Power & Speed in Wing Chun (or Power vs. Speed ?)

Some people say that the Wing Chun's punch is not as powerful as other style's punches. And some people overcome this limitation by saying that although the Wing Chun's punch is not powerful, it has the benefit of speed. As a result, many people will say that a Wing Chun's practitioner doesn't need a strong punch, but just need a repetitive punch in a high velocity, and it will create the same damage as a strong punch will.

Is it true?

Indeed, that the perception of many people on the Wing Chun's punch is that speed prioritized over power, but this perception is far from correct.

Taking the principality of causality, speed in Wing Chun is the result, and not the cause. (As a contrary to many believing that the speed in Wing Chun is the cause of the many delivered punches in a shortest time possible and the speed itself will create the power which is lacked in a relaxed hand. Although this is not entirely wrong, but this is not entirely true also). When someone executes a punch, his/her body must be in the relax form. This will result in a high speed punch which is produced by the minimal friction, as the outcome of the relaxed body.

In the relax form, the body will become the power conductor from the earth/ground. The power from the ground will flow all the way up through the legs, waist, shoulder, and it will keep flowing to the hand and eventually go out from the fist. In Chinese terms, this is what so called "Fa-Jing" (or the Explosive Power as some may translate). This "Fa-Jing" can be attained if someone keeps training the "Nim-Lik" or the Mind Power.

Regarding the repetition of punches, don't forget that one of the basic principal of Wing Chun is the "Economy of Motion". This means that the number of attacks must be kept as minimum as possible to take down an opponent. So if we can take down an opponent with one strike, then why do we want to throw out 5 strikes to the opponent?

Thus, by taking this concept into mind, even before throwing out a strike, a Wing Chun's practitioner must be confident that his/her strike must be able to take down the opponent. Whether we need the fullest force or need the highest velocity to deliver a blow, at the end, it will very much depend on the situation.

Happy Training...