I’ve heard hanging a sheet of paper by something heavy like (relatively) light chain and punching it is supposed to build snap in your punches, right?
Tell me all you know on this subject, and how to practice it.
Thanks,
Iron
Yes
There are several threads in the training section about building punching speed.
The goal is to just barely touch the paper, while still transfering the energy of your punch. You dont punch through the paper, you whip it.
strike!
correct body mechanics,
remember that, or your training nothing.
strike!
Ok guys, but the search engine isn’t working…
Does anyone want to be really nice and post a link to the previously mentioned thread(s)???
Iron
It works pretty good.The paper never got a chance to hit me back!
“Poor is the pupil who
does not surpass his
master” - Leonardo Da
Vinci
This is something Bruce Lee was experimenting with…I would suggest ignoring this device and buying a double end ball.
A
Something we used to do all the time (and I’m not sure that it’s the same thing) is one person would hold a piece of newspaper up & stretch it to the point of breaking. The other person would then have to “snap” their punch as hard as they could into the paper, stopping it with just a touch of the paper. If you broke the paper, you got pushups. The paper breaks really easy, but it is a really good exercise for gaining control at high speed. It always scares people that when we’re sparring I can stop a full speed full power punch about half a centimetre from their nose. I think it’s a good learning tool. 
“Pain is merely weakness leaving the body”
bump
No, no, do not ignore it!! Actually, this french book I often tell you about (check an old thread about reptilian brain) advocates it as one of the best methods of developping strikes that can be used for vital points striking (and moreover, for strikes so sudden the mind has troubles computing it).
Do not hang it with a chain, hang it with a light wire, just some wool or cotton wire will be good…it’s better when it’s light, because it actually makes the paper more mobile, hence the exercise more difficult…the whole point about this exercise is to develop a strike that is so fast and focused that it actually pierces the sheet of paper…to do this, there 2 paramount things: 1)speed, which implies relaxation and also very important no parasite movements, you have to develop a strike with no warnings, no set up a strike that pops out of you like you weren’t thinking about it…all your attention must be inside the target to the point that you have no attention left for the strike, and the blow seems to come out unconsciously.
2)precision, which has to do also with your mental focus on the target and the purity of your movement, with no parasite moves and no intellectual control (pure reptilian brain move, like you were burnt by a cigarette).
Dang, I will eventually manage to pierce the damn paper…it’s funny, but you really realize the importance of “no intellect” in the stuff when you fail all the time while trying your best, and the one time your pierce the paper is out of frustration when you throw a move you don’t think about and don’t believe in…just like when you nonchalantly throw a basketball over your shoulder and score a perfect 3 points without paying attention and then when, surprised, you try to do it again consciously you miss all the time. Actually, the hard part is to reproduce all the time the piercing, that means to reproduce all the time the physical and mental state necessary for your strike to be fast and precise enough: as long as you think about it, as long as you WANT to pierce the damn paper you’ll fail…
It’ss a great martial lesson, the best moves are those that pop out like you didn’t want to do them, while if you really want to place a particular move, you’ll get nailed.
The best techniques to use on the sheet of paper are the phoenix eye fist an the crane beak (spelling?? heheheh)…that will work your snapping power in the wrist and elbow, and also shoulder power…
for the phoenix eye fist, it is easier to start with a sideways one, with the sheet of paper hanging on your side (I find the front one much more difficult), and for the crane beak, just arme it next to your ear or start from a natural position with your arm hanging loose…
Just some thoughts, and keep practicing because it is not easy at ALL.
Actually if there wasn’t that wonderful feeling of surprise and amazement here and then when you manage to pierce it, this exercise would feel very dumb and useless…
Take care and good training!
That’s the kind of response I was looking for. Thanks a lot.
btw, you spelled “beak” right
Iron
I know a printer who’s mastered the three hole punch.
He can do a whole phonebook at one time. 
City, your toast will never go unbuttered again! -The Tic
Hee hee hee
Haa haa haa, KC.
