Originally Posted by
Alan Orr
Lik Chong Gerk Jang Sang - Power originates from the heel
Some people use the saying ‘power comes from the heel’. This may be the reason some people may think that having your weight on your heels is powerful. It is not.
The reason we use the terminology “originates” rather then “comes from” is that weight distribution starts from the whole of the feet before power is issued through the balls of the feet. So you could say that power started in the heels, but had to be transferred through the balls of the feet in order to be used. If you were to merely have your weight in your heels and not transfer your weight to issue power you would end up with a very unstable stance. This is why many people find it hard to equalize pressure or forward pressure when utilizing a stance position with their weight dead on their heels or any other fixed part of the foot. In truth you could say that the weight in your feet really truly depends on what direction pressure is coming into your body. What I mean by this is if you have true body structure the real skill is to take pressure and redirect that pressure into the ground, commonly described as “rooting”. If you have this control of skill you should be able to redirect the force through your body and also store force in your body, which will allow you to reissue it back to your opponent with greater power. That brings me to the next maxim which is often also misunderstood:
Ging Chong Gwut Gun Faat, Lik Chong Gerk Jang Sheng - Power comes from bones and tendons, strength originates from the heels
Often people describe power in Wing Chun being delivered by bone power or bone alignment. Unfortunately, what you often see is locking out of the joints, i.e. the main punching arm will be extended at the elbow and shoulder. This is a very limited source of power development and more importantly causes severe damage in the long term to the elbow and to the rotor-cuff of the shoulder. (As a practitioner of Chinese medicine, I can confirm that I have often had to treat this problem with new students). Now, locking the joints out on impact does produce a release of power but this is only a small amount compared to the power that can be produced with the whole body structure via kinetic linking to the ground. One of the main benefits of this type of body connection alignment is that not only can you issue power in this manner due to the “spring” nature of the body but you can also absorb power through the body into the ground without taking undue pressure into the joints. If you align your body in this correct manner the joints will absorb pressure and redirect the pressure without effort into the ground and the tendons will twist and strengthen and become stronger with this practice. Therefore when we talk about strength originating from the heels this is really talking about absorbing pressure and rooting therefore explaining the nature of the body in its spring position.
"Power originates from the heels, travels up the ankle and knee joints, is in conjunction with the waist, issues forth from the body and rib cage, travels down the shoulders, to the elbow, to the wrist and manifests from the hands". -Robert Chu Sigung
Let me sort out the missing links for you. Kinetic linking is a term which describes how to correctly load gravitational forces in your body.
Generating maximum mass is achieved through the alignment of the ankle, knee, hip, shoulder and elbow. These are the kinetic links in which power is generated and transferred. Should one of these links be out of alignment, its ability to transfer power from the rest of the body is reduced. To issue power using these mechanics you push your body forward and upward, making sure the three dan tian are moving in sequence, from bottom to top (Qi Hai > Tan Zhong > Yin Tang). Your three dan tian points are located approximately at the same positions as your segmented centers of gravity. So what you’re doing is pushing your entire mass forward and upward using all the aligned kinetic links (joints) in your body. Whether stepping or stationary, the principles remain the same. This is what is meant by using power from the ground up. Naturally, rooting power into the ground is done using the same mechanics.
The problem you will have in combat if you are locking out your joints is that you have committed your striking power. Therefore if you have actually missed your target you will find yourself exposed and also will have no stored power available. When I think of this I would say it is like having only one arrow, once you’ve shot that arrow you’ll have none left. If you generate your power from the ground you’ll have an endless source of ammunition. So now you have an automatic machine-gun! Therefore if you punch and miss you can then readjust and re-fire much more quickly and much more effectively because you haven’t over-committed your arm position. The fact is, the body alignment and body position are the important factors in generating power.
“Jang Dae Lik - Elbow down power”
Some people think that by having your elbow down, you’re automatically getting more power; this isn’t true. The key thing here is what we call “vector power lines”. Simply put, having your elbow pointing downward and having the arm bent, gives you a vector power line that bypasses the shoulder in terms of using it for power generation, and goes directly into the hip. This way you can use your body mechanics to full effect. Having your arm straight creates a vector power line that goes straight through the shoulder, taking away the structural support. The shoulder joint (primarily the rotor cuff area) is designed for stabilizing the shoulder joint, nor for storing power. Long term use of the shoulder in this manner will deteriorate the rotor cuff prematurely causing serious degrading of the stability of the joint. So, in fact, “elbow down power” is really teaching one to bypass power from the hip through the arm when punching and then through the arm to the hip when receiving power. That will bring us on to the next maxim of what happens to this power once stored into the body.
Bo Gun Sen Juen Ying Yee Mao – The horse moves with the body like a cat.
This maxim clearly shows the body mechanics of the Wing Chun fighter. The body of the cat demonstrates agility and mobility. In order to produce these traits one must have good body mechanics, strong sense of centre, balance and explosive power. Having the ability to adapt your weight and balance under pressure or when issuing pressure is the key. When a cat moves it will have light footwork but centred body weight.
“Siu Nim Tao Lien Yiu Sen Ma” – Siu Nim Tao trains the waist, torso and horse stance.
The first form in Wing Chun, Siu Nim Tao, teaches the practitioner correct body alignment but also correct storing and issuing of power. Many branches of Wing Chun practise this stance in a very static manner with no linking of the body into the movements of the arms. In the Chu Sau Lei system the Siu Nim Tao teaches the student to generate linked kinetic power and also what we term as the “spring core.”
The form teaches how to explode power with coordination between waist, body and horse. Another important aspect here is what is called the core-musculature. The “core” consists of the abdominal and low back musculature which are responsible for transferring force from the upper extremities to the lower extremities, and vice-versa. The core aids in stability during all physical activity. Even if the rest of your body is very strong, but your core is weak, you will not be able to use all your power since there is no way for the body to stabilize the movement. Improving core strength will improve your ability to transfer power, thus, improve your Wing Chun Kuen power.
The idea of the “spring core” is that the central fulcrum of power is controlled by the centre of the body i.e. the hips and waist (core musculature). But, like a giant sphere, the core is just the centre; pressure received from any direction will be equalized from the opposite direction. So in terms of combat if you receive pressure into the arm it will be stabilized by the hips and transferred into the ground via the legs. And the opposite can be generated to produce issuing power by sinking the bodyweight into the ground and the focusing intention of the hips as the storing point of this borrowed pressure one can then issue explosively from the hips, pressing the balls of the feet into the ground and releasing the power via the elbow through the fist into the target.
“Externally train the tendons, muscles and bones”
This relates to the idea of Gung Lik within our system, something that we translate as “Trained Strength”. To us, it has nothing to do with “hard energy” or “brute force” as some branches of WCK regard it to be. Gung Lik is trained in the forms and also in Chi Sao practice. Actually, everything we do moulds our bodies to comply with the nature of the system, therefore Gung Lik is always employed. For instance, twisting your Tan Sao will use muscle (to cause the twisting) and when the muscle is contracted this makes the tendons pull on the bone, making muscle, tendon and bone stronger. The tendons are the “rubber bands” of the body and they are what make us able to use true elastic energy. When receiving or absorbing force your muscles control the movement but your tendons store the energy. When the energy is released, there is a minimum of muscular involvement, which in turn makes the movement efficient, less tiring and enables greater force production.
We spring-load ourselves this way either by absorbing force from our opponent, or by using gravity to stretch our tendons.
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