heres a quick question?
Does a wing chun punch extend the arm fully?
or do we keep the arm slightly bent?
I believe that the elbow should be slightly bent on contact and then straighten!
hi my friends
my friends wing chun dnt have puch or blocade w.c. have only forms and positions so… that is in strategy of wing chun … just friendly tiger_1 
/
Punch
You should have a slight bend in it for a couple of reasons. 1) Once the arm is completely straightened the tendons and muscles cause the energy to begin to snap back, so by allowing the arm to have some bend it allows the energy/force to continue unintterupted. 2) The other reason is when the arm is put out there straight or even in a locked position it makes it even more vulnerable to be broken, the bend in the arm when done properly allows for more resistence.
“Bend where there is straight, and straight where there is bend”
Arm bent - how much depends on how far away the target is - there is nothing more to it than that.
punch
the arm should always be bent.
remember that wing chun is about close combat fighting. if you have to extend your arm to punch, then you are not close enough to your opponent.
If your arm is straightened when you are punching someone then you need to re-evaluate your distance training or fighting zones…if you have to straighten your arm to hit your opponent then you either need to use your bui gee techniques or possibly even a kick, or move in closer to your opponent. When issuing power your various fighting zones make a great difference when speaking of power. Even 2-3 inches will change the outcome.
A good rule of biomechanic thumb is not to hyperextend the elbow. That= 
You can really damage it.
punch
Wing chun is about taking your opponent down on to the floor. in combat, there should be no more than 2 punches just to confuse the opponent. Then you should be close enough for take downs. that’s another reason to have bent arms.
The change.
Don’t you try and “punch thru” your opponent, thus fully extending the arm, then snapping it back? If you’re too close to fully punch, isn’t that then elbow/headbutt range?
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
I agree with vertical fist.
I think it’s an issue of extending your arm in a relaxed way – in other words, not locking out your elbow or anything like that. I think we’re all saying the same thing but in different words: Don’t lock your elbow, but punch as far as you can w/o forcefully locking your elbow – there will still be a slight, natural bend ???
I say the arm must be straight but you must be carefull not to hyperextend.
You could compare the punch to a bullwhip!..The power is at the end,when it is straight,it is like steel! A fraction of a second before,it is dull and would not hurt a fly!
Punching any other way (with the exeption of circular) would mean using muscle instead of technique!..(IMO) 
Les paroles s’envolent.
Les écrits restent!..
old jong
Though I see what you are getting at with the almost straightening of the arm, I have to disagree w/you about not being able to hurt a fly part, if done any other way. I also disagree with the part that if done somewhat bent it would be muscular instead of with technique (unless circular). The power done with the bent arm can be very very powerful if done properly. It’s called whipping, it’s taught in Bui Jee and actually can also be somewhat seen in chum kui. I am not saying what you are saying is wrong, since I know various systems of Wing Chun use different ways to develop power in thier techniques, though if trained properly the not so extended punch can be a power house of a hit. But I guess the as far as circular goes then you are correct, because the movements in Wing Chun actually move in a very tight circular pattern in a sense. 
Azwingchun
I dont want to be lost in differents family terminology.The bullwhip analogy was to illustrate the power of a well focussed strike.The force comes from the precision and relaxation of the movement himself instead of the tenseness and contraction of a physical effort.If you want to really transfer a shockwave to a target,you need to be relaxed so the wave does not stay or come back in your limb.I just feel that a bent arm (unless it is a circular strike)is not relaxed enough.IMO.
Les paroles s’envolent.
Les écrits restent!..
old jong
Boy, that was a quick reply…lol. I completely agree w/you on the relaxation of the body and punch, as well as we all know there is more such as body alignment and such, but I will keep this on just the punch. I actually find that the more someone extends thier arm (or any limb) the more muscle tension there is due to the pulling of the muscles and tendons(maybe not so much tension as resistence). There is a natural pulling back when ones arm (limb) is extended (IMO). Once again I’m not saying you are wrong…I just like to be right(joking). I also am a believer in keeping slighting more bend to protect the arm from breaks.
Azwingchun
I would be curious to see if we are not doing exactly the same thing!..These things are hard to put in words!(Is the glass half full or half empty?) Nice to chat with you!
BTW, Wing chun guys always want to be right!..It’s a law!
Les paroles s’envolent.
Les écrits restent!..
old jong
You know you read my mind. Late last not I wanted to come in and write what your last post said almost word for word. What you call almost straight and what I am calling somewhat bent might be exactly the same thing. But I guess you already said that in similar words…LOL.
I’m not sure if the question involves practice or application. In practice, you can extend or not extend (though you should never hyper-extend or you’ll risk elbow injury). If you never extend, you may develop the bad habit of restraining the bridge and when it comes to application (where the opponent’s body will already alter the dynamic) you may drastically under extend. Working on the sand bag will probably give a good range of motion. Work with the candle another.
In application, its probably a good not to leave the elbow straight, even if pressing, to prevent an opponent hyper extending it and to allow a smooth tranfer of power should you want to hit again (or again and again) with the fist still in contact.
Just some thoughts,
Rgds,
RR
Rene Ritchie
I completely agree with you on the training aspect of the punch, there should be some extension, for example when doing chain punches you should not not extend the arm. This would prevent the training of releasing/throwing (not to mention the natural stretching of tendons and muscles) energy and energy development in whole would be slowed if not stopped to a point.
az, i assume you mean that you should extend the arm in training? I agree totally, you can’t train the wing chun punch without extending.
In application the arm is going to be bent at the point of impact most of the time. If you are aiming to hit at extension then you are ruling out punching from close in - what would be the point in training to generate power over a short distance? Also you are going to risk falling short if you try and judge your punches to impact at extension - hitting closer in means you throw the punch and the arm keeps going until it lands, it can be a little closer or a little further away than you thought and still do damage.
That’s my take on it anyway - be interested to hear more from anyone with a different perspective.