Fight Like a Physicist

Fight Like a Physicist: The Incredible Science Behind Martial Arts Paperback – October 7, 2015
Author: Visit ‘s Jason Thalken Page ID: 1594393389

Review

Thalken explores how physics can be applied to martial arts.More than a body of facts, Thalken sees physics as a practical discipline: an approach that can be applied to any number of pursuits. His chosen pursuit is martial arts. As in physics, the author says, no authority or status can make a martial artist’s technique effective. Testable and reproducible results hold all the power. His thesis is that by understanding the way the human body moves and balances, a martial artist can gain the upper hand on opponents who do not approach their sport scientifically. Thalken outlines the way concepts from physics reveal strategies in fightingthe center of mass is important for leg sweeps and grappling, hits that travel shorter distances will arrive with greater force and speed, etc. He also debunks common misconceptions about equipment. For example, boxing gloves are not “safer” than bare knuckles; while they distribute force over a wider area, causing fewer breaks in the skin, they allow the fist to strike with more momentum and hit hard surfaces (like the head) more frequently. He also delves into many of the myths propagated by media portrayals of martial arts as well as the pseudoscience propagated by practitioners of martial arts themselves. A relatively short book, the work is more primer than instruction manual, advocating a perspective as opposed to promoting individual exercises or training regimens. There is an infectious energy to Thalken’s prose, one that sells both the no-nonsense combat analysis and the cool skepticism of the physics discussion. As a guidebook, the text has very little fat: section titles like, “Where Is My Center of Mass, and Why Do I Care?” keep readers assured Thalken isn’t trying to force more information on them than needed. The author is an apt communicator of even the more abstract ideas, putting them into a simple, intuitive context. It’s unclear if thinking like a physicist can actually win a fighter matches, but it certainly provides a new grammar for thinking about the ways in which our bodies move.An enlightening book for martial artists seeking a competitive edge. (Kirkus Reviews)

Fight Like a Physicist is a cool concept that makes physics tangible for fans of fighting sports.As a martial arts practitioner with a doctorate in physics, Jason Thalken has an interesting perspective on fighting sports, and he applies his knowledge of scientific principles to his chosen sport in Fight Like a Physicist. Though there probably isn’t quite enough material here for a full book, the early sections do a solid job explaining the physics in a relatable way that gives fighters some perspective on how to incorporate scientific knowledge to fight better.Fight Like a Physicist finds a nice middle ground in terms of the material’s tone the writing is simple enough for its target audience to understand and apply, while it still delivers meaningful scientific concepts. For example, the book uses levers as a way to explain the relationship between distance and force, and explains how the dispersal of force on impact can make particular blows more or less effective.Thalken includes numerous charts and graphs throughout the book. Like many of the concepts he writes about, these visual representations will look familiar to anyone who took physics in high school, but may not have thought about the material since then. He throws in the occasional “math box,” to highlight mathematical concepts like the force curve or the center of mass, while using both equations and sample fight-based scenarios. Combined, these elements make Fight Like a Physicist both a useful primer and an enjoyable refresher.Though the early chapters are strong, the book does lose its way a bit late, with chapters that seem shoehorned in. Thalken includes a chapter about brain injuries affecting football players (including Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), and posits a theory about how applied force might manifest in such injuries. However, the author also has a patent pending on a new helmetwhich he discloses honestly, but which does make an already tangential chapter feel like a sales pitch at times.Other sections criticize practices like tai chi for their lack of scientific basis, or advocate fighting back against criminals in dangerous real-life situations, but these parts feel unnecessary, and the tone deviates from the book’s strengths. They don’t quite fit the fighting-sports theme, and the science in these chapters is less than clear cut, especially when compared to the universal principles discussed earlier.At its best, in the early chapters, Fight like a Physicist is a cool concept that makes physics tangible for fans of fighting sports, and can just as easily get more science-minded readers interested in those sports. (Jeff Fleischer Foreword Reviews, March 12, 2015)

About the Author

Jason Thalken has a PhD in computational condensed matter physics from the University of Southern California, and bachelor’s degrees in physics, mathematics, and philosophy from the University of Texas. He is the inventor on eight patent applications for data science and modeling in the financial services industry, and one patent application for protecting the brain from trauma in such sports as boxing, MMA, and football. Jason has studied and competed in numerous martial arts styles since 1995 and has a black belt in hapkido under Grand Master Ho Jin Song. Jason Thalken resides in Seattle, Washington.

Paperback: 128 pagesPublisher: Ymaa Publication Center (October 7, 2015)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 1594393389ISBN-13: 978-1594393389 Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.4 x 9 inches Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Best Sellers Rank: #4,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #3 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Martial Arts #5 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Violence in Society #24 in Books > Science & Math > Physics
I was extremely excited to discover that YMAA was publishing a book titled Fight Like a Physicist, as I have wanted to add a book on this topic to my library for a long time. The only problem was that there wasn’t anything like this out there – a book that breaks down martial arts techniques and explains the physics behind them while simultaneously putting to bed lots of old myths and legends, replacing the mystical with the beauty of science. And now having read the book, I am happy to say that my excitement was not misplaced. The physics explanations are clear and understandable, and Thalken even provides math boxes for those of us who have an interest in the technical details. Plus, the second chapter kicks off with references to D&D. How could a martial arts geek not fall in love with this book?

In my opinion, two parts of this book really stand out. The first is the discussion of the difference between high energy and high momentum strikes. Understanding this distinction is important, as training and body mechanics for each are quite different so it is important for the practitioner to understand exactly which they are performing to do so optimally. The second stand-out portion of the book, which is related to the first, discusses brain injury and protective equipment, effectively illustrating that the equipment that we are currently using is designed to protect against high-energy strikes but is not designed (and may in fact exacerbate) high momentum strikes, which are the type of strike that have the potential to cause long-term brain injury. Anyone who cares about the health and well-being of themselves and any martial artists that they are training needs to read and understand this material and apply it to making their training safer for all involved.
Martial arts can seem like an illusion.

Take, for instance, the competition I saw at the U.S. Open in 2007 in Orlando. A martial artist, a black belt I presumed to be in his 40s, lifted up a plank full of nails and punctured a bottle of water with it. As the water spread out on the floor, he put the plank down and stepped on it. I cringed as I watched the nails all but pierce his feet while he demolished a stack of bricks as tall as a child.

Neither act – standing on nails or breaking bricks – is as strenuous as it seems, says Dr. Jason Thalken, author of his first book, How To Fight Like A Physicist.

Regarding the bed of nails, he says that “any person is capable of performing this trick right now with no training.” He explains how surface area distribution prevents the nails from piercing the skin. Turning to the bricks, he says it wouldn’t work if the bricks were spaced incorrectly. He details how bricks are broken due to how they are bent.

This is just one example of how Thalken breaks through martial arts mysticism.

The meat of the book, in my view, lies in the middle. Thalken discusses the issue of how brain damage occurs from sparring and MMA fights, and even suggests that, in some cases, the more protection we think we have from head injuries (through the use of face cages, for example), the more we may actually be at risk for them.

Just because Thalken is a new author doesn’t mean he lacks knowledge. The Ph.D., holder of three bachelor’s degrees, and holder of eight patents has filed a patent for a new type of headgear to protect against brain injuries in the hopes of preventing chronic traumatic encephelopathy (CTE), also known as “punch drunk syndrome,” in martial artists and fighters.
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