How do you define it?
[/QUOTE]
Being able to generate striking power over very short distances (usually between 2 inch and 0 distance).



How do you practice it?

Drills for the most part. Short-distance striking of focus pads, walls, etc.



Does your school of MA training include Zun Jin?

Yes.



Would you call it external or internal or both?

Yes.



Does it apply to palm, finger and fist or even hip, shoulder, chest or elbow?

We usually practice using palm and fist for this but there is no reason why it could not be used with other parts of the body (especially Elbow and Shoulder).



It is secretive but is it practical?

:confused:
I don't know precisely what you mean by secretive. As for practical, yes, learning any technique that may have an application some time is practical as long as you don't obsess over it. We have learned one inch striking techniques not as something mystical and special but rather as just another Kung Fu skill to be cultivated.

[lkfmdc]

One inch power? Wasn't that the nickname of the famous midget po rn star?

[SPJ]

LOL;

Being secretive, I mean it is difficult to detect or intercept.

:D

[omarthefish]

I find nothing on mandarin pinyin search on "zun jin" on the internet

SPJ is a native speaker and as such his pinyin is s hit. The standard mandarin pinyin is "cun jin". But that still won't help. Just search "inch power" or "short power" or if you an read it search 寸劲 :p

[SPJ]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, Cun Jin is indeed a huge topic and widely used in many and many schools of CMA.

:)

[Ray Pina]

Just when you think you got it down.....:)

I got the "short power" now, I can rest my palm on someone's extended locked arm to demonstrate, amnd give it a nice little blast ... from contact.

And while this has some advantages at very close range, and the only time I've ever injured someone I used this type of explosive power in conjuction with a knuckle but it was from a closing distance of a few inches, not touching.

With all that said, my teacher will see me fooling around with it and does not like the term "Short power." He says there's no such thing as a free lunch, somebody pays for it.

And I do understand this. I get mine from the leg, pushing from the ground, the hips, the shoulder, the elbow and the wrist. Lots of guys doing the job but since so many each can do less .... I just think my teacher is borring from more guys I'm not aware of yet. But definitely a nice trick.

I need to work this type of shocking power into my San Da game, to shock the head (the jaw) when these guys clinche.

[EarthDragon]

Evofist, you said.....................
And I do understand this. I get mine from the leg, pushing from the ground, the hips, the shoulder, the elbow and the wrist.

Dont you meant the toe? i had this disscussion with my friend baby joe mesi he was taught that the power comes from his hips. As most boxers do.
I told him the the first joint in the tip of the toe makes the first movment and from there the kinetic energy is born or started.

This is why when masters say the power from a punch comes from the ground people didnt understand what was meant by that.

[red5angel]

I personally like the phrase "short power", it's the best desriptive for what you are doing, generating power in a limited amount of space, using a combination of structure and muscluar energy.

[Ray Pina]

I don't get it from the toe, I get it from the heal. But that's coming from what I learned from Hsing-I, and all the time walking back and forth doing Pow Quan.

[EarthDragon]

OK gottcha, yes xingyi does that. we actually try to stay off the heel and more on the toe as not to get backed up but that comes from bagua.......... same thing different path.

[IronFist]

You know what I don't like? I've seen many teachers and "masters" demonstrate a "one inch punch" by putting their hand on a board or phonebook that someone is holding or whatever, and if you slow motion the tape you can see that they pull their hand back a good 4 or 5 inches and then strike forward. That's not a one inch punch. That's a 4 or 5 inch punch. And if you pull your hand back before striking it forward you can take advantage of a stretch reflex and get even more power than if you started from a stop (think of how a baseball pitcher winds up before the throws to get extra power vs. how much power he would get if he had to start with his arm all the way back and just go from there).

The point is, if you say you're doing a one inch punch, don't start with your hand on the phone book and then pull it back really quickly and turn it into a regular punch.