Theories on Power and Snap

[jaypo]

I had always taken "kime" to mean the end result of the body mechanics necessary to create power. The perfect body alignment, tension, etc. to produce the most powerful strike. Think of lunging in with a reverse punch, body, hips, arms in the perfect position, with the tension of every muscle perfect for a split second. Kime would be precise for that split second.

Anyhow, I think of "snap" and "power" when I remember a quote that I saw on this site- instead of using your arm like a lead pipe (which could generate a lot of power and pain), use it like an iron ball on the end of a chain!

Also, think of baseball players- some smaller guys can hit the ball farther than larger guys- it's all about their bat speed and technique. I'm 6'0, 183 lbs and I can hit a ball farther than most bodybuilders I know because my focus point is more precise than theirs, and I get the bat around faster to connect with the ball in that "sweet spot".

Just some things to think about. Hope it helps!

[CredoTe]

You may want to research the meanings behind terms like "Kime".

Snap is a bit of a nasty word as it implies breaking, but kime implies being able to control your muscles in a different way...

http://www.karatebyjesse.com/kime-putting-the-nail-in-the-coffin/

Hope that helps.

K.

This is a great starting point (I know I'm a little late to the discussion, but hey...). A great analogy I was taught that happens to coincide with the article shared by Kusotare is: if body mechanics, power generation, etc were wrapped up together as a "bomb", you want this proverbial "bomb" to explode inside (and/or through) your opponent. Kime is what is used to ensure that the "bomb" explodes inside your opponent; it is NOT the "bomb" itself, rather, the setting of the "bomb" inside your opponent.

The other issue is when we spend far to much time on physics and not enough on kicky and punchy stuff!

So true sometimes...

[cardinal95]

So much insight, thanks everyone!

[devil dog]

This is going to be hard for you to research because every art does things a little differently.

I can try to help out from our teaching perspective only. We train two ways on the Makiwara. One would be difined as power. We start from the feet (the toes grip the ground), pushing off with the leg, twisting the hips, then the torso, then the shoulder and the arm is driven through the target. The second is what I believe you mean by snap. This is done in much the same fasion except the hand (knuckles) only impact for a split second and is pulled back (we call this the pulling hand but this is meant for another discussion).

The idea of the first is to drive through the opponent. This is shear force.

The second is energy transmittion.

In the first scenario some of the force is transmitted back to you. Think of hitting a heavy bag with all you have while driving through the bag. You feel the weight of the bag come back on you.

In the second scenerio the force is focused into the target and because your hand is removed it can not transmit back to you, leaving the full impact on the target.

We use a 6' 2x4 that is set about 18" into the ground and is wedged at the bottom. This causes a whipping action when hit (it springs back on the user). In the first scenario your knuckles hit twice, once when you hit the makiwara and once when it rebounds the energy. In the second scenario your knuckles only hit onces leaving all of the energy in the makiwara which can be seen when the post vibrates back and forth. This inflicts all of the damage on the opponent and not on you.

Not sure if this helps you but it's be best way I can desribe how we employ these principles. Hope it helps you out.