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LongfistMantis
10-05-2000, 02:58 AM
Keeping in mind that I am a beginner, I was practicing my first form which includes two backhand strikes in a row, using the movement of the waist to generate power. I was wondering what your thoughts were on power versus speed. It seems that if i concentrate on power, I do increase the force of my strikes, but I also require more time to chamber and deliver the strike. On the other hand, if i concentrate on thet speed aspect, I can get many strikes off in a small amount of time, but they seem to have less force behind them. I suppose there is a happy medium, but I havent found it yet. What are your thoughts?

LongfistManti /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif

bitesfirst
10-05-2000, 04:10 AM
Power = Mass x SPeed. It is easier to generate more speed then it is to gain more mass in the striking limb. In the begining, don't worry too much about power. It'll come.

Robinf
10-05-2000, 03:32 PM
I'll second that point. Speed can traslate into power.

Take, for example, breaking a break with a punch. It can be done with a lot of muscle/power, it can also be done with speed/power.

Concentrate on making the technique properly, then stop thinking about it and just execute the technique. Thinking also slows down and inhibits the power of the technique.

Surrender yourself to nature and be all that you are.

BeiTangLang
10-05-2000, 04:25 PM
Verify from your sifu that they are actually strikes. If they are, there is a good chance that you may not be moving your body forward enough & turning your torso enough to "automaticly-reset" (for lack of a better term) your arm/wrists for the second strike.
Just a thought. Excellent question!
-BTL

"Ever dance with the Devil in the pale moonlight?"

Young Mantis
10-05-2000, 04:57 PM
I woudl agree with everyone else so far and I think this is the case for most TCMA and particularly so for Praying Mantis. Our style relys more on speed and flexibility than sheer muscular strength. Your striking limb should be relaxed until the moment of impact. When practicing the form, the limb should tense only at the end of each technique but then relax again as you transition to the next. Speed will increase as your technique gets better and you are able to relax more. Power will increase as your speed increases and you are able to focus the energy.

This is also very important as you learn and develop "ging" (Cantonese pron.) or "snapping power".

As a beginner, it is easy and often the case to feel insecure about one's striking power and to compensate by chambering or slowing down to generate more force.

On a side note but I think somewhat related, Bruce Lee wrote in his "Tao of JKD" about the difference between power and strength. I think it is an interesting comparison.

8StepStudent
10-05-2000, 07:44 PM
The first thing you always wanna worry about is getting the technique down. Make sure that everything is right and keep on working on that technique. The better you get at that technique the faster you'll be able to pull it off without having to worry about not having enough power on it, but if you just do a technique fast and wrong without any power then you will achieve nothing, so don't focus on just speed or power, focus on speed and power.

[This message was edited by 8StepStudent on 10-06-00 at 12:49 PM.]