Here is quite a good and believable demonstration of fajing, or the explosive delivery of internal energy, by Stephen Hwa, who teaches taijiquan at the University of Buffalo and in Fairport, New York. He shows the “one-inch punch” made famous by Bruce Le (see below), who at the 1964 Longbeach championships knocks someone into a chair, without any windup, his fist starting an inch away from the target.
Master Hwa shows how it is possible to generate this power using the taiji “hollow-fist punch.” He explains that other people have recreated this but using “external” or purely muscular power. In his demonstration, he has his fist pressing against the pad held to another person’s midsection, while someone else holds onto his bicep and forearm, to feel his muscular contraction.
With seemingly little effort, he knocks back the man holding the pad, who feels a sudden surge of power. The man holding Hwa’s arm says it is relaxed before and after the punch, with only brief tension as the power is delivered into the opponent. Hwa explains that if the arm tenses before the power is delivered that the force will be greatly reduced.
[Via Zsolt Sepa]
