The Effects of Taekwondo Striking

There have been many studies done on specific Taekwondo strikes and their kinetics or physics behind them. Through this experiment, I will be answering the questions: What line of impact is most effective when in combat and why? What makes this kick or strike so effective? The importance of this comes into play when in a physically dangerous situation. You want to know, what I can do to get this attacker off of me by inflicting the most amount of pain possible without killing them. Taekwondo is a sport that dates back to nearly 2,000 years. It is one of the few popular martial arts practices. Student or teacher, you learn various impactful attacks to use when in a dangerous situation. This can be heavily used to their advantage. Taekwondo experts are able to make use of these attacks both in competition and in a self-defense. This research is being conducted to see what attacks are most effective while in combat, this includes kicks, strikes and punches.

While striking, it is important that you use your whole body to execute this move. This will allow there to be more force and power being exerted while striking. For instance, if you were to throw a punch with only your arm moving. When you just throw a punch you don’t have much power because you aren’t using your whole body, it would be more efficient to use your hips and turning your whole body into the punch. There is more power and force behind the strike causing it to be more effective. With that, there are certain ways to make an attack more powerful. For example, when you use your middle and index knuckles to punch, there is more pain you are causing to your attacker. When you punch though, you aren’t punching straight on, you must align your two knuckle with the object you’re about to come in contact with, you do this by rotating your punch. Sir Isacc Newton stated that “With every action, there is an equal or opposite reaction.” This also plays into Martials Arts. If and when you strike your opponent or attacker, the goal is to manipulate their body into going in the direction you want them to.

In Taekwondo there are four parts of the body that are your “targets.” These include the philtrum, sternum, solar plexus, and groin. There are many other weak points in the human body such as your ribs, kidneys, eyes, knees, carotid sinuses, and so on. If there were to be a direct hit to one of these four points and correctly, a great amount of pain will take place. First the philtrum, this is located between right under your nose and above the lips. Usually, this spot is damaged with a punch, this can cause your attacker to become unconscious or possibly kill them. Second, you have the sternum. The sternum is located in the middle of your chest where there is no muscle. There is a bone here that can be broken if enough force is applied with a kick, punch, or other strike. Next there is the solar plexus, also known as solar plex. This is a very painful spot to get hit. It’s quite possible that your attacker will stop breathing for a few seconds after striking here, from there you can follow up with other strikes or attacks. Lastly, the groin, there is a huge advantage to striking here, there is no need to use a lot of power to make this attack effective. The most effective way to strike here is when standing, then kick. If you are on the ground, then use your palm and exert force, this is known as palm strike.

While testing this experiment, wet foam, also known as floral foam, will be used to measure force and power. The bigger the indent in the foam, the most powerful and effective the strike is. Wet foam is typically used to hold flower stems and help plants absorb water that the foam is soaked in. It is less dense compared to other types of foam. Wet foam we chosen to be used because it won’t hurt and is an affordable way to test this experiment out. Many studies have been conducted on the physics, kinematics and kinetics of martial arts. In 1995 the Oregon Taekwondo Research Project was conducted and funded by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). F. Pieter and W. Pieter put this analysis on paper. During this experiment the USCO wanted to observe the impact of different techniques with different genders. They learned that men are faster with either foot and all techniques tested. In women, the most impactful technique was the right spinning back kick and the same on the left side as well. For the men, on the right side it was the spinning back kick and on the left side the spinning back kick again.

F. Pieter and W. Pieter studied this to compare prior speed of impact in past studies with different taekwondo techniques on male and female elites. This project was held to continue an ongoing study of taekwondo by W. Pieter. Not only did he want to study the speed of impact, they also wanted to see the force of impact with the four tested techniques. All of the athletes that participated were on the 1988 U.S. Olympic Taekwondo Team. In order to get results, electric dual-beams were used to measure impact speed. A dual-beam is a type of headlight that has both high and low beams in one bulb. Force was being measures with water filled bags that have force sensors located on the inside.

