You Hit Like A Girl

Saw this Sport Science clip and thought it was interesting:

[EDIT: actual clips two posts down, but if you like tv shopping mishaps with katanas, watch this clip! ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdXNKYX3CXU

Even though it's trashy TV, and they are not comparing the same type of punch, it does go to show that power is more about technique than muscle mass.

Thoughts?

 

My thoughts...you linked the wrong clip!
Enjoyed it though.

 

Oops!

Wrong link still in my clipboard!

Here you go, I even found a higher resolution version, this time in two parts.

Thanks for letting me know! That katana clip is funny though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzntve0kiaU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mfn5As4G5o

 

Good job it wasn't some dirty video or something.

 

It's always funny the amount of bad "science" on shows like that.

The man straight punches the crash test dummy from a stationary position and the woman leaps forward and throws a hook. Not exactly comparable IMO

 

I mentioned that in the OP, but it still demonstrates that striking technique goes a long way in generating power.

It also chimes with my experience. I've had big guys with little technique struggle to generate much power, and I've been hit by small guys and women who could really pack a punch.

 

Sim, its about technique, getting your body weight into the punch. One thing I've learned though is you throw a cross or leaping hook with all your weight into it, if you miss it throws you off balance.

 

Leaping is rarely a good idea. It's about the kinetic chain from foot to fist and engaging the core.

Any power punch will compromise balance if it doesn't connect. How well you recover from that is again a matter of technique and practice.

 

For sure. It would've been nicer had they compared like with like though. I think their numbers would've been quite comparable then.

 

Sure, but she chose the best technique for the application, which again shows that technical knowledge can trump brute strength

 

I saw Tyson recovering from that punch, which is unavoidable when you expect resistance to a movement that doesn't materialise. He recovers very quickly, again as you would expect from someone so skilled.

In an unskilled striker, the effects will be far more pronounced. The greater the skill, the more subtle and short-lived the effect.

All movement affects balance, and must be compensated for in some way if you are to return to your previous position (in this case a boxing guard).

In your video, you know that your punch will not meet resistance, so you automatically compensate.

 

Yeah, I disagree. There are different forces at work between hitting something and hitting nothing. I don't believe they engage exactly the same muscles in exactly the same way. I don't see how they could.

 

I get what you're saying, but a golf ball has far less mass than a human head. It also doesn't have the support of a muscular system to resist force.

Change your analogy from a golf ball to a baseball. Swinging the bat with no resistance means that you must engage antagonist muscles far more to decelerate the bat, compared to when the bat is met by the resistance of a speeding baseball.

 

If you watch some old George Foreman fights, you'll see he often "hits like a girl".

 

If you are punching the air, you must provide your own resistance to decelerate your strike. If you are punching a solid mass, some, or all, of the force you are exerting is resisted by the mass you are striking (and the muscular system, if it's a person).

I don't see how studying boxing can allow you to defy the laws of physics