by Josh Young » Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:08 am
I thought that via simple physics that the circular motions have more power via leverage and more speed via a fulcrum.
It seems you are conflating distance traveled with time required for travel.
A wide circular movement has a fulcrum that is very small, because of the this same circular movement in a large circle or a small circle is the same speed, the smaller tighter motion is no faster than the larger circular motion, but it has more torque.
The source of momentum is also key here, if it is muscular contraction and tension then it is going to be slower than relaxed motion.
If you hold onto a stick and turn your body, the end of the stick that is away from you arrives at the exact same time as the part you are holding does, the end travels at a higher rate of speed for distance traveled. This related to application of circular motion where the smaller circles have more torque and the larger circles have more velocity, but they are actually the same speed of rotation due to the fulcrum.
When people use muscular tension then the linear will always be faster than the circular, however when someone is relaxed and uses no excess tension the circular is much faster than is often realized and has properties that the linear motion cannot have due to the multiple angles of pressure that can be generated.
I like wing chun a lot, some branches of it should be considered among the internal arts, though some are very external.
I would say that the idea that linear is better, or the idea that circular is better is flawed. Neither is superior and they both work against the other with proper timing and technique. It is much easier to practice linear motions by the thousands though, so for Wing Chun I'd expect the linear motions to be more well developed in its players than the circular.
Then again this is just my experience and opinion. I have had basic training for Wing Chun and it was very nice, for my interests I found it a little too linear, but I still employ many principals from the art.