Now the thing is, all the top fighters in Thailand kick very hard but Yodsanklai seems to be something special, the guy has massive tree trunks instead of normal human being's legs. So what's up? Is it genetics? Did he just do a lot of strength training in his legs and core? Am I totally out of my mind here? I want to kick like a mule as well, so I'm trying to find out the secret.
For everyone's viewing pleasure: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jm5cJ-OyO0"]YouTube - Yodsanklai Fairtex HL by mck2h[/ame] As far as why he does? Aside from it probably being due to his cool haircut, Yod is really muscular for his weight class. At only 160 pounds he looks like he weighs a lot more due to his build. Add into that great technique and speed and it's no wonder why his kicks are like the hammer of Thor.
Here is better viewing for technique: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=witJISymkWo"]YouTube - Yodsanklai Fairtex Training in Pattaya Thailand2!![/ame]
AFAIK, the pseudonyms used by muay'ers generally consist of the muay'er's stage name as the apparent "first name" and a reference to the muay'er's training camp or instructor as the apparent "last name".
Yod = greater than Sanklai = famous boxer, Yod's idol Fairtex = gym he fights out of. So Yodsanklai means "greater than Sanklai"
Having got to see Yodsanklai train, it's amazing to see the power he has and the perfect technique he keeps whilst kicking that hard.
He doesn't kick that hard. Well, he does for a man his size. The speed just makes it look/sound hard, yet there's not so much behind it. Power comes mostly from mass, speed is second to mass by far. Hold the pads for a fighter like this yourself or better yet let him kick you, won't pack the power of a heavyweight. To kick hard as he does within his own weightclass, you just need practice and persistence. Genetics might be a minor factor, yet only in that some men are naturally more aggressive. You need to put aggression and hatred into your strikes, some men are too soft and they wont hit as hard.
I'd have to disagree with the bold part. Yes, mass does have a big part of power, but so does velocity. There are some very powerful strikers who are not that big. Take, for example, Ricky Hatton. As a light welterweight (around 140 pounds when in condition for a fight), Hatton was tested as having 400kg of force through his left hook. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6228040.stm You can have some exceptional strikers who despite their size routinely demolish larger, stronger opponents. If size was all that matters, Bob Sapp would be champ. Yet Sapp, who weighs about 340 pounds, has lost to guys like Peter Aerts who gave over 100 pounds to Sapp yet still KOed him. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq2WUJd2ecs"]YouTube - Peter Aerts vs Bob Sapp : K-1 World GP 2007 AMSTERDAM[/ame] Size is important, but it's not the only deciding factor. The more skill a fighter has compared to his opponent, the less of a factor size plays into. I would say if anyone held the pads for Yod on here, they would easily say Yod kicks hard. The hardest striker I've ever met was 155 pounds and when he was kicking the pads, one of our bigger guys would hold the kick pad but would still need someone on the other side to hold him in place as he would occasionally get knocked down if the smaller guy struck at full power.
How naive. If anything, Bob Sapp disproves everything you say. The man is a [EDIT]ing buffalo. He has the brains of a 5 year old and the cunning of a sheep. The only reason Sapp is able to stand toe to toe with some of the world's greatest is his size and size alone. Simply, size equals power, thus the biggest guy around always has a chance, regardless of if he has no talent. On the other hand, if Sapp did have the skill of some of the opponents he was pitted against, he'd be unstoppable given his size. I've lived and trained for years in Thailand now. I know the difference between size and power Vs. speed and technique. I'm only 110 kilo, but the amount of experience a Thai needs over my own to fight me is staggering. Moreover, I get sick of stupid foreigners showing up and saying how hard the Thais kick. Yes, it's power for their weight, but the foreigner is simply observing the speed, energy, noise and enthusiasm of the fighter. On the other hand, I look like [EDIT] - I'm too big, slow, can't kick fast when high and there's no slapping sound when I kick or punch the the pads - the trainer just kind of falls over. Of course sizer is not the only deciding factor. I know that more than most. My point is, two people of equal skill in every way, the heavier one will always win if that's the only difference between them. Speed will not weigh up.
I'm not denying that at all. I was merely using him as an example that size is not the be all end all. Obviously size is an important factor, otherwise why would we have weight classes in combat sports? However, there have been some exceptional lighter fighters who have taken on heavier opponents and beat them through superior skill. While it is important to not underestimate the size of an opponent, their skill levels are also important. Sapp is huge and strong, but he doesn't have the skill of Aerts. If he had the same level of Aerts, then there is almost no question that Sapp would have walked away the victor in that fight. Actually, I never said the Thais. I just said Yod can kick hard. "Hard" is subjective any way you want to look at it. It's my opinion, not a fact. I don't think he's the greatest KO artist out there (his stats don't support it), he just has a nice kick. I never mentioned speed anywhere. All I said was: "The more skill a fighter has compared to his opponent, the less of a factor size plays into." Obviously the closer the skill level gets, the more of a factor size plays. I think you must be automatically assuming I'm saying things I'm not, as a lot of your points are about things I never even said.
