What people call Power in martial arts is actually Force in physics, and it has a simple formula (which I may have discussed before). Force is Mass times Acceleration. Alot of people short-hand it down to Mass x Speed, but that’s not exactly accurate, nor would Weight x Acceleration be right. Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity as a function of time; speed is distance traveled per unit of time. Mass is the quantity of inertia possessed by an object. Weight, on the other hand is a measure of the heaviness of an object.
If that doesn’t really help you, it’s okay. They have whole degrees in college devoted to the stuff. Come in and ask one of our resident scientists to help (odd, isn’t it, how many science types end up in Kenpo as opposed to other martial arts?).’
Okay, so we’re going to be lazy and call it power as well, because it’s easy…and if you tell someone you’ll help them generate Force, they don’t seem to care as much as when you tell them you’ll help them generate more power. So.
In a scientific martial art like Kenpo, everything is systematized, and there are several ways to generate power. Speed (acceleration) is actually the most valuable (when you double the acceleration, you quadruple the force!), though I have no idea why…maybe someone can explain it to me. Rotation, or Torque, Back-up Mass, Body Alignment, Marriage of Gravity…Some of these are scientific terms, some are Kenpo terms created, to the best of my knowledge, by Ed Parker Sr (not to be confused with Jr). What I’ll try to do is break each one out a little and explain, and make it, hopefully, more accessible to you in your Kenpo.
The thing to remember is you want Force delivered, not Force generated. The difference is signifigant. If you generate 1000 psi, but your poor technique makes you eat 800 of it, and I only generate 600 psi, but it all gets delivered, I’m hitting harder. You gots a leaky hose. Force delivered is what you want. Not something sitting on a truck at the wharehouse.
Rotation - Torque, power generated by turning…if it drives your car, it should be able to move a BG, right? Most of your torque is going to come from your hips: think roundhouse kicks, hook punches, etc. You get a little bit when you shift stances from Forward to Neutral and so forth. You get a tiny bit turning your fist on a punch.
Techniques with Rotational Keys:
- Triggered Salute
- Snapping Twig
- Flashing Wing
- Thundering Hammer
- Twirling Hammer
Back-up Mass – a Parkerism for sure, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a quantifiable aspect. Basically, it’s getting your body behind your strikes. It’s what a Forward Bow is all about. In my experience, people get the Forward Bow around brown belt. They do the torque part okay before that, but the Back-up Mass and Marriage of Gravity involved don’t “click” until much later. For Back-up Mass to really work, you also need Body Alignment: think cross punch, drag up side kick, inward elbow, etc. You have to get your whole body moving (skip to about 1:30).
Techniques with Back-up Mass Keys:
- Thrusting Salute
- Parting Wings
- Begging Hands
Body Alignment – getting the skeletal system to reinforce the strike, proper Body Alignment will also contribute to Back-up Mass. Body Alignment doesn’t really help you to generate power, so much as it keeps you from wasting it…but, as the man said, “a penny saved is a penny earned”, so Force saved is Force earned. Think stiff jab, stopping kick, etc. Poor Body Alignment can be having your wrist bent when you punch, or your foot not extended on a front kick. It can be having a trailing shoulder on Thundering Hammer. The rub is that the Force you’ve been generating has to go somewhere – and if you don’t put it in the BG because of poor Body Alignment, it’s going into you. Where-ever you had poor alignment is going to take that extra force.
Techniques with Body Alignment Keys:
- All
Marriage of Gravity – another Parkerism. The idea here is that if were to step and hit something, the amount of Force delivered (see above) would be altered dramatically by the timing between your foot and the hit. If you hit while your foot was still in the air, you’re limited to what your arm can generate. If you hit after your foot lands, you get a bit more, say from Torque (or anchoring, etc). If, however, you hit when your foot hits, it allows you to put all of your weight into the shot PLUS the pull of gravity. Think about stepping with a jab, or Jack Dempsey’s “drop hit”, or Chuck Liddell’s overhead “bolo” punch.
Techniques with Marriage of Gravity Keys:
- Grip of Death
- Defying the Storm
- Deceptive Panther
Hope that is enough to get you all started. Let me know if you have any questions!
Mr J