mo·men·tum

noun | mō-ˈmen-təm
1. the quantity of motion of a moving body, measured as a product of its mass and velocity.

You study WingChun, not physics, so why care about momentum? One goal in WingChun is maximizing the projection of our physical power. That increases your destructive effect, which is valuable for you to rapidly end a self-defense encounter. As the study of matter, energy and their interaction, physics is relevant to this objective. Remember, physics is not abstract but emerges from the observation of reality. Momentum is the aspect of physics that describes the quantity of motion an object has.

Of course, you have to repeat WingChun movements many thousands of times towards proficiency. But knowledge of momentum will help you do so with better results sooner. It is theory that will benefit your practice by understanding what variables to adjust, whereas WingChun shows you how. You might even say WingChun is physics in action. Continue reading →