Relaxation theory of power debunked - Adrenalin Rush excerts 66% more force in a punch

[TheLastEmperorReurns]

I think even the flowiest "in-the-zone" fighters are overflowing with adrenaline when they're in the Octagon. They just don't get overwhelmed with it.

 

[ALE]

being on adrenaline rush and staying relaxed is still the best way to hit harder, dummy

composed doesn't mean is not having an adrenaline pump

 

[AusTosh]

lol you're not really loose throughout the whole punch process though. you're only loose up until you're about to hit the target, thus creating the 'impact'...

 

[Inquisitus]

Adrenaline is an overall boost to the system. I'd argue its the fighters who remain relaxed/composed/loose during an adrenaline rush that has the advantage. They have control over their bodies and are able to use the boost to best advantage.

You still need to execute technique, judgement, and timing correctly in spite of the rush.

 

[Sinister]

So after 3 years of getting angry on mitts, and confusing how adrenaline works, you're an expert on powerful punching over people who have been doing this for decades?

lol

 

[SAMURAI SPIRIT]

Well ... the term "relaxed" needs a little more attention here.

Relaxed does not mean sloppy form. When you are tense, you are burning more calories just standing. You may be able to exert more force but what happens when you are not punching or kicking? Do you find yourself drifting from a state of hardened tension to calm relaxation or do you maintain the hardened tension all out?

When I started Kyokushin, I would always be anxious and tense. Within a few minutes this tension would have extracted such a heavy toll on me that I would be gassing out not because I had exerted by simply being on the extreme edge with a tight body did that to me.

There was one other problem with "stiffening." Imagine throwing a round house kick. In order for the leg to extend, your hamstring muscle must be relaxed. It will come into use when you are re-chambering or pulling your leg back. If you tense your hamstring when you are throwing the roundhouse, you are working harder but one muscle works AGAINST the other so over all output is less.

As I gained experience, I subconsciously picked up when to relax and when to stiffen. This is when energy began to "flow" from one body part to the other at the precise moment that it was needed. That did not means I was throwing loose blows. It meant that moments before taking a hit I would be the iron and right after absorbing I would become water (if that makes sense.)

 

[spacetime]

So after 3 years of getting angry on mitts, and confusing how adrenaline works, you're an expert on powerful punching over people who have been doing this for decades?

lol

I have tried both. Tensing creates more power

 

[spacetime]

Being relaxed absolutely increases power.
The key to power is to be loose, like a whip, and at millisecond of impact, everything tenses up to create a brick wall, and then back to being loose.
Being tight and swinging for the fences will not be anywhere close to as effective as throwing strikes the way u are supposed to.
Also, a powerful punch is not necessarily the same as a damaging punch. A punch at 50% power the opponent does not see will be much more damaging than a punch at 100% power that ur opponent can see coming.

The test subject was clearly tensed in the clip and he generated 66% more force

 

[Sinister]

I have tried both. Tensing creates more power

No, it doesn't.

 

[spacetime]

Maybe an analogy will help. Try swinging a baseball bat as you would normally. Swing for the fences.

Now tense every muscle in your body and swing it again. I think you'll see the difference.

You just can't generate power when the antagonistic muscles are tense or contracted. They act like brakes on your movement. You also can't initiate fast or fluid movement when the working muscles that are involved in the movement are tensed at the initiation of movement.

Then there is the problem of trying to use power in a fight situation. If you are tense you are not going to be mobile. You're going to be a much easier target to hit and you are going to have difficulty getting into position to strike.

There's also a phenomenon called the Pre-Movement Silent Period (PSP). It's a very brief silencing of the nerves involved in fast and maximal movement that occurs just prior to movement. Many studies have associated it with increased power especially when the movement is at maximal effort. It only occurs when the muscles involved are under light load such as when exerting enough tension to hold a limb in position, no more. PSP will not occur when the muscles are heavily tensed. That's a highly simplified explanation but it covers enough to again point to the detriments of heavy tension.

Note: PSP is still heavily debated among researchers but most of them agree on the scenario I described above.

Then why was this not reflected in the study?

 

[ShadowoftheSun]

Because the "study" is a shitty youtube video that doesn't have any actual peer review? Just because it says "science" in the video doesn't mean it's actually remotely scientific.

 

[spacetime]

The most important thing here is that I don't think the guy was relaxed in the first (baseline) strike. Maybe it was the situation and the cameras but he was very tense. So, we've never seen him strike while relaxed.

Even if that's true, he still hit like a mule when even more tensed.

 

[a guy]

You just can't generate power when the antagonistic muscles are tense or contracted. They act like brakes on your movement.

This line should have ended the thread.

 

[j123]

This line should have ended the thread.

I'm enjoying this Netflix original, don't be so quick to shaft the series