Punching and Getting Punched

Even in the sport of boxing, physics can be seen in all aspects of the game.
However, we will be looking at how physics can help a boxer in both throwing a punch,
and taking a hit to the face!

Starting the Punch

When the fighter has his hands in

their initial “ready” positions, his fists have
potential energy originating from muscles
and various bodily functions. As soon as the
boxer starts to move his shoulders and arms
and eventually the fists, his/her potential
energy is being converted into kinetic energy.

Kinetic energy is calculated by using the formula:

Kinetic Energy = (1/2)mv^2

where m is the mass of the object, in this case the arm, fist, and boxing glove, and v is
the velocity of the object.

Contact with the Face and Aftermath

The fist has its maximum velocity when

it hits something. This collision causes the fist to
slow down, and eventually when the fighter
begins applying a force to retract his arm, the fist
stops and returns to the fighter.
This speed is calculated using;
Velocity = Distance / Time
As you can see, there are two ways to make a fist go faster. By lengthening the
distance or shortening the time. The distance can be lengthened to a maximum of the
fighter’s arm length, but the time will depend on training, and the acceleration (a=v/t) of
the arm.
 But what is the advantage to a “faster” punch? We can investigate this by taking
a look at the concepts of momentum and impulse. Momentum can be seen as an object’s
tendency to resist change in acceleration and its formula is:

Momentum (P) = Mass * Velocity

An impulse is the change in momentum of a certain object, and uses the formula:
Impulse = Force * Time

Now what does this have to do with boxing? Well, this becomes more evident
when looking at the punch in steps:

1. Before the fist makes contact with the face, it has a certain momentum, and a
stationary head would have zero momentum.
2. During the contact, there is a transfer of momentum from the fist and arm to the
head of the opponent.
3. Although momentum is conserved when looking at both boxers, just looking at
the person taking hit, his/her momentum has changed from zero, to what ever
momentum was transferred from the fist.

To return to the question of why a faster punch can be more effective is because with the
mass of the fist being constant, by increasing velocity, the momentum that the punch
carries is larger, hence, but change in momentum (impulse) that the opponent’s head
experiences increases.

During contact, Force Time Impulse

the boxer taking the 200 1 200
hit would 100 2 200
experience the same 50 4 200
impulse whether 20 10 200
his/her head is 8 25 200
moving towards the punch, or moving away from it. It is 4 50 200
important to understand that this doesn’t mean that the 2 100 200
boxer would feel the same impulse if he/she was moving 0.2 1000 200
towards the punch before the fist made contact with his/her face, it must be after contact
is made. Even though the impulse, or change in momentum, experienced would be the
same for both cases, by moving the head away from the punch increases the time
interval in which the “damage” takes place, meaning the force experienced from taking
the punch will be reduced. Since it only takes a boxer a fraction of a second to throw a
punch, a small reduction in the time interval can produce large results.
As you can see, the simple basic punching in boxing involves many physics
concepts. By knowing these concepts, the boxers can know what aspects of their offense
and defensive abilities need training, and we can have a more scientific approach to the
sport.