But seriously, the objective, Crimson et al, is to NOT pierce the paper with your strike?
I personally use a lot of whip hands, backfists, and snake strikes in my system. How will I be able to improve punching speed with this paper exercise?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
“I’ll be too busy lookin’ good!”
Not to pierce it? What’s the point? When you punch someone, is your objective not to hurt him?? Breaking the paper (I repeat: attached to a very light wire, so unless the strike is extremely focussed and violent the paper and string will just anihilate the energy) is the sign that your strike was good…I could do punches all day on a sheet without piercing it.
The objective IS to pierce, if I want not to pierce it I just do a dumb longfist punch on it (I myself am a longfist exponent before everyone starts getting heated), it will never pierce the paper…
Tiger, this exercise will benefit your speed because it is the paramount factor in the drill…I also heard many times that it is the crucial exercize to develop pressure point striking…here are some conclusions: a backfist will NEVER pierce it (unless you hit with just one knuckle and you are a gong fu wonder), nobody ever did pressure point striking with backfists (it’s more a hammer than a needle).
Snake strikes? I don’t know much about them but surely some strikes in snake will definitely be good to pierce the sheet.
Whip hand? I don’t know, I’m not sure of what a “whip hand” is (aren’t there several versions?).
Maybe it wasn’t clear in my post but this exercise cannot be done with every strike, only certain ones will pierce the paper: the more muscular strikes, the ones drilling instead of whipping, and the strikes with a striking surface too large will NOT pierce tha paper
It is a very fun exercise, but can get very frustrating…
[This message was edited by Crimson Phoenix on 11-17-01 at 11:57 AM.]
IF the idea was to just hit the paper lightly, you could do it with just a (punch)bag, and just tap it, non? the idea is to use whipping power/speed to rip the paper.
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Sharky, I should expect this level of immaturity from you after seeing your post titled “Hm.” regarding the woman that lives next door to you. I think everyone who unfortuneatly read that post is a bit more ignorant now for doing so. - Spectre
All i wanted was some RICE CAKES! Now? WE MUST BATTLE.
I think what Straight Blast meant was that the NOT breaking the paper drill was to teach control so you don’t bust up your sparring opponent’s face.
Iron
yeah he was, and i was just saying it’d be a whole lot easier to practice it on a bag or even just a plain wall!
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Sharky, I should expect this level of immaturity from you after seeing your post titled “Hm.” regarding the woman that lives next door to you. I think everyone who unfortuneatly read that post is a bit more ignorant now for doing so. - Spectre
All i wanted was some RICE CAKES! Now? WE MUST BATTLE.
Nice sig. Sounds like Spectre really likes you, eh Sharky?
Iron
haahahahaa
it doesn’t help at all.. you have been watching master of the 36th chamber.
don’t let movie mithology confuse the real thing.
there are smarter and less time consuming ways to increase speed, accuracy, form, and technique then punching paper..
if this was a good idea, more martial artists would have stacks and stacks of paper at there house.. and believe me there is no paper shortage buddy..
“oh your tough… But can you kick my ass!”
god bless all*
the point of paper training…
you don’t want to pierce the paper at all. A similar exercise was told me me by someone as a way to build speed, only he suggested using a styrofoam cup. hang it from a piece of string and throw strikes at it, without touching it. If your speed is right, then when your fist returns, the cup should swing toward the direction your fist came from. Hopefully that wasn’t too hard to follow. It was just a quick explanation. the old poison hand practitioners relied on speed, and from what I heard, practiced this exercise with rice paper.
"Just because I joke around sometimes doesn’t mean I’m serious about kung-fu.
" - nightair
me and spectre have " conflicting views "
seem to be pissing a lot of people off on here lately.
Good stuff.
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Sharky, I should expect this level of immaturity from you after seeing your post titled “Hm.” regarding the woman that lives next door to you. I think everyone who unfortuneatly read that post is a bit more ignorant now for doing so. - Spectre
All i wanted was some RICE CAKES! Now? WE MUST BATTLE.