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The One Inch Punch is an ancient martial arts move of kung-fu. In this popular mechanics article the neuroscience of the punch is explored.
While the biomechanics behind the powerful blow certainly aren't trivial, the punch owes far more to brain structure than to raw strength...
By the time the one-inch punch has made contact with its target, Lee has combined the power of some of the biggest muscles in his body into a tiny area of force. But while the one-inch punch is built upon the explosive power of multiple muscles, Rose insists that Bruce Lee's muscles are actually not the most important engine behind the blow.
"Muscle fibers do not dictate coordination," Rose says, "and coordination and timing are essential factors behind movements like this one-inch punch."
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Sunday June 01 2014, @04:48PM
Therein lies the problem with anecdotes - or at least, when they're used as evidence. What it felt like is irrelevant. What's relevant is what actually happened.
Not sure I follow. There obviously was "forward momentum" involved. That is what a punch is, after all.
His feet were presumably planted on the ground to prevent him being pushed backwards from the equal and opposite force as per Newton.
So not actually a one-inch punch at all, then?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 01 2014, @10:15PM
It's 4 to 5 inches, she just told all her friends it was one inch.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Mr. Slippery on Monday June 02 2014, @03:48AM
There's a difference between a punch where the puncher's center of mass has forward momentum, and a punch where the puncher's center of mass is relatively still but rotational momentum is generated by the legs and transferred by the hips to the torso, leading to forward momentum of the punching arm. For maximum power, of course, we want to combine the two, but when a fight has already gotten up close and personal, a striking artist needs the ability to develop significant power without moving their center of mass forward.
"One inch punch" is something of an idiom. In demonstrations it's typical for a practitioner to place their fingertips on the target and then make a fist and launch from there, so we're talking a finger-length punch. Someone with Lee's talent and ability to devote themselves full-time to training could quite likely have a strong punch at one inch.
(Score: 2) by monster on Monday June 02 2014, @03:53PM
Pretty much this. As a martial artist myself, I assure you that like 80% of the force of a punch/kick comes from adding momentum from the rest of the body; it also gives balance to the punch, so even if you didn't hit, your body is still in a stable position. That's why the real "magic" of the one-inch punch is not in the muscles' mass but in how your brain coordinates them.
(Score: 2) by edIII on Monday June 02 2014, @06:21AM
I said felt like it because I didn't actually measure it. I was certainly more than an arms length away when I came to rest.
As for the not a one-inch-punch, we both know we are talking about the same thing. Which, is the ability to impart an unusual and above average amount of force upon an object in a very short distance. 4-5 inches is pretty damn short. I never claimed it was the exact same as Bruce Lee, and I didn't ask for a follow up punch either from a closer distance, or go and get a measuring tape either.
So I don't know what you are going on about with your pedantry.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.