Physics in martial arts

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hey all

 

physics itself is about matter and how things move,

 

the body is a very complex matter, and if used in a certain way, utilising the methods of physics to its utmost, can be devastatingly powerful,

 

Bruce Lee develped his martial arts skills by applying his physics knowlege into physical form, and example of this is when he performed the famous "one inch punch", he positioned his body so the accleration of his body and speed were to the maximum,

 

by using the equation

 

acceleration (m/s squared) = change in veloctiy (m/s) / time taken for change (s)

 

and speed = distance moved / time taken

 

Using the above methods and utilising the basic laws of physics, the body can enhance its physical power quite drastically, increasing your performance when fighting

 

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[Angus]

That's why most people stress speed as well as strength in their strikes.

 

F = MA or Force = Mass x Acceleration.

 

Ya gotta love science!

 

Angus

 

 

[Jiggy9]

Hey Guys

 

I think Science plays an integral part in the fundamentals of Martial Arts, and since everyones throwing formulas around..lol

 

Kinetic Energy = 1/2 Mass x velocity squared

 

From that formula it can be seen that a small change in speed has a greater effect then an equal change in mass.

 

P.S Ad, as far as I know Physics is more then just movement of matter...?!?

 

[ This Message was edited by: Jiggy9 on 2001-12-17 13:14 ]

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thnx for the replys.

 

jiggy- i am sure there is much more about physics than basic movement of matter, but you must remeber that there is alot in movement of matter,

 

like biology is the study of organisms, that may sound simple, but there is a whole ****e load to learn

 

thnx for the equation angus,

 

but how could you apply that in lets say in a punch,??,

 

knowlege is king

 

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[TKD_McGee]

Bruce Lee was on Saki when he was talking about his Water Theory. Look at his shifty little eyes you can tell!

 

 

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with the equation force = mass x accelaration,

 

so therefore the greater you are, and the faster your perform a punch gives you a greater power???, though wouldnt mass limit your accelration?, u notice how if you use a punch bag, you find you get more power, from a low uppercut, and not using much ditance, than a full flown cross with your stronger hand, its funny that even if your draw your punch as far as possible, the accelration would lower, thus reducing the power, though most people think greater distance = greater power, wrong!!

 

i wonder if people could shed some light on the question that i posed

[Bon]

::edit:: Edited September 29, 2002 by Bon

[Jiggy9]

Woa guys...apologies but I think you guys are confusing terminolgy....

 

Power is not the same thing as force, nor is accelleration the same thing as speed....

 

Power is the rate of doing work, in other words work done /second. It is measured in Joules/Second otherwise known as Watt.

 

In order to understand power fully you need to know what 'doing work' is...

 

Work done is defined as Force x Distance moved along it's line of action, understanding that Energy is the capacity to do work one can say that the change in Energy is equal to the work done...

 

So what does all that mean? Let me try and apply it to our punching and kicking..

 

Firstly, technically speaking to have a powerfull punch you need to have a high numerical value of Work Done, and a low numerical value of time.

 

In other words, since we are dealing with punches and kicks, we are concerned with the Kinetic Energy it contains (equivilant to work done in a 100% efficient system)..

 

So as I mentioned earlier Kinetic Energy is calculated by half mass x speed squared...

 

This implies a faster punch has more kinetic energy then a heavier punch. Thus a faster punch does more work then a slower one which is heavier..

 

Now that is the work done aspect of it, for maximum power output we need to minimise the time taken for the process of the punch or kick took to occur. That simply means if you can do the exact same punch in terms of Kinetic Energy quicker(by that i mean not speed I mean distance, closer..but that is literally impossible since accelleration comes into play)It would be more powerful, but since it is practically impossible it can be ignored.

 

In conclusion, if you want a more 'poweful' punch speed is the important factor, however mass does play a role.

 

As for punches which are forcefull mass and accelleration are as equally as important (not speed accelleration - Change in speed per second) Thus two punches with the same mass, one close and one far will be equal in force if accelleration is same.

 

So if you guys are still awake..this explains practically every aspect of punching Sensei's instruct you to, but you never really understood...like using youre hips e.t.c Since you are putting a greater mass into youre punches and accelerating it greater to a higher speed, a net effect of a more powerfull and forcefull punch.

 

It also explains why youre arm should be loose untill the last moment, because you are allowing youre hand to accellerate more reaching a higher velocity...

 

I hope that answers everyones questions..

 

Jig

 

P.S ad by saying that Physics is about movement of matter you are really talking about the mechanics aspect of physics. There is much study in electronics, nuclear physics, waves e.t.c.....

 

[ This Message was edited by: Jiggy9 on 2001-12-19 07:13 ]

[SBN Doug]

Ooo, ahh, owwwww....Got some nasty flashbacks of college physics.

 

Very well put together Jig, what are your office hours this week?

 

[ This Message was edited by: KSN Doug on 2001-12-19 07:40 ]

[ramcalgary]

Physics...........he bigger they are the harder they fall.....