More power

I need full power Mr. Scott.............Captain, I can't give anymore...she's going to blow.

A little flashback to my younger days of watching Star Trek.  

Last week in sihing class we practiced our forms.  When we got to Lao Gar, sifu M. Playter mentioned that this form is different then the others as the majority of power was generated by rotational power instead of more linear power from the other forms. 

That Sunday was Kurtis's 13th birthday and I took him to be driving range to hit some balls. A little time passed and something clicked. If I can take my driver and hit a little white ball 250 yads straight down the range, I should be able to generate that same force with my techniques. 

With my golf swing, I take the club back in arc about 70 degrees from vertical and twist about 40 degrees into my backswing. Once at the top of my swing, my hip and shoulders start the down swing following a similar arc as my backswing generating speed and power as I fire my hips, shoulders, arms, hands, and legs at certain points of the downswing. All of that momentum and force is concentrated at the bottom of my arc as the club head makes contact with the ball. The contact fires the balls along its merry way. If any part of my swing is off, and we are talking about a millimeter or a millisecond, the ball doesn't go straight.  I will still hit the ball but it won't be at full power or as accurate as I would like it to be. 

This translate to our Kung fu training, since day one, the Sifu's have always harped on the fact that we have to rotate our punches and blocks to generate effortless power. Stepping forward and punching is an excellent example of this. As you slide step forward, your hand fires off your hip towards your target. As you plant you feet, you rotate your hands to the proper contact position. Everything coming together to generate a large amount of power. More then if we just used our shoulders and arms to push out the punch. Yes, you still generate power but it's not as powerful as it can be. 

Both my golf and Kung fu rely on the the precise timing of my movements to generate power and complete the technique. The six harmonies, your feet and hands, knees and elbows, and hips and shoulders. They all have to work in harmony of each to maximize  efficiency and power.  I will have to keep this at the forefront as I try to master myself and excel at Kung fu and golf.