Straight punches

[klonk]

Gotta have them. The best I have found are xingyi's beng quan (with plenty of hip behind it) and Western boxing's one-two.

Notice that neither is simply punching a bloke, as anyone might, but each has logic contained in its method.

What is your Sunday punch?

[Peacedog]

I've been told I have a strong overhand left.

A lot of the pressing posture based exercises seem to encourage this. I never noticed until during some light sparring a few years back everything lined up once and I ended up knocking my partner back a few feet without really trying.

Luckily some light brushing was the result. When this happens it feels like I've barely touched the guy, but it isn't something I can do on command and it doesn't seem to happen when I wear gloves.

[MaartenSFS]

A Bengquan by itself is likely to have you eat a punch yourself. A Bengquan with the lead hand, however..

Two other straight punches I use are a diagonally upwards jab the goes right between their hands and a rear hand straight with my thumb pointed down and my elbow protecting my face (the other hand also comes up to brush away attacks). Oh, and a chain-type bunch with the last lead-hand punch being the most powerful. I don't have a one-two punch, as such, much preferring to lead or follow with circular attacks.

[Bao]

The best I have found are xingyi's beng quan (with plenty of hip behind it)

Bengquan is great... I don't know what version or style you practice, but traditional Xingyi usually doesn't emphasize the hip like in southern styles or Karate. The power is generated while the middle is kept straight. Vertical spine movement is coordinated together with the full body forward momentum.

Not much hip movement:

https://youtu.be/0pwzR2t1f30


https://youtu.be/PNPpwIoD0N8?t=38s

What is your Sunday punch?

golden rum, coconut rum, and a splash of apricot brandy. Add pineapple juice, orange juice, and tart pink grapefruit juice.

[klonk]

The best I have found are xingyi's beng quan (with plenty of hip behind it)

Bengquan is great... I don't know what version or style you practice, but traditional Xingyi usually doesn't emphasize the hip like in southern styles or Karate...

That's right. By hip I did not mean rotation around the vertical axis, I meant firm forward progress along the horizontal axis. I don't practice any kind of xingyi, I steal ideas. If I have this one all wrong it works well anyway. See that your spine is solidly backed by your pelvic girdle, so that your step makes your punch firm, but that takes too long to say.

What is your Sunday punch?

golden rum, coconut rum, and a splash of apricot brandy. Add pineapple juice, orange juice, and tart pink grapefruit juice.

That sounds quite good! "Sunday punch" is an Americanism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sports_idioms#S

[Bao]

Ok, then I understand what you meant.

...

That's a recipe of a real knockout punch. Promise.

[klonk]

I've been told I have a strong overhand left.

A lot of the pressing posture based exercises seem to encourage this. I never noticed until during some light sparring a few years back everything lined up once and I ended up knocking my partner back a few feet without really trying.

Luckily some light brushing was the result. When this happens it feels like I've barely touched the guy, but it isn't something I can do on command and it doesn't seem to happen when I wear gloves.

This raises the question of how to figure something out so that you can then replicate it on demand. I ain't guaranteeing this will work, but quite likely it will!

• Make a step by step outline of how you throw that punch.
• Hold each step of the outline as a static posture and think about how it flows into the next moment. Look for flaws. Look for ways that things can hang up along the way.
• Eliminate the flaws.

For example, if you do this on the one-two punch you find out that your lead hand must not obstruct the rear hand that will follow like a freight car a moment later, and that it is easy to start the right on the way too soon. I do not know what you are doing with the overhand left when it works like magic, and that punch has never worked that well for me, but it is in your power to figure it out.

[middleway]

Beng Quan, When used as a punch, is the best i have encountered. Although it is of course not at all straight in any thing but appearance.

[bohdi]

I'm ok with eating a punch if I can hit you with a beng, because unless you're doing xingyi it's not gonna be an equal exchange.

[wayne hansen]

So if mike Tyson hits you with a straight right while your doing beng it's not going to be an equal exchange
You have most likely got that right there

[johnwang]

Do you train Beng Chuan

- both on the head level and chest level, or only on the chest level?
- both on the leading arm and back arm, or only the leading arm?
- only 1 punch for each step, 2, 3, ... punches for each step, or many steps for each punch?
- above your opponent's arm, or below his arm?
- through your opponent's "front door", through his "side door", or both?
- with different set up? What are those possible set up?

[klonk]

A Bengquan by itself is likely to have you eat a punch yourself.

Any weapon, and any punch, has limitations and drawbacks that you must work with or around. That is a question of application how-to.

Being tagged as you advance really sucks! It is 'borrowing force' as that principle pertains to striking. So don't do that, it hurts.

But we know that beng has been used successfully by various people and landing it without being clobbered yourself is thereby shown to be possible. You have two hands and the question of what you do with the other one should be left to your option, imho, rather than being too closely formalized. In the following, the left hand could be more active.

[Taste of Death]

Do you train Beng Chuan

- both on the head level and chest level, or only on the chest level?
- both on the leading arm and back arm, or only the leading arm?
- only 1 punch for each step, 2, 3, ... punches for each step, or many steps for each punch?
- above your opponent's arm, or below his arm?
- through your opponent's "front door", through his "side door", or both?
- with different set up? What are those possible set up?

- both but I am 5' 9" and my tallest training partner is probably 6' 2". I don't think I could beng chuan one of the Klitschko brothers in the head.
- both. I have two arms as do my training partners.
- one per step although I can change legs while punching without stepping forward
- always above his arm to trap it
- side door

[grzegorz]

I always found it interesting how fascinated Bruce Lee was with boxing's jab, which once someone knows how to use well makes plenty of sense.

Always work that jab.

[klonk]

Jack Dempsey recommended putting a bit of body weight behind the jab, in a way that some have compared to xingyi.

Something else occurred to me concerning beng quan and not getting tagged on the way in. Both the range and the timing of the punch have lots of adaptability. You can use beng as a close punch or farther out, and the blow can arrive either before or along with the foot. That's an advantage because you do not have to begin from a position that is just so.