Master Tse’s Wing Chun Notes #28

Yan Jeung 印掌

Yan Jeung 印掌 is the Wing Chun palm strike. Yan 印 means print and Jeung 掌 means palm. So Yan Jeung literally means print a palm and of course it means palm strike. In martial arts the most common attacking hand is the punch and the next most common one is the chop. The palm is also very common. The most unusual is the fingers strike and this is not easy to train.

When we strike with the palm, it is like we are printing a palm on someone’s face or chest. My Sifu Ip Chun, like to call it Ngun Jeung. Ngun means bounce or jerk. This describes the way the palm bounces or jerks when it goes to hit the opponent. We must use the whole body. The power comes from the stance and then the waist, then the body and finally to the palm. We should use the lower palm area to strike. This area is the strongest as it can connect with the whole body. Every time we hit, we should hit the opponent’s centre of gravity except when we are hitting the head. We can also hit one after another like in the first part of Tsum Kiu 尋橋where the palms continually strike. When one palm has struck roll it down and back towards the chest while the other palm is on its way to strike. The continuous palm strike is another special Wing Chun skill.

Michael Tse