Where does the Power come from in a Punch {Impact Strike}?
How do we improve the power of our existing Punch {Impact Strike}?
The conventional wisdom dictates that Power is achieved by acceleration, going faster {in Science speak even going slower is referred to as acceleration}, by making our Impact weapon of choice accelerate {increase velocity} into {not through} the Target,
But is this really true? Or is it just a way for people that do not like Physics to explain something that they do not understand?
Because increasing Velocity does not increase Power, despite all the T.V. commercials from the R.T.A.
Speed does not Kill.
It is the sudden stop that causes the damage.
Sudden almost instant deceleration to Zero.
A lot of people will laugh and say "Yeah I know that", but knowing something and understanding something are completely different, so much so that it is as if you really do not know at all.
Without going into a discussion of the Laws of Motion, for one thing I understand it better than I can explain it and if I am honest my understanding is not exactly World Class, so let us just say that as things increase Velocity they get heavier, and as they slow down they become lighter {a quick example of sorts, if you are driving along in your Car at 60 km and you see a Stop Sign and gently apply the Brakes the Car slides to a gentle stop and actually feels as if it is getting lighter, however if the same Car at the same speed were to slam on the Brakes the Car skids and lurches to a sudden halt and you can feel the weight of the Car actually increasing as it grinds to a stop}, everything that moves gathers momentum, stored Kinetic energy, and as the Velocity increases so does the momentum, and so does the stored Kinetic energy, as the Velocity decreases the Kinetic energy decreases {or is discharged as Heat and Noise as in skidding Tyres in the case of the Emergency Stop}.
Real Power is in the rate of deceleration, the slower the deceleration the weaker the force the faster the deceleration the stronger the force, when a Boxer rolls with a Punch he is actually extending the amount of time it takes for the Punch to be forced to a stop, to be brought to Zero so he is weakening the strength of the Punch that lands on him.
In everyday usage when a guy is just standing still and you Punch him in the Nose, it is the amount of time that it takes his Nose to stop your Punch that creates the Power and not how hard you hit him {also worth thinking about is the fact that you will put a lot more force into the nose of a "Big Guy" than you will a "Small Guy", the "Big Guy's" extra mass will slow your Punch down much rapidly}, added to this when you latch him forward into the same Punch everything happens even quicker, you effectively reduce the time it takes for his Nose to stop your Punch and increase the Power even more.
Acceleration will obviously improve power production, but you need to understand what you are accelerating, when to accelerate it and where you are accelerating it to if it is to be of any real use to you in increasing Power. Because to much acceleration will increase penetration, which is actually extending the time it will take for your Punch to come to Zero, and as such it will decrease Power.
Let us use the Car analogy again, if a Car is travelling at 120km and it runs into a Wooden Fence it will crash right through it, extended penetration, the Car is hardly deformed by the release of the stored energy, picking up significant damage along the way to be sure, but more than likely mostly cosmetic, but when the same Car at the same speed hits a Concrete Wall the front of the Car comes to an instant stop, minimum penetration, but the back of the Car keeps on moving forward crushing the rest of the Car as the stored Kinetic energy looks for release.
When I teach my Guys how to Punch I instruct them to try to sink only 10cm into the Target, and to leave their Hand in the Target as long as possible, this creates the best environment for rapid deceleration to Zero.
This is not meant to be anything more than discussion to inspire you to do your own research, so do not bother correcting the Science, for one thing there is the whole topic of the Vector of the Momentum that is so important and can change all of this, it is just a conversation.
Understanding the Laws of Motion can teach you more about Impact Striking that 20 years of training.
I've found in my years of training that my Sifu's basic philosophy is to punch to the back of the head. Mind you we train in the (shadow of Bruce Lee and his band of Seattle Boxers, Fencers and Judokas.)(Tsunjo, and Xion Jiang WC)Without having to explain a lot of science it dealt with the natural tendancy of junior practitioners to decelerate to only meet the target at which point becomes a "slap in the face". In practice personally the power focus is natural wheather using looping punches for speed or a damaging drop punch. So to the face- back of the skull, the belly- to the spine. Each having different speeds but sharing the same target to drive through before retracting and also reducing the chance of missing your target all together. The concept of rapid deceleration is sound, since I'm a firefighter I see car crashes frequently. The wood fence vs the concrete wall differs in that the fence offers no resistance nor energy diffusion, and the concrete wall simply prevents the car from transferring energy anywhere but within itself. Actual force on the body depends on the body part but measuring cognitively in a fight is not realistic so using max force-speed using the best available tool depending on body position, and varied conditions to create likelyhood of damage. Isn't the goal of WC to creat overwhealming similtanious offense and defense? Which means rapid fire power or in cases of big power needs, to return to ready for the next action.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the stimulating thoughts...