Overall, men had the most impact force measured. For the women, the spinning back kick was most effective with either leg. After the spinning back kick, then the sidekick follows, then round kick and lastly the reverse punch. On the left side it of course starts with the spinning back kick, then round kick, side-kick and reverse punch. For the men, the spinning back kick was dominant as well. On the right side, the second most effective would have to be the reverse punch, round kick, and sidekick. As for the left side, second would be round kick, reverse punch, then sidekick. In the end male or female, right or left, the spinning back kick exerted more force compared to any of the other techniques tested.

In 2007 Jacek Wąsik conducted a study addressing taekwondo power breaking. In this study Wąsik looks at durability of different materials while conducting this experiment. Wąsik was looking at the Theory of Power factors, factors that differentiate taekwondo from other martial arts. These factors include, weight, balance, speed, concentration and breath. The main question Wąsik ask themselves is “How is it possible that our body is able to withstand these forces? Where can we look for ways of breaking even more wooden boards?” Here, they are wondering how martial artist are able to apply these drastic levels of force to break boards or other materials. Where does it all come from and how are humans physically able to tolerate excessive amounts of force?

Multiple observations and test have been done to answer these puzzling questions. Wąsik used stacks of boards with spacers in between them. This is so that it is easier to transfer the energy or keep the momentum going while striking. All of the figures shown in the article have to do with how the force is being applied to the wooden boards and how it has an impact on the direction of the given forces. When power braking there are multiple ways you can hit the set of stacked boards, but only one right way. This technique is very hard to get right away. You must hit the center of the board and continue straight down vertically. If you are off center or your hand curves when striking, the path of momentum will too and this will make it very hard to break through all the boards and to transfer that energy. Wąsik also brought up durability with wood, concrete, and human bones. They wondered, why are we able to break concrete as humans? In the first table, it showed the durability [MN/m^2] of these materials, wood at 36, concrete at 45 and human bone at 139.

BTS S.p.A. held an experiment in 2011 on the kinematics and kinetics of a taekwondo side kick (yup chagi). Here Kinet chose six ITF (International Taekwondo Federation) athletes to test this experiment on. During this, different positions of when the kick is being done, velocities will be measured. Kinet found the maximum speed took place while the leg is about 82% extended. Kinet wanted to look at the kinematic factors to a taekwondo sidekick. A sidekick can be a very effective kick, it can be the difference between you winning or losing a sparring match. Walking into this experiment Kinet was wondering which of the four movements he is testing has the most velocity. Second, how does the velocity of his or her knee affect their foot velocity. Finally, how did the progression of the knee and foot velocity affect the total time it took to execute a side kick? In this experiment, four movements were being observed and measured, starting posture, shirting, lifting, and execution. Six infrared cameras were used as well as pictures and camera recordings to document the kinetic data. In order to have this experiment be accurate, all six athletes had to adapt to the same starting position like they would for breaking a board.

After going through with this experiment Kinet found that the peak of speed reached it at 82% of your full leg extension. For the first phase, it was discovered that 70% of your body weight on your back foot and the other 30% is on your front foot while in your starting posture. In starting position both knees are slightly bent and your feet are in an “L” shape. In the shifting phase, your back foot comes forward and you change your center of gravity, when doing this your ankle joints tense and help push your foot up off the ground. In the third phase, lifting, the force on your ankle pushes upward. In this phase you start to extend your knee and hip joint. The greatest amount of velocity occurs here. In the final phase of full extension of your ankle joint, these athletes have to balance so you heal that your kicking with is hitting the target or is pointed. As for your other planted leg, your heal should also be facing where you’re kicking. While going through with this strike, you must also have your shoulders turned to the side.

The purpose of the experiment will be to discover which attack is most effective. This experimentation can help teach others what is the most effective strike when you are in a dangerous or alarming situation. In W. Pieter and F. Pieter’s study, they were analyzing the speed and impact of different taekwondo kicks. Wąsik conducted a study in 2007 on power breaking and how the Theory of Power, as well as how to apply your force to a board or set of boards properly. Finally, in our last study, Kinet was taking a deeper look into the kinematics and kinetics of a sidekick. Though taekwondo can be a way to inflict pain on others, it is mainly an art of respect and discipline.