Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

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Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby marvin8 on Sun Sep 24, 2017 11:22 pm

Dan Lok
Published on Sep 23, 2017

What's the Secret to Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch?

Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Explained by Philip Ng - BIRTH OF THE DRAGON
https://youtu.be/EfKz9G3nOqQ

Bruce Lee one inch punch (rare footage)
https://youtu.be/P_LCs1eTZ9I

Bruce Lee - One and Six Inch Punches Slowed Down
https://youtu.be/pC6vRJsBZEg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK2esVQTNuY
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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby Bao on Mon Sep 25, 2017 11:33 am

"What's the Secret to Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch?"

To what Lee did, there's no secret, there's no inch anything and there's not a "punch". "There is no spoon," and that might be closest to the secret. At least to what Bruce used to perform. A several inch long whole body push, preferably done when your guest refuse to sit down in the sofa before you sit down. :P
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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby Overlord on Sat Dec 16, 2017 4:34 am

We need to differentiate punch from a push, although there is one more n and c replaced s, they are nevertheless vastly different.

It’s funny the closest demo of Bruce Lee one inch power is from a famous Thai boxer~ ( and his pendulum kick).
Last edited by Overlord on Sat Dec 16, 2017 4:40 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby C.J.W. on Sat Dec 16, 2017 6:47 am

An inch push will send you flying backward.

An inch punch, on the other hand, should drop you like a sack of potatoes.
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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby Overlord on Sat Dec 16, 2017 10:00 am

C.J.W. wrote:An inch push will send you flying backward.

An inch punch, on the other hand, should drop you like a sack of potatoes.


Great!
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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby wayne hansen on Sat Dec 16, 2017 1:15 pm

A fancy trick when Bruce first did it to impress a bunch of karate guys but just a little embarrassing now
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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby Overlord on Sat Dec 16, 2017 5:54 pm

wayne hansen wrote:A fancy trick when Bruce first did it to impress a bunch of karate guys but just a little embarrassing now


On the contrary, if he he punch in lieu of push, the other guys would end up in hospital
And the demo would have to cut short
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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby wayne hansen on Sat Dec 16, 2017 10:31 pm

So is there a record of that happening
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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby Overlord on Sun Dec 17, 2017 1:56 am

wayne hansen wrote:So is there a record of that happening


Well, you know, we can also BS all we want, making comments on a dead man all you want but all knowledge are self knowledge~
It’s not my job to convince others~
Then again a punch is not a push. How you and others deliver it~ is not my business.

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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby wayne hansen on Sun Dec 17, 2017 3:52 am

I'm not saying anything against Bruce
I am talking about a certain type of demo
You are the one that said he would put people in hospital
I have never heard anything about him ever putting anyone in hospital
If he was about today I am sure the one inch punch would not be in his repertoire
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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby Overlord on Sun Dec 17, 2017 7:07 am

Good for you~^_^
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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby origami_itto on Sun Dec 17, 2017 7:21 am

If you've got some taiji in ya, it's not that impressive, IMHO. "one inch" and "no inch" force is part and parcel, and his movements are very large and leave him double weighted at the end. You should be able to do better than what he demoed easily. He'd still whoop your ass though.

He has sent folks to the hospital, at the very least, broken an extra's arm. http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2014 ... ce-lee/arm
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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby Steve James on Sun Dec 17, 2017 10:42 am

Well, people are unique. BL was what he was for the time he was in. The people who were around him seem to think he was exceptional. I'd say that if he were alive today, he'd be exceptional too. The same for Jack Dempsey or YLC. I don't think judgments about individuals across generations are relevant.

Afa the terminology, if it's like everything else, it's a yin-yang thing. The distinction between a push and a punch can appear obvious, but are only degrees of expression of force. If there's a problem calling the demo "a punch," or a push, just use different words to describe what was happening. Personally, I don't think it was faked, but it's never possible to determine the degree of cooperation, if there was. If it wasn't faked, then repeating the demonstration would be one way to find the right words. ;)
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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby marvin8 on Sun Dec 17, 2017 12:22 pm

Bao wrote:"What's the Secret to Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch?"

To what Lee did, there's no secret, there's no inch anything and there's not a "punch". "There is no spoon," and that might be closest to the secret. At least to what Bruce used to perform. A several inch long whole body push, preferably done when your guest refuse to sit down in the sofa before you sit down. :P

Excerpt from A bio-mechanical evaluation of Bruce Lee One Inch Punch, http://asaikarate.com/a-bio-mechanical- ... inch-punch:
Case 1:

Photo 1-1:
Image
In this photo you can see that Lee is standing sideways to his partner in white. This is a big telltale for a push instead of a punch. If he was going to do a real punch then he should be facing his partner straight forward.

