“When you punch somebody in the ring, you have to use your whole body. I
learned that it’s more about technique than physical strength.” – Kuno Becker
Our word if the week is Power and that will be something we focus on this whole month. Usually we talk about philosophy, but this month, we focus on the physical aspect of martial arts training.
In physics, power is how much work you can do in a given time frame, usually measured in watts or earlier, horsepower. The thing is, we’re not worried about that so much as how much energy we can transfer into our opponent with efficiency and the least amount of effort. Or, in physics terms, applied force. In most martial arts, your personal strength does matter, but how you use it matters more. If you move with inefficiency and haphazardly, you will waste more energy than you can place into your target. Part of developing strength is the application of it, how you use it to greater effect.
As quoted above, it requires using your entire body. Sure, you can punch pretty hard using just your shoulders and arms, but imagine if you added the strength of your legs and core muscles behind it. Just that slight change can significantly increase the force of any movement you make.
We will expand on this in the coming weeks, until then,
Train hard,
Head Instructor Shawn Morris