EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ONE PUNCH!

By ELIJAH "Kickboxing-man" BOND

One-inch punch

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The one-inch punch is a punching exercise from Chinese martial arts (Kung Fu) performed at a range of 0–15 cm (0–6 in). The one-inch punch was popularized by renowned actor and martial artist Bruce Lee. It is purported[1] to improve punching power and technique.

The one-inch punch is present in various styles of Southern Chinese martial arts.[2] As a general rule, Southern Chinese martial arts rely mostly on hand techniques from very close quarters (as opposed to Northern Chinese martial arts which focus more on kicking techniques from medium to long distances). Because the Southern styles martial artists were often fighting nose-to-nose with their opponents, they had to learn a way to deal out punishing blows even while almost touching their target.

The one-inch punch is a skill which uses fa jin (translated as explosive power) to generate tremendous amounts of impact force at extremely close distances. This "burst" effect had been common in Neijia (internal martial art) forms. When performing this one-inch punch the practitioner stands with his fist very close to the target (the distance depends on the skill of the practitioner, usually from 0–6 inches, or 0-15 centimeters). The timed chaining of multiple muscle groups[3] contribute to the punching power while being imperceptible to the attacker. It is a common misconception that "one-inch punches" utilize a snapping of the wrist. The target in such demonstrations vary, sometimes it is a fellow practitioner holding a phone book on the chest, sometimes wooden boards can be broken.