Self Defence and Martial Arts Tips - Using Body Weight to Increase Striking Power

The mechanics of striking is about generating and transferring kinetic energy into your target. Kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses due to its motion. In a self defence situation, if reason and logic fail to neutralize the aggressive and violent intentions of an opponent, you may need to use physical force to incapacitate him (Note: This is a last resort, when all other options have failed or are inappropriate). To incapacitate i.e. cause an injury, your objective should be to generate and transfer the largest amount of kinetic energy possible into the target. This is your body in motion. 

Potential energy is stored energy that has the potential to be converted into other forms of energy, such as kinetic energy. The body has potential energy stored in the muscles and also because of its position in the earths gravitational field. We can convert this potential energy to kinetic energy in two ways: by lowering the position of our body in the earths gravitational field or by using our muscles to accelerate the body. 

Imagine simply falling (body in motion) onto an opponent (target) lying on the ground. You will generate and transfer a very large amount of kinetic energy into his body and the likelihood of an injury or injuries occurring will be very high. Unfortunately, the lack of technique will most likely result in injuries for you, as well as your opponent. However, if you were to maintain a vertical spine (structure) while dropping your body and use both knees or one knee (tools) to pinpoint a landing onto the groin or solar plexus (specific target), your opponent will feel like he has been hit by a freight train and you will walk away unscathed. 

To generate and transfer the largest amount of kinetic energy possible into a vertical opponent, drive forward and bend your knee(s). Driving forward is about moving your entire body into and through the target. Bending your knees is about dropping your weight into the strike. Bending your knees is a subtle movement and should be less than 90 degrees, anything greater than 90 degrees will make recovery difficult. Whether or not you bend one knee or both knees will be determined by the type of strike. The kinetic energy that is transferred is a mathematical combination of the kinetic energy generated by the lateral body movement (drive forward) and the vertical body movement (bend your knees). If you are within grappling range when you initiate a strike, then rotational body movement replaces drive forward (lateral body movement). However, you will still need to bend your knees and drop your weight into the strike. 

The body in motion (kinetic energy) is only one of the four elements that are required to maximize our striking power. The other three elements are: appropriate tools, structure, and a specific target. 

If any one of these four elements is removed or used in isolation, the results are inefficient, unreliable and personal injury may also be a likely outcome. For example, without structure or the use of an appropriate tool, a simple strike to the nose, may result in a sprained wrist (injury) for you and a more determined angry opponent with a blood nose. 

In a self defence situation, once conflict becomes physical, you need to get the job done very quickly (within 30 to 60 seconds). The objective of every strike should be to incapacitate your opponent. To produce an injury that fundamentally changes the normal functioning of his body. To achieve this, we must generate and transfer the largest amount of kinetic energy possible into the target. This is your body in motion. 

In future articles, I will explore the other three elements required to maximize striking power – structure, appropriate tool, and a specific target.