THE PHYSICS OF KARATE STRIKES
JON CHANANIE
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903
Introduction .
THE
PHYSICS OF KARATE STRIKES
JON
CHANANIE
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
22903
Introduction .
In
recent years, the ancient eastern art of Karate-Do (a Japanese word,
literally
translated as “the way of the empty hand”)
has become popular in the western world.
Karateka—practitioners
of Karate—often break boards, cinderblocks, and other
solid
materials in order to demonstrate the strength that their
training develops. Much can
be said of the history and culture
associated with the expansion of martial training, but
this
essay—it is, after all, a physics paper—will examine the
collision mechanics of a
hand strike to a solid target like a
board.
