How to Punch Hard and Fast: Martial Arts Lessons | Content for ...
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Q: What is the best way to develop speed in Kung Fu?
A: Practice slow!
When I first started martial arts training I was allowed to practice one punch, and one punch only, for a very long time. They put me in the "beginners class" and one punch was all I was shown and one punch was all I was allowed to practice. When I "graduated" from the beginners class I was of course shown other techniques.
"Graduation" was by invitation only; it did not depend on a pre-determined set of criteria and of course you could not buy your way into the advanced classes. You had to wait until the teacher considered you were ready and that could take a short time, or a very long time. You just never knew when the invitation would come?or if it would come!
Astute readers will see immediately that the beginners class was a test of commitment: traditional teachers are not going to waste their time on browsers and tyre-kickers. You have to demonstrate a level of commitment to the class before they in turn make a commitment to you.
But the beginners' class was more than just a test of commitment: it was an important part of the training. Learning to focus all our energies on one single punch was an invaluable skill that would stand us in good stead in the months and years to come. But I did not understand that, at the time. I simply did not understand why we were required to practice only one punch, and that only slowly.
Young as I was, I was bursting with impatience. Slow practice was boring. I wanted to learn all the "moves" and I wanted to do them hard and fast. I wanted to beat Bruce Lee in speed and power!
But slow practice?
Hey! That was for the other guys. I was going places. I did not have time for slow practice.
But I hung in there and the reason I hung in was that my teacher was blindingly fast. I had seen him in action and his punches seemed to erupt out of nowhere, and of course I wanted to be like that.
Anyone would, right?
And I was willing to bet that my teacher had practiced ? fast!
If you want to be fast, you must practice fast, right?
But the first thing to do in martial arts is to throw away whatever you think you know about martial arts because the martial arts, especially the traditional variety, are replete with paradoxes. Your expectations more often than not simply get in the way.
Practicing hard and fast, for example, will get you quick results. Your muscles will bulge and your punches will kick like a mule, but?
And it is a big BUT?
Your punches will be inefficient. They will never be as good as they could be and, worse, the punching power will decline with age because it is strength-based.
Let's take a closer look at this: when you first practice a punch it is not "clean". That is, the muscles do not co-ordinate properly and often work against each other. Moreover certain groups of muscles resist the punch and inhibit it, which means you have to use far more strength than necessary because you have the additional burden of overcoming the inhibition. And that is not efficient.
Worse, if you practice hard and fast you tend to strengthen not only the correct muscles, but also the inhibitory muscles. In other words an Arnold Schwarzennegger clone may have big muscles but relatively little punching power because while one big set of muscles are performing the punch, another big set of muscles are inhibiting the punch.
These inhibitory, or antagonist, muscles are triggered for two reasons: one, there is a natural fear, especially in Western societies, of hitting someone (fear of consequences, for example) and this activates the antagonist muscles which hold you back. And two, the antagonist muscles are the body's natural defense system so that you don't damage your own arm whilst punching. For example, without the antagonist muscles coming into play you might dislocate your shoulder or elbow because there is nothing to hold the punch back.
In other words, the antagonist muscles do have a legitimate function, but care must be taken not to give them too much scope because they will hold you back ... and that is why you need to practice slow. If you practice slow the antagonist muscles do not have to come into play, because the body does not need to protect itself and so the end result is that you are strengthening your hitting power, but not strengthening the inhibitory muscles.
This leads to efficient punches because when you do have to strike hard and fast, there will be only the minimum necessary re-action by the inhibitory muscles and so you can operate at optimum speed.
There is more to it than that, a lot more, but suffice it to say for the moment that practicing slow allows you to practice relaxed and you can move fast from a relaxed position. Practicing fast, however, tends to tighten the muscles and this inhibits movement. In other words there is a lot more resistance to overcome if your muscles are tight and tense, and that will slow you down.
In conclusion I urge the practitioner, especially the younger ones, to guard against impatience. That will be your biggest enemy, bigger than any you will find on the street! Impatience will interfere with your technique more than anything I know.
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