jab/cross

This is the most fundamental of concepts and the essence of striking and generating power. However, I find that it still takes many years to master. This is the secret to Bruce Lee’s one inch punch. In terms of striking, I believe that this concept takes precedence over all others. The ability to use one’s entire body weight and momentum to optimally drive one’s mass through efficient body dynamics creates tremendous force, allowing even for a much smaller man/woman to crush a larger one in a single blow.

Let me preface by saying that while the jab cross is shown in this video, any strike in any martial art is amplified when this concept is employed. Jab explanation:  start from the bladed fighting stance, both knees bent, with center of gravity not ahead or behind the lower body, but equally balanced, by pushing off a bent rear leg, flexing the toes one lunges forward. (Not shown in the video: the lead hand extends and the shoulder moves anteriorly and medially connecting with one’s own chin, creating a seal, the wrist pronates at the end of the punch). The footwork of the cross is followed off the momentum of the jab, for there is a wide space left over in the spacing of the legs after the initial lunge and the turning of the body that must be used to throw the cross/follow-up strike.

Imagine the jab, if you will, as a fencer would strike with an epee: he is lurching forward and extending himself. Naturally, after he lands, he brings his back foot forward a bit after the strike to compensate for the large distance covered and his now wider stance. However, imagine if he were to instead swing a blow with a mace or another heavier sword utilizing all the continuing momentum that he created from the initial jab. That second more powerful blow is the cross.

The student I was training in this video was, for many months, throwing a jab followed by a straight right. The difference between a cross and a straight right is that the straight right is thrown from a steady and fixed position. The back foot rotates inward, followed by adduction of the rear hip and the dropping of the weight and the rear knee moves downward. This is all fine and well, but it does not generate even a fraction of the power that the cross generates. This cross (whether it be an open handed strike to the nose, or a closed fist) is more dynamic: it actually moves across the body. It comes forward at an angle created by advancing the back foot after the initial jab and throwing the body weight down heavily at the hip. Do not make the same mistake as the aforementioned student who was advancing his rear foot too much after the jab, bringing his back foot into contact with the lead foot. This is an overcompensation, and will cause one’s base/stance to be less stable. The rear foot needs to advance following the jab, but not actually meet the lead foot: it may be only a few centimeters or a few inches, depending on the distance covered by the lunge as well as the tempo of the strikes.