What sticks out to you when you first lay your eyes upon Brock, apart from the muscle mass? His freakish long limbs, and thick/short torso. A long limbed/short torso individual is termed a
"Braciomorph" (Long torso/short limbs is
"Doliciomorphs"
What does this mean from an athletic standpoint?
1. Higher center of gravity
- The meat of the body, the Torso is positioned higher, hoisted by the longer legs of the Braciomorph
- You'll find Braciomorph is shorter in the seated position compared to the Doliciomorph (Of equal height)
- With a higher COG, legs/feet move quicker (Brock has noticeably fast/explosive first step type movements)
Here's some research about this topic, which goes a long way to explain why black athletes dominate speed related endevaours (The Braciomorph build plays a massive part)
http://pratt.duke.edu/about/news/speediest-athletes-its-all-center-gravity
“Blacks tend to have longer limbs with smaller circumferences, meaning that their centers of gravity are higher compared to whites of the same height,” Bejan said. “Asians and whites tend to have longer torsos, so their centers of gravity are lower.”
“Locomotion is essentially a continual process of falling forward,” Bejan said. “Body mass falls forward, then rises again. Mass that falls from a higher altitude falls faster. In running, the altitude is set by the location of the center of gravity.
Here's some more stuff about the advantage of long limbs in specific sport scenarios
In a sport like powerlifting, athletes with short limbs tend to have an advantage over those who possess long limbs because the weight is moved through a shorter distance. On the other hand, if an athlete requires a long powerful stroke, such as in swimming, sprinting, jumping, or rowing, then a longer lever, provided it is accompanied by the muscular power needed to propel it, - has an advantage in these types of sports because of the speed those longer limbs can generate at the end of their range of motion.
Think about it. A guy whose upper legs are 20 inches long should be able to come out of a 1/4 squat and generate more velocity at toe off in a vertical jump then a guy whose upper legs are only 12 inches long. However, the guy with longer upper legs will also have to work harder on his strength whereas the guy with short upper legs will probably need to work hard to maximize his rate of force development so that he too can demonstrate superior speed at full extension. The same point can be made in other sports where hitting or throwing are important. For example, speed in a tennis serve, volleyball spike, or a baseball pitch can all be higher for long-levered athletes as long as they have enough muscle power to extend the longer limbs
To the intuned athletic mind, they knew what Brock meant when he said he was "Built like a black man"... He was talking about his long limbed Braciomorph body type!
What does the fastest white man ever look like from a body type/structural perspective?
- Braciomorph build.
2. Femur to Tibia Ratio (Thigh and Shinbone Ratio)
- Brock has a comparatively long shinbone/tibia compared to his thigh bone/femur... What does this mean athletically?
- Long Achilles Tendon.... Think High Jumpers, NBA players.. It's also another trait that African Americans posses that make them such great jumpers
- Remember this: Skinny calves ARE GOOD... High tendon insertions, long achilles tendon
- The length of the achilles tendon gives them a leverage advantage for reactive strength because it acts like a long rubber band.
It's no surprise why Kangaroos are so ridiculously athletic and bouncy... Just look at the length of that achilles tendon
Legs Like a Kangaroo
By the same token many athletes who can jump high and run fast have physical characteristics such as long lower legs, high calves and a long achilles tendon. The length of the achilles tendon gives them a leverage advantage for reactive strength because it acts like a long rubber band. Recall that in a plyometric movement the muscles and tendons are stretched and energy is stored and released in greater quantities. Having long tendons in the lower leg can enhance this process. The achilles tendon is amazing at storing elastic energy and giving it back to you; it's an adaptation to make activities like walking and running more efficient. In the animal kingdom kangaroos probably have the longest achilles tendons and are also the best leapers. They can literally bounce around over small buildings with hardly any muscular effort.
3. Long Arms/Wingspan
- This is pretty self explanatory, and why it's especially beneficial from not only an MMA standpoint, but a general sports standpoint
- This is another reason why African Americans dominate the NBA, and why they are such spectacular dunkers... Just compare Chase Budinger (White guy with a great vertical leap, but average wingspan), to Michael Jordan or Vince Carter (Not only explosive athletes, but long arms)... You can see the distinct stylistic difference in dunks clearly
- In MMA/combat sports, having a reach is advantageous obviously for standup, but also for throwing elbows from distance (Elbows go further out AKA JBJ Hellbows)
JBJ HELLBOWS
4. Long Legs Mechanical Knee Advantage
- Not only are his leg movements faster (Due to higher COG)... But they have a farther REACH
- This applies to MMA in the form of KICKS and KNEES
- This is clearly not a staple of Brock's MMA arsenal, but he has shown some instances where his mechanical structure advantage benefits him
- His kneeing actions reach out further, and much higher, making them not only lethal in grappling/clinch situations, but keeps him from having to put himself in a vulnerable position overeaching trying to hit with a knee or kick
- More leg reach... Pretty self explanatory for kicking actions
