One inch punch

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Bruce Lee demonstrating a "one inch punch"

The One inch punch is a technique from Chinese martial arts which was popularized by Jeet Kune Do founder Bruce Lee. It falls into the category of Chinese martial arts circus tricks that anyone who is ambulatory and in normal health can learn in five minutes.

It is commonly believed that the One inch punch skill comes from kung fu style of Wing Chun, however, it is present in many styles of Southern Chinese martial arts. As a general rule, Southern Chinese martial arts rely mostly on hand techniques from very close quarters (as opposed to Northern Chinese martial arts which focus more on kicking techniques from medium to long distances). Because the Southern styles martial artists were often fighting nose-to-nose with their opponents, they had to learn a way to deal out punishing blows even while almost touching their target.

The One inch punch is a skill which uses fa jing (translated as explosive power) to generate tremendous (although unmeasured) amounts of impact force at extremely close distances. When performing this one inch punch the practitioner stands with his fist very close to the target (the distance depends on the skill of the practitioner, usually from 0-6 inches). Then in one explosive burst, the legs root, the waist turns, the ribs expand and the arm extends through the target. It is crucial that the entire body move in unison, or else the power will be limited. The target in such demonstrations vary, sometimes it is a fellow practitioner holding a phone book on the chest, sometimes wooden boards can be broken.

The one inch punch was brought to popular knowledge in the west by the martial artist Bruce Lee when he demonstrated the technique during the Long Beach International Karate Championships.

[edit] Pop culture references

The technique is an ability of one of King of Fighters main characters, K' and Kula Diamond. In the game, the technique is portrayed as the character moving his or her entire body forward to deliver the strike, which upon contact, sends the target flying.
Quentin Tarantino incorporates a similar technique in Kill Bill: Vol. 2. Kung-fu master Pai Mei teaches the technique to Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman). The technique required three inches of space, however, instead of one.
In Final Fantasy XI, Monks can obtain the use of the One Inch Punch as a third weapon ability if they are using unarmed or brawling weapons; this skill is capable of piercing an enemy's defense.
In the video game God Hand, the protagonist has an attack similar to the One Inch Punch.
In the Tekken video game series, the characters Marshall Law and his son can perform a modified One Inch Punch which can greatly damage a persons health and relative lifespan.
Performer Justin Warfield's heavy rock band is named One-Inch Punch after the maneuver.
Video game character Jann Lee, from the Dead or Alive fighting game series, uses the one inch punch in Dead or Alive 4
In the Virtua Fighter video game series, it is one of Jacky Bryant's moves.
One Inch Punch is the name of one of several "jutsu" available for use in theninja-rpg.com, a browser-based Rpg based on the popular anime Naruto