The general term referred to power while striking with a kick or punch in martial arts is “power” which actually refers to “impulse” in physics terms.
Impulse can be defined in many ways, including: “change in momentum”. Now comes the part what is momentum?
Well, lets cut all this out and keep it to the simple word (but we will refer it to impulse throughout this post)
The formula is:
I = F Δt
(Impulse = Force x Time for which this force was applied )
It can also be referred as:
I = m Δv
(Impulse = mass x change in velocity / speed by that force in that time )
So now lets analyze these.
First one explains that the impulse depends on force applied and for how long it was applied. If you can keep same amount of force applied for longer time, it will cause greater impulse. Which means:
when hitting a target, don’t stop hitting as soon as your palm or foot touches the target, keep applying the force as long as you can, going deep into the target.
Second one says, that impulse depends on the mass of the force applier (arm or leg) and what was it’s velocity / speed. Which means 2 things. 1. improve your muscles, so that there is more muscle mass in the region. Secondly:
Faster you hit, higher is the impulse
We can conclude this with these 3 requirements to improve your impulse / power of hitting a punch or a kick:
- Keep hitting and applying force even when your punch/kick has reached the target
- build more muscles
- keep improving speed of your strike
Although there are many more details to it, I will be trying to elaborate them in further posts.
Are you practicing and training for these three things atleast? If not then get regular now, join martial arts classes now.