Comparing the Straight Punch between Chinese Wushu and other Martial Arts

Abstract

PURPOSE:Many believe that routine excercises in Wushu routine (Kungfu) are mere acrobatics and have no fighting value compared to other martial arts. The aim of this study was to compare the straight punch force between Wushu and other martial artists. METHODS:35 male college students who have equal sport experiences were eligible for this study. Boxing n=7, San Da (Chinese Sparring) n=7, Wushu routine n=7, Karate n=7, control group (College Physical education students) n=7 took part in this trial. Subjects age were 21±1 years old, weight 66.7±6.4 kg, height 1.71±0.23 cm. Except for the control group, the average of training years was 6±3 years. Subjects were asked to deliver a straight punch under 2 conditions. 1) A free punch was tested for subjects’ maximum punch force. 2) A reaction punch with a signal was used to test subjects’ reaction and punch force. A punch test device was used to collect punch force and acceleration. The sampling frequency of force and acceleration was 10,000 Hz respectively. Subjects test order was randomized prior to the experiment begin. Punch force was normalization. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 19.0. ANOVA repeat measures were used to compare the differences of two punch conditions and groups. Data were reported as mean values (SD), and the significance level was set to p < 0.05. RESULTS:The results showed that the maximum punch force was highest for boxers (2689 N), followed by practitioners of San Da (2653 N), Wushu routine (2258 N), karate (1914 N) and PE students (1380 N). The results for the reactive punch force showed slight differences with San Da players (2532 N) now scoring higher than boxers (2481 N). Also for the free punch acceleration the highest scores were registrered among San Da players (122 m/s2), followed by Wushu routine (119 m/s2), boxing (113 m/s2), karate (89 m/s2) and the control group (68 m/s2). The same order was found for the reactive acceleration: San Da (122 m/s2), Wushu routine (119 m/s2), Boxing (113 m/s2), Karate (89 m/s2) and the control group (68 m/s2). CONCLUSIONS:This comparison indicated that the straight punch force of Wushu routine was lower than that of boxing and San Da, but higher than that of karate and P.E students. Wushu routine is a promising self-defense sport that can be known by more people.