Thoughts On Structure, Muscles and Striking Without Breaking

When you strike a target, depending on the level of resistance the target has, a returning force will instantly reverberate back into your body. When your structure is correct, this force will flow through your skeleton into the ground through your feet. Therefore, when skeletal alignment is correct, there should be an unbroken connection between the force going through your fist and the force going through your rear foot. Once force pushes the foot into the ground, there is then a return of that force back up the skeleton and back into the target. This is a repeated back and forth vibration of energy that penetrates the target and it all happens in an instant.

There are many kinds of force.  Force can be generated through muscles and movement.  It can also be "stolen", as in the case of using the force of gravity in a Drop Step, or the opponent's own momentum or line of force and so on.  But, in this article, I am looking at force itself and how it relates to your structure, your muscles and tissues and how they all work together.

Muscles are pliable and bones are solid. No matter how much tension a muscle creates, it can never be as solid as bone. When bones are lined up with each other, they provide structural support for each other. When bones are not in alignment with each other, the connecting tissues and muscles must absorb the returning force or the body collapses. If the amount of returning force exceeds the capacity of the tissues and muscle, rips and tears happen.

When structure is supported by skeletal alignment, there is less reliance on muscles.

Imagine trying to punch a target when you are treading water. How much force could you generate? This is due to the lack of connection of the foot to the ground. When any structural points in the body fall out of alignment, the same thing happens. The break in structure causes returning force to “leak” out of the break in alignment, forcing the connective tissues to try and hold the alignment and muscles to constrict and push force against the returning force to maintain the flow. No matter how strong the connective tissues and muscles, there is still a dramatic drop in the amount of force that returns back through and into the target. So, when structural alignment is intact, the degree force will penetrate the target is great. When structural alignment is not intact, the degree force will penetrate the target becomes shallow and weak.

When you practice your Atemi, the position of the rear foot is important. The alignment of the knees, hips and spine are important. The alignment of the shoulders, elbow and hand become important. All these are linked together in unison, as one alignment, to support the flow of power projected forward into the target, returning back into the body and down through the foot into the ground, then rebounded back up the body and through the fist back into the target. It happens as fast as lightening.

The role of the pliable muscles and connective tissues is to move and align the structure. The muscles fire by contracting, pulling and pushing the skeleton. That is their purpose. The more powerful they can generate energy and fire that energy, the more inertia is created and the skeleton is moved at a faster, more explosive pace. Using the equation Force = Mass x Acceleration, the role of the muscles are critical for creating force because they provide both mass and acceleration of that mass.

But, when that force meets impact with a resistant target, the structure must be aligned to absorb the returning force and the connection to the ground through the feet must be intact to provide a rebound of force back into the target to have devastating penetration. The roles of muscles and bones are interconnected through structure. If the structure is not intact and there is a “leak” of force, the muscles become dangerously weak to support the returning force because they have already fired to create the acceleration and projection. The returning force comes into the body much too fast for muscles to retract and provide resistance.

Powerful striking is a combined effort of both muscle and skeleton, of Mass times Acceleration, of firing and penetrating through the target. When performed at precise angles, in precise timings and at precise distances, the strike becomes more than just hitting. It becomes more than just contact with a target. It becomes a penetrating force that causes maximum effectiveness with minimal risk. That is what defines a powerful technique.