Newton's Second Law of Motion - Force = mass x acceleation. Neither one is dominant over the other. If a guy weighing 60kg kicks at a=10m/s2, he will generate 600N. If a guy weighing 120kg kicks at 5m/s2, he will also generate 600N. The force generated balances out because of the differences in mass, and kicking speed ability. Of course, if a guy has a large mass and kicks very fast, he's going to have a great power advantage, but it is quite rare to see somebody very big hit very fast. The two usually balance out to a rough degree.
Though I'm no physics guy, I think the kinetic energy formula is more appropriate for fighting. To quote the Hyperphysics site (http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/ke.html):
Again, I'm no physics guru, but power is more about the amount of work you can do in a given time. Given that they measure the power of a bullet shot from a firearm with kinetic energy, I think it's more appropriate in my opinion.
This is beside the point. I'm talking about power. Of course you're right, that size is not everything. I'm saying size is the key factor in power, but not in fighting in general. I was just generally directing that. A lot of people say it, I didn't mean you.
It does not weigh up. The speed differene between large people and small people is not enough for this to become relevant. Heavyweights can still apply fast strikes. Moreover, when talking about the lack of speed in heavyweights, it's usually meaning going from one motion to the next. The speed of a heavyweight strike at the point of impact is not much different from a lightweight of similar skill. The difference of course is in the recovery, where the heavyweight has to recall the massive amount of commitment made, which makes them look slower, but this is irrelevant to power. I think Mike Tyson is a good example - a large man who had the high end skill of Boxing, there's no way any middle weight could ever punch harder than he did.
pound for pound, he kicks harder and faster than any fighter ive ever seen. Frankly I dont see the point in this comment because what you're essentially saying is "if he was heavier he'd kick harder" which is a bit obvious.
That is correct. You can think about it in two ways, in terms of Force transferred or in terms of Energy transferred. However the distinction is that when using Force what is actually relevant is Impulse, which is Force x Time that force is exerted. This is very difficult to calculate for a strike, as it isn't simply the time the strike is in contact times the force of the initial strike, since force decreases as you penetrate a target and they decelerate you. Past a certain point you're just standing with your hand touching them, which isn't relevant to total Force transferred. What you need is the average force for that period, which is as I say difficult to calculate. With kinetic energy, it is much easier, as long as we assume a totally non-elastic collision; i.e all kinetic energy is transferred into the target and none goes into bouncing the strike off them. This is why striking with dead-weight does more damage than tensed, when tensed you are more elastic and so less energy is transferred. With such experienced fighters you can probably say that they mostly strike with inelastic collisions, or at least there is little variation at that level; so it comes down to the kinetic formula: 1/2 mass x velocity^2 = kinetic energy So if you halve velocity you have to quadruple the mass to equal the kinetic energy. However as Octavian says, speed doesn't vary massively between fighters of different sizes. Also, a larger fighter should always be able to generate more kinetic energy over the course of the strike, once they have overcome the rest energy of their limb; since they have more muscle and hence can generate more power (energy per second). It is misleading to look at the formula and simply conclude that velocity is a more important factor, since the fighter has to transfer their own chemical energy (using the same formula) into the speed they can move their own mass before it becomes the kinetic energy; in which case velocity becomes more expensive in terms of energy to create. So it balances out in the end! However if we imagine fighters of different skill levels, then the kinetic energy their body can generate in that movement may well differ (due to technique and due to a muscular structure better suited to that movement. They also might be better able to make their strike impact with dead-weight, which as we said earlier affects the transfer of kinetic energy. Excluding factors like accuracy and shot placement I think those are the main elements that make one person's attack more 'powerful' mechanically speaking. Now this is just talking about the power of a specific strike, obviously when it comes to winning a fight many more factors come into play. As to which one is more significant, skill or weight, it must come down to simply how large of a difference you are talking about. You could probably (if you could establish the properties of a strike that increase with skill) create a formula that would tell you given different skill levels what weight fighters would need to be to strike with the same power, and vica verca! :hat: Anyway, take or leave that overly verbose analysis, I just find it interesting to apply my college level physics to my Martial Arts.
