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Physics Of Martial Arts: Incorporation Of Angular Momentum To Model Body Motion And Strikes, Alexis Merk, Andrew Resnick

Physics Faculty Publications

We develop a physics-based kinematic model of martial arts movements incorporating rotation and angular momentum, extending prior analyses. Here, our approach is designed for a classroom environment; we begin with a warm-up exercise introducing counter-intuitive aspects of rotational motion before proceeding to a set of model collision problems that are applied to martial arts movements. Finally, we develop a deformable solid-body mechanics model of a martial arts practitioner suitable for an intermediate mechanics course. We provide evidence for our improved model based on calculations from biomechanical data obtained from prior reports as well as time-lapse images of several different kicks. …