The "A Punch is a Punch" Fallacy:

A Case Study in Misused Reductionism

Scholastic Roach

 

We didn't discuss it under traditions, but a parallel issue to the belief that you can create a reality-based system out of whole cloth is the belief most commonly expressed as "since the human body can only move in so many ways, a punch is a punch regardless of the style." 

New Age Roach:  Yeah, but you should see my devastating belly-dance punch!

Tinker Roach:  That's just plausible enough that I'm not going to let Practical smack you-- this time.  ::shudder::

Practical Roach:  Besides, I think she just made Scholastic's point...pardon me while I retch.

Troll: I smack him for free if he shows me...smack him very hard.

While this sounds deep, it is really a sign that someone has very little understanding of their art. A ferret we know calls it a puddle profundity. Even at face value, the idea that "a punch is a punch" is false.  For example, consider a western style boxing punch, a karate front punch from a high chamber, and a shing yi style bong strike. All three are front punches and involve straightening the elbow to drive a closed fist forward.  That's the end of the similarity:  from here on out we're in much different sections of the PunchingLand Zoo.  The first two alone are drastically different: 

However, this doesn't really faze the people who say it.  The punch comment is really a straw man, and the comment is most often heard from people who want to steal cool techniques from other systems. A successful punch does not occur in a vacuum. It requires set-up, power transfer from the body, delivery to a specific type of target, etc. On a larger scale, the questions of when do you throw it, why do you throw it, for what desired results, etc. One can carry this up to the level of defending ones actions in a court of law (was the context legal?). 

Tinker:  So if you throw your Ninja Strike of Death, make sure you describe it in a court of law as the Ninja Strike of Tickle-poo.

Practical:  I don't think that will hold up if his short ribs have been driven through his spleen....the very term ninja is also going make your lawyer whine

Traditional: does lot of good to win battle and lost war, heh?

Practical: Yeah. And the living conditions in most prisons are sooo comfortable..

An example of how ignoring these points so you can steal that cool whippy move for your own was a comparison in a major scholarly martial art journal in the U.S. between a shing yi beng (wood strike) and a jab.  Yeah, you can find some similarities, but get hit with a properly done wood strike and you're on your ass. A jab stings and hurts, but probably won't knock you cold.  It might, but it's not likely. The application is totally different. A boxer throws hundreds of jabs, as a sting, as a probe, as a way to keep you away from him, to damage you enough to set up a more powerful strike. A wood strike is a power strike, and the shing yi player positions himself accordingly to apply maximum power "up close and personal."  Targeting also differs, as the jab is often aimed to the head while the wood strike goes for the body.

What is the outcome of this fallacy? You end up with a disjointed series of techniques that don't really blend together. Someone we know was sparring with a friend one day and switched from a western boxing style to a kung fu style and the whole stance, posture and mindset could be seen to shift.  The same thing can be seen even in guys who know two Asian styles:  the change can be more subtle, but when a guy changes from playing Goju-Ryu to Southern Crane, you're blind if you don't see the difference.  Certain techniques are just impossible to do effectively within a movement style that has sufficiently different body weighting, stance, balance, and movement style.  

Just imagine: 

Traditional: (Singing) One of these things is not like the others...

It's nonsensical.  And so is anybody who thinks that "a punch is a punch is a punch," or that techniques themselves are self-sufficient, and can simply be grafted from one style onto another.