Force Deflection

An object in motion tends to remain in motion until acted upon by another force. An attack must be stopped, deflected, or avoided. The attack may come in either a straight line or an arc. Stopping the attack by meeting it head-on may be painful and you may not always be able to get out of its way. Therefore, the best strategy is to deflect the attack. A small force that cannot stop a large force may easily deflect the large force. Deflections should be used in a circular motion.

An unskilled person will hurl their body, more or less uncontrolled in one direction, with their strike. They are functioning more or less like a falling rock. A skilled martial artist who understands the principles energy will not move in this manner. If one part of their body goes forward, another goes backward (Yin/Yang) and the forces are balanced. Therefore, pulling this person in the direction of their strike is difficult, because their inertia is balanced and not focused in one direction.

For greater striking force, you should strike the opponent on the same line as his/her inertia. If a strong part of your body is striking a weaker part of the opponent, there is no problem. However, if your weapon is not strong enough, relative to the target, this method will result in injury to yourself. If you meet force on a line perpendicular to it, your small force can deflect a larger force.

Reaction Force

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Taekwondo makes use of this principle to develop powerful techniques.

One way reaction force is used is the way the pivot foot is used to thrust against the ground when shifting. The reaction force of this thrust is returned through the leg and hip to thrust the body forward.

Another way reaction force is used is through body rotation. Body rotation is created by anchoring one side of the body and using it as a pivot. The other side of the body is driven forward by the rear leg and hip as a reaction of the supporting leg's thrusting against the ground.

Hip snap may also generate a reaction force. In hip snap, the hip and leg motion, and the corresponding reaction force, is a short term, small scale pulse of power immediately followed by recoil in the opposite direction. Power is applied in a sharp pulse of energy of very short duration. Hip recoil also helps maintain stability.

These methods of generating reaction force are based on the fact that energy is being directed into the floor that bounces most all of the force back into the body, rather than absorbing it. Another way to generate a reaction force is when one hand performs a technique while the other hand is withdrawn in the opposite direction. The speed and scale of the movements of both hands are matched. This makes use of reaction force in two different ways. First, the pull back hand helps rotation to occur, because the force of the hand and arm being pulled back forcefully creates a forward movement on the other side of the body. Second, the pull back serves as a counter-balance for the technique being extended, so that if it misses the target, stability may be maintained.

Reaction force is also applied when actually striking a target with a technique. When a technique is finely focused, the body is so firmly connected to the ground that little or no force is accepted back into the body. If a technique quickly recoils after impact, none of the reaction force from the target can transfer back into the striking arm or leg and the impact duration is shortened, both of which increase impact force.

Page 3 of 3: NEXT Back First Last | Share | Errors | Last Modified:

Subtopics: NEXT | Preface Acting States of Force Types of Force

Topic: Comments: Add View | Sources | Related: None