Photo 1-2:
Image
Here is some proof that he was pushing his partner. See how much he leaned into his partner and his left foot is lifted. This clearly shows that he did not generate this punch (or push) from the hips. He must have pushed about 10 inches judging from the photos.

(Note: this photo may not be related to the first and third photos. I used this photo to show his punch most clearly.)

Photo 1-3:One inch 7

Here is the perfect prop to make his “punch” looking effective or powerful; a chair right behind the partner! Why? If there was no chair his partner may just take a few steps back instead of collapsing from the punch. With a chair so close to this guy he had no choice but to stumble and fall. If that was a real one inch punch with a full effect, the partner may take a few steps back but at the same time he would probably bend over from the pain in the chest.
Image
You can see better how he punched in this video. After my explanation, now you should be able to detect that he was pushing instead of punching his partner.

http://popmech.tumblr.com/post/109674670789


Case 2:

The video here (3 min 29 sec) includes many of his feats such as his two finger push up, etc.

Go to 40 to 45 seconds into this section to see his “one inch punch”.Start 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGktqHzu83c

Photo 2-1:
Image
Let me explain what he did in this demonstration. I have to point out that he used another trick. Check his right hand in the photo here. You can clearly see that he is using an open hand in front of his partner’s chest. This gives you an impression that he was not going to use much power. However, it really means he had an additional 2 inches as he closed his hand to push. It is a clever trick but also, unfortunately, deceiving.


Photo 2-2:
Image
Take a look at Lee’s right hand in this photo. He opened it again after the punch (push?) but you could see that he used the fist to push his partner backward. Why did he open the hand? It was obviously used to make his push looking “soft” but yet powerful. I am sorry to say this but this may impress the amateurs but it certainly was a poor trick he used.


Case 3: Six inch punch.

In the above film, his six inch punch demonstration is also included but I will attach a different video clip here as it is easier to see how he did this punch.

http://giant.gfycat.com/BigImprobableBullfrog.gif

This video shows his punch in slow motion so you can see how far he moves his upper body to push the guy. I would say he moved his upper body 2 or 3 feet to generate this punch. In this punch where you position your fist is irrelevant as he was using his upper body leaning motion.

Photo 3-1:
Image
The start is the same. He positioned himself sideways. You can see his partner leaning backward slightly though I do not know if he was doing this intentionally or unintentionally. With the center of the gravity being pushed back behind his heels it was easy to push him backward.

Photo 3-2:
Image
The prop is the same, the partner has a chair right behind him. One thing I need to mention is that the chair he had to sit slid backward many feet. If the chair had the rubber feet, it couldn’t have done this. I could be wrong but I am assuming Lee wanted to have this visual effect, simply to impress the audience. He was a movie actor but at the same time I heard that he was heavily involved in the choreography and visual effects of his actions. This is the reason why I suspect he purposely set this up. Just think, if you really wanted to show a one inch punch, why would you need a chair?


Case 4 Board breaking

Photo 4-1:
Image
As he had to break the board, Lee is standing in a straddle stance. This means he could lean his upper body instead of using only the hips.

Photo 4-2:
Image
Another photo (from another TV program in Asia) showing how he positioned himself to the board.

Photo 4-3:
Image
This is an after the break photo and I consider this as a proof that he leaned his upper body. Notice his punching arm is now bent. This proves that he leaned so much to break the board he bent his arm back as a reaction. If he had used only the hips to punch his arm should have been straight.

If the board is a soft wood anyone can break one or even two pieces with a push like this. Just try it and you can see how easy it is to break a board. But try to stand in a natural stance as you would in the Yoi position, then extend your arm and touch the board before you break the board. This way is much harder.

Conclusion:
Image
I conclude that his one inch punch was not a real one inch punch at all but was a one or six inch push with several props to make them look impressive. Once again, the intention of my evaluation was not to degrade him in any way. What I did in this report was to evaluate his martial art skill level from the bio mechanical method. Lee was a great movie actor and he should receive a but obviously not a martial art expert. He did what he could and tried to make it impressive. It was, indeed, impressive as one inch punch was almost unheard of in the 70’s particularly in the western world. . . .

The true irony is his one inch punch demonstration. Though it may have given him some credibility in martial arts in the 60’s and helped his movie career. However, the recorded film of his demonstration is now widely available with the internet technology. Consequently, his martial art skills are being fully exposed and it would haunt his fame some fifty years later.
Last edited by marvin8 on Sun Dec 17, 2017 1:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch Demo & Explanation | Jeet Kune Do

Postby wayne hansen on Sun Dec 17, 2017 1:44 pm

We go back to him putting people in hospital,I'll give you the extra who got hurt by accident
Who were the others
We all know of the Wong Jack man historical revisionism that went on
The best part of the demo is the well placed chair
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