i recently read a article on rick spain (some wing chun guy, if you havnt heard of him) and it says that he can do 9.9 punches a second.
9.9 a second how can you do .9 of a punch (you cant)
so lets say he did 9 punches which were landed in a second… Do you think this is overly fast? can anyone here do similiar to that amount or more?
-The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war-
sorry.. it said it was 9.8 punches a second
it also said this was the world speed punching record.. thas why im asking if anyone beleives they are faster.
-The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war-
Hmm
Hello Troy,
Rick Spain is of the William Cheung lineage although I believe he has broken from that organization. He is based in Australia and has a pretty good reputation as a fighter, having won quite a few events in Asia.
As to the speed of his punches, I would not be too surprised if he was able to punch that fast given the amount of time he has trained and, to my knowledge, still does. I can consistently punch 5-6 punches per second so I guess there are plenty of people faster then me 
making the realm of 9 per second reachable. Not sure about much faster than that though. I have seen claims of people being able to hit up to 22 times a second but I guess I just don’t buy much faster than around 9-10 with any type of power and accuracy.
But, instead of getting caught up on speed, which to a point is reliant on genetics, it is better to concentrate, IMHO, on timing and accuracy. It has always been my opinion that Wing Chun punches are a cummulative attack. What I mean is that while you will have power when done properly it is the continuation of the attack which disables the opponent. Often a flurry of well timed and executed punches can be used as a set up for the “big blow” so to speak. One thing I like to do is overwhelm my opponent with a flurry which varies in its targets, this serves to overload his mind and allows me to then hit him with something a little more powerful.
Is each of the “9” punches a second a knockout blow? Probably not. Would I want to get hit by one of Rick Spains punches? DEFINITELY NOT 
Is it really important how fast you can punch? IMHO it is more important that you can hit the target with consistency.
Just my two cents.
Peace,
Dave
I agree with Sihing73 that your aim is what is important, but I have found from real street experiences that the power of the punch is more important than how many per second you get in.
Especially in a real fight, when adrenaline is pumping, 9 Wing Chun punches Chon Choi’s might not do anything to your oppenent. It might be best to use your footwork and complete body mechanics to lay one good hard one on him, even if it is slower than a bunch of chain punches.
-Tathagata
[This message was edited by Sihing73 on 06-27-01 at 09:06 AM.]
The Truth Revealed!
I hate to break it to you guys, but the fastest anyone has ever punched, according to my reliable sources at http://www.martialart.org , is 5 times per second. The man himself says, and I quote
“FASTEST in 2000 Years
FASTEST DOCUMENTED
5 PUNCHES Per Second
OBJETIVE VERIFIABLE (Even in Video Even FREE Even OnLine –> Click Here )
DOCUMENTED FASTEST
Forever FASTEST Documented in the Entire Firsts II MILLENNIUM Firsdts 2000 Years
Since First Documentasry made by First Film Studio owner Black Maria Studio of the inventor of Kinetoscopy Thomas Alva Edison to the First World Heivyweigth Modern Boxing Champion Jim Gentelman Corbet in September 1894 until even December 31 2000 and January 1 2001”
So there you go. And, if you buy his videos, you’ll be fastest over Bruce Lee and Clay Ali, which I assume is a good thing.
Soup is good food.
Interesting
Hi Anarcho,
Interesting but not quite sure I agree. William Cheung was tested at, I believe, a University around Boston and was clocked at somewhere around 8 punches per second. This was several years ago and was performed by members of the Scientific community.
The method I use to count my punches is to utilize a metronome along with a round timer and set the metronome to whatever is desired and then go for the prescribed time. May not be the most accurate method but should give me a good overall average. Based on this I really don’t have much of a problem doing 5-6 punches per second. For example if I set the metronome at 180 beats per minute and can punch consistently for three minutes on each beat this would average out to about 3 punches per second. If I set it for 240 beats per minute then it averages out to about 4 punches per second. If I am able to punch more than 1 punch per beat then I can establish a fairly reliable estimate of how fast I can punch. Since I normally train at about the 4 punches per second and have gone to around 6 per second I am confident in saying I can punch conistently at 5-6 punches per second.
BTW, I also have a focus shield which measures the amount of force and time it takes to react to outside stimuli, a bell, so I know that my punches have a little bit of umph to them too, though not as much as some of my seniors LOL at least that’s how it feels when I get hit 
Now, this is what I am basing my performance on and I am not all that good so as I said I am sure there are plenty of others better and faster then me.
Peace,
Dave
Speed Punching
At my school we do a speed punching drill. One guy stands in goat stance and chain punches in sets of 5; on the 5th punch he shifts and extends it. So you’re going 1-2-3-4-5(shift left)-1(straight)-2-3-4-5(shift right)-etc. You do it for a minute straight and your partner counts each set of 5 punches as “one”. Then you switch. I consistently get around 70-75 sets per minute which works out to 350-375 punches per minute or 5.8-6.3 punches per second. One time when all the planets were in alignment I got 88 sets, or 7.3 punches per minute.
<HR>“Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform.” - Mark Twain
Troy - Actually, according to the article on speed in the latest issue of JKD, the author, who trained with Bruce Lee, claimed that a good WC puncher could punch 10X/sec, but Bruce could punch 12.
I can punch twice as fast as that guy… Im sure he can fight but he’s not that amazing. (the ninja guy on that page)
S.Teebas
I wasn’t really serious, Sihing73, I was just being a bit of a knob. Sorry.
S. Teebas: You think he can fight? Really? I think he’s a dodgy guy who’s selling videos that can make you a black belt on Amazon.com…
I don’t think I’ve ever had a joke go so horribly wrong.
Soup is good food.
The record
The record for Wing Chun chain punches are 13 punches a second.
9 or more punches a second = booolsheeet! 
I can hardly tap my fingers that fast, it’s a tad difficult to believe that some one could effectively punch with such a speed.
–
BK
Anarcho!
That has got to be, far and away, and without a shadow of a doubt, the suckiest website I have ever seen in my entire life.
Such use of colour! Such grammar! Repetition! Looks like it was done by a challenged 4 year old.
Well, I thought it was funny.
“Computer games don’t affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we’d all be running
around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music.”
“9 or more punches a second = booolsheeet! … I can hardly tap my fingers that fast”
You should see a doctor about that.
My anus is superiorâ„¢
It doesn’t matter
If the first hit doesn’t land and disrupt their structure, the second, third, fourth, and fifth hits won’t do anything to them.
Slowing down their reaction time by intercepting, disrupting their structure, good positioning, and interrupting their intention and focus will be more useful than punching X times per second.
regards,
Dzu
It’s pretty wild, huh, Frank? Usually you can work out what someone’s trying to say, but this guy…I’m not even sure he’s from this planet.
Soup is good food.
http://stc.nepean.uws.edu.au/wingchunway/
that is the site where it says he holds the world record( in the inteview bit)
Also why does the dude in the logo have his leg above his head while doing the butterfly knifes?
-The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war-
…
I like the one where the guys says
“A good WC guy could punch 10x a second, but Bruce Lee could punch 12.”
Doesn’t this sum up every immature JKD person’s feelings about Wing Chun?
Anyway, the punch per second count is taken over a course of time, not for one second. So for instance, he punches as fast as he can for 5-10 seconds, and then the punches are averaged out per second… hence the .9
-Scott
“Life is hard, but so am I.” – The Eels.
what do they class as a punch? do the arms move back and forward in a full motion or do they only move an inch or two?
“satisfaction loses, humility gains”