Tunch Punch Ladder
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is the incline press a lift better suited to developing the punch technique?
NO! The Tunch Punch or open palm strike is utilized for its benefits of short range striking (Wing Chun style). It does not involve shoulder rotation so it is a non-twisting, heel of the hand, horizontal punch. This provides fast, straight, strides and blocks, developed with blunt power. Since it has less distance to travel, the intent of the punch is not telegraphed. Plus, a minimal amount of lower body movement is required for delivery, so balance maintenance and stability will not be disturbed. Bruce Lee has described this straight punch as “the backbone of Jeet Kune Do (JKD).”
- So will increasing my bench press make me a better puncher?
NO! The punch is characteristically very similar to other movements (such as benching, throwing a shot, baseball, fencing prick, etc., but what makes it different is that it is an unloaded movement. Thus tension has to be generated by the body, surprisingly, not in a rapid manner, but displayed at brief intervals using intense internal muscular contractions. These intrinsic properties categorize the punch as a true maximal speed movement, which incidentally lies between 0-20% of one’s 1RM.
Since maximal strength (80-100% or 1RM) and maximal speed are not correlated (different neurological regimes located at the opposite ends of the strength spectrum), maximal strength doesn’t effect initial muscular tension or maximal force when the external resistance is low. Maximal speed thus correlates highly with starting strength (20-40% of 1RM), or simply put, the ability to turn your motor units on. Thus, starting-strength that is displayed isometrically against an additional external resistance is displayed dynamically in an unloaded movement, but barely (100-500 ms of conscious initiation). One then must train explosively with loads between 0-40% of 1RM to effectively develop increased punching power.
- How often does one have to train the hands?
Perfect practice creates neural efficiency! The brain only recognizes pre-determined and pre-set inscribed instructions or neurological repetition of correctly or incorrectly repeated patterns. Since movements are the fundamental element governing all sports, they are neurologically and biomechanically based, and stored as motor programs each independent of one another, but must react and function simultaneously as one. Initially, these motor programs are weak and unpredictably scattered across the movement spectrum. Through repetitive practice the range of variation decreases, and the interaction between the neuro-muscular systems can be coordinated through specific patterns of simultaneous and sequential actions, which is accurately regulated over shortened periods of time. This natural process of adaptation allows the motor system to become acclimated and integrated to its newly acquired skill(s).
- How should I introduce my athletes to the Tunch Punch technique and the Ladder?
To create a ‘natural act’, all motor skills must proceed through the “Three Tiers of Learning”.
Level 1 – Cognitive, patterns are created through talking yourself through the movement.
Level 2 – Associative, patterns are strengthened through sensory feedback.
Level 3 – Automatic, patterns are engrained and become second nature.
We recommend the following progression:
-Repetition of the fundamental motor act using the proper form. –continued-
-Repetition and implementation of the motor act into the complete motor program using proper form.
-Repetition and implementation of variations (drills) of the motor program using proper form.
-Repetition and the introduction of simple environmental changes using the proper motor system.
-Repetition of variations under environmental changes using the proper motor system.
-Continue and introduce problem solving and sport specific strategies in a competitive setting.
Pre-load. Do not strike with just your arms; they are just a delivery system. It takes more mechanical energy to generate non-elastic energy.
All power in punching comes from the realization that your arms act as extensions of the body. When you strike, synchronize your muscles to act as one.
All punches should accelerate and explode through the target. Do not just hit the target, hit through it.
All punches begin and end from the original set position (hands spread within your field of view). Play with long arms, never recoil; your arms are factors of time. They provide the defender with range limiting capabilities, thus, reduced time to operate.
Always practice and play within your “square” (the framework of your upper body). This will prepare you to attack your opponents “near point square” (the framework of their closest, consistently changing upper body part).
When punching “square to square”, never cross centerline or throw a punch over a punch. This involves shoulder rotation, which creates overextension and vulnerability to an outside attack.
Play with high hands and keep them within your field of view. This visual feedback is also a postural control mechanism. Simply said, reactions are more easily organized when the movement dynamics are predictable. Visually tracking through your hands allows the CNS to make adjustments, which match the visual scene in relation to judging distance and time. You will SEE through your hands what you will HIT.
Do not “feel your way” and punch with your fingers. Punching with an open palm allows a quicker return to the starting position, and/or the option to grab clothing if it is available.
Do not play rigid. Be reflexive and reactive, relax and spread your hands/fingers. Eliminate double hand dominance, and create single hand independence.
In order to be fast, one must train fast. Relax, develop speed, and power will follow.
When fatigue sets in, the elbows will flare out. Stress keeping them next to the body and in a straight line, it puts you at a greater mechanical advantage.
Teach using cue words as “press away”, “neck back”, throw from the back” and “shoot” to create bodily separation from the punch and prevent lunging. These will reinforce and strengthen the correct neuro-motor response.
Tunch Punch Ladder Drills 1-5
Tunch Punch Ladder Drills 6-7
