Is the one inch punch really useful?

For sure, I just meant that the guy actually does a strike, rather than the push you usually see in JKD demos (including Bruce Lee).

It's like any demo of a concept or mechanic; you have to find yourself in the right conditions to apply it.

Any videos of the Bagua stuff you're talking about would be appreciated. You're talking about using a short strike to distract and set up a more damaging technique?

 

Short power is used to shock when they hit you it freezes you for a few seconds allowing for a joint break to happen for example

another example would be in close and use short power with a shoulder strike to knock you backwards allowing you to straighten an otherwise bent joint to break it.

Short power is also used to destroy a joint so for example long power once a joint is straightened is used to throw you or push you into a wall, short power when the joint is straightened is used the destroy the joint before you can move.

I'll try to dig some videos up of it

 

I get what you mean, but it would be nice to see what you consider to be a good demonstration of it in Bagua.

 

In my yout' I had James Demile's book on the 1" punch and according to that that video demo is a 3" punch.
Finger tips touching is (roughly) 3 inches. Form a fist and your knuckles will have about 3 inches of space before hitting the target.
Partially bend your finger and move close to touch with the second knuckle and you get the 1 inch punch (1 inch of space or thereabouts).

 

Here is a demo of using short power to freeze someone in order to then attack their elbow joint with the same short power
It's at the 35 second onward mark

only a demo so the set up is what it is but a nice clip,

it's xingyi but the gentleman demoing is also a bagua instructor and the power is used the same way in his bagua but no real clips of that

 

I'm sure he would appreciate a comment on his video!

 

It can,but don't count on people freezing.I prefer an immediate damage/balance effect.Not that life always works out like that either!

I've still got that book. Picked it up years after I learned them.

Those were a couple of the earliest things my first teacher taught me.Easy to do.Fun! But not as good as using palm whatever the intent (push or strike).

Training tip: The side of a tall upright piano is a perfect vehicle for practicing on. But...ya may need to have the piano tuned after a while. Might wanna check the joints and fittings while you're at it.

 

Every time Mrs Xue is home and I go down and hit the heavy bag, she yells down stairs and tells me to stop because, apparently, I'm going to break the house

 

I was reading, recently, (Wing Chun Foundations, Siu Lim Tao by Jason Korol) that the 1 inch punch is basically a very hard push.

 

Depends how you use it. You can use the same mechanics in a strike as you do in po-pai jeung as a push. Just the same way I could push you with the end of a stick, or jab you with the end of a stick.

 

Whether it's a push or punch doesn't matter a whole lot, inside a ring. Impact is impact. Both work.