Kung Fu Science

Introduction  |  About Chris  |  About Michelle  |  What is Kung Fu  |  Breaking Blocks  |  Michelle on Physics  |  Newton's Laws  |  Conservation of Energy  |  Aspects of the Technique  |  Analysis  |  Calculations  |  The Final Test  |  Success!  |  Links and Resources

Breaking Blocks

Martial artists use block-breaking as a spectacular demonstration of the power that can be generated using the correct striking technique.

If an untrained person tried to break a heavy block of wood with their hand, they would probably hurt themselves. Martial artists use physics to ensure that the wood comes off worse than they do.

These are some of the techniques that they use:

Speed and Point of Focus
The most important thing is to make sure the hand is moving fast enough when it hits the wood. Advice often given is to imagine that what you're hitting is actually well behind the board. This ensures the hand doesn't slow down before the point of impact. Confidence is also important here; you have to believe that your hand is going straight through the board, or you will naturally slow down to avoid hurting yourself.



Striking surface
Martial artists tilt their hand up at the point of impact, so that only the fleshy part of the side of their hand hits the board.



Use of Body Mass
Martial artists aim to involve as much of their body mass as possible in the strike, not just their arms. This is achieved by snapping the hips and pushing with the legs.



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