Martial arts evaluated.. show called Fight Science..

[50inches]

I quit watching it after I saw them show a 100lb (examples) Kung-Fu guy punch the thing, then show a 200lb Boxer punch it and say the Boxer's punch was the strongest.

Of course it would be, Force = Mass X Acceleration. Hmm, who has more mass?

They should have had same size weight for all the guys, etc.

Good television....not so good science.

I agree, they should have multiplied the smaller guys hits by as many times as the bigger guys were heavier, probobley somewhere around 1.6 if you compare kungfu guy with taekwondo guy.

[obiwansbane]

thats NET FORCE thank u very much lol jk

but by your equation (which i just had to write a grueling test in physics today) mentality is flawed... the little asian dude had waaaaay more acceleration than the big boxer...

but wat you said is true... they needed people of the same weight, reaction time, build etc to run accurate tests... at least using 3 guys of each style and giving them 3 shots each would have made it much more accurate

[The BB of C]

thats NET FORCE thank u very much lol jk

but by your equation (which i just had to write a grueling test in physics today) mentality is flawed... the little asian dude had waaaaay more acceleration than the big boxer...

but wat you said is true... they needed people of the same weight, reaction time, build etc to run accurate tests... at least using 3 guys of each style and giving them 3 shots each would have made it much more accurate

I dissagree. I thought that at first too, then I realized something. The people who train these styles have been training most of their lives and the way you train can have a significant impact on your body. For example, did you notice that the Tae Kwon Do artist was as big as the Karate artist? Do you also notice that those three styles focus a lot on a combination of force and speed? The way you train like that would naturally cause you to be of medial size and build if you start at a young enough age and keep at it for a long while. Did you notice that the Kung-fu artists and the Ninjitsu artist were also generally the same and that these styles focus on softer, balanced movements and being really fit? This would cause somebody to be skinny, flexible, and limber if started training as such at a young enough age and kept at it long enough. Then there's the Muay Thai artist and the Boxer. Two styles that are basically "The harder you can hit the better" so they focus a lot of muscle structure which would probably cause them to be really big.

This in mind; I think it's accurate because we're not just seeing what the styles are supposed to do in these people, we're also seeing what training in them turns them into. The way Kung-fu trains it brings out skinnier, smaller people, Boxing type styles have really big, strong, and heavy people, and Power type styles (Karate, Tae Kwon Do etc.) are somewhere close to the middle.

[bushido_man96]

You make an interesting point, BB of C, however, I don't think the style you train in, even from a young age, has an affect on how tall you will be and what build you come with. However, I do feel that the art you study may determine how your body develops in relation to power, speed, and muscularity.

[gzk]

True, bushido_man, but I do think that different martial arts may tend to attract people of different builds - though whether this is because people wish to leverage their natural advantages or reduce their natural disadvantages varies from person to person.

In any case, if the intention is to compare styles, it is good science to attempt to eliminate through sample selection or factor out (eg: "pound-for-pound" punching measurements) other variables, until a martial art actually prescribes a particular body type (which would be rather pointless).

[bushido_man96]

Just an addition to my earlier post: Most Koreans who practice/compete with TKD aren't going to be the same size as the TKD guy in the show.

[obiwansbane]

and most people who use a katana arent going to hack and slash at a jelly body while screaming like a madman.... they definately should have used Iaido to demonstrate the katana.

[username8517]

and most people who use a katana arent going to hack and slash at a jelly body while screaming like a madman.... they definately should have used Iaido to demonstrate the katana.

Yes, but if they had I wouldn't have gotten so much humor out of it.

[NightOwl]

Just an addition to my earlier post: Most Koreans who practice/compete with TKD aren't going to be the same size as the TKD guy in the show.

You mean TKD practitioners can usually afford clothing?

[Andrew_Patton]

One of my (many) complaints with this show was the obvious lack of a true "karate" style punch, the representive just squared up and wailed out a haymaker to be fair... honestly, I stopped watching the show at that point, what's the point in a show like that if you don't actually represent what you're supposed to?

Not hating, just saying... not karate.