The punch everyone talks of is the 1-inch punch made famous by Bruce Lee. I developed the same punch and mine was recorded in a lab at 107.5 lbs per square inch from an inch away. There are in fact several ways to do the 1inch punch and also the thunder palm; which is a palm strike from 1inch away.

All the basic punches rely on the snap as described earlier and under normal fighting the same strike would be done from 6 inch. Lets take a look at the punch in more detail. First we need to get in to the basic stance. A foolproof way to do this is to start with the feet together and then turn the toes out as far as they will go. Keep the heel on the ground, when the toes are as far as they can go pivot on the toes and take the heels out as far as is comfortable. Now you're in a firm position you want to be slightly to the left of your opponent so your arm is level with his centre line.

Now its down to co-ordination you have to punch using the snap and at the point of contact drop your right knee about 3 inches towards the left leg twisting the waist as you go this will drop your shoulder. images29-30 All these things have to fire in the correct order and the punch snaps back after it has penetrated about 1 inch. The punch can be done the same but instead of snapping back punch through the target, the difference is the snap punch will kill and the follow through is more of a push type of punch. When I say push punch it is devastating but it does knock the person back were as the snap punch can drop someone dead on the spot.

 You must be totally relaxed until the point of contact and then the tension comes full on for a moment. Depending on your body type you may need to have your left leg in the lead slightly. This is the ideal way to do it but this will not be the case most of the time so train at the ideal and when you have got it right try it from different positions.

Here are some pictures from 30 years ago, which may show the punches clearer image99 image146 image147-148

The same move can be done using the palm the palm attack can start with the fingers actually touching the body and then snap down using the base of the palm in the same way as you do with the punch image20-21. It’s a nice move and it works well specially before a fight begins when the finger pointing starts and people point at each other or start the fight by pushing. I have often used it as most people will let you touch them gentle with the fingers as they see know danger. Then pow I strike it often is such a surprise and so powerful people think twice before continuing the fight. Warning all these moves can kill never try them straight to the chest always have a phone book or similar protecting the person.

The other ways to do the 1inch punch is to use what I call the Tai Chi method. You can see in the photo image31-32 the punch starts from a back stance and the punch again uses the wrist snap but the power comes from moving all the weight forward and pushing of the back foot. This punch is more of a pushing action than the other punch and safer to do for demonstration purposes. It should not be discounted, as it is still a powerful punch in its own right. The final method you can see uses a 90-degree body twist along with the snap punch. Any of the above punches can be combined to give further 1 inch punches. So you could turn the waist as you push forward you can drop the knee as well to add power. A sudden slide in with the front foot can greatly enhance the power. In reality don’t get bogged down with a 1-inch/2inch punch very few punches are done that close all though 6 inches would normally be about the maximum working range for punches.