Fight Like a Physicist: The Incredible Science Behind Martial Arts

An in-depth look into the physics behind martial arts. Whether you are an experienced martial artist or a curious enthusiast, this book gives you an “unfair advantage” by unraveling the complex science of effective fighting techniques and examining the core principles that make them work. Did you know?

• Momentum is for knocking people over

• Energy is for breaking bones and causing pain

• A haymaker travels 3.14159 times farther than a jab

• You are only an “object” when you are rigid

Fight Like a Physicist blends inquiry, skepticism, and irreverent humor—all while punching holes in myth and mysticism. Highlights include

• Making physics your “unfair advantage,” in the ring and on the street

• Examining center of mass, pi, levers, wedges, angular momentum, and linear momentum for martial artists

• Reducing traumatic brain injury in contact sports

• Exposing the illusion of safety provided by gloves and helmets

• Overturning conventional wisdom on compliance during an assault

• Busting up Hollywood action clichés

Fight Like a Physicist reads like a manifesto on the rational practice of martial arts. It’s intelligent, fun, and dangerous—and nothing short of iconoclastic.

© 2019 Tantor Media (Audiobook): 9781977349866
© 2015 YMAA Publication Center (Ebook): 9781594393396

Release date

Audiobook: 19 March 2019
Ebook: 1 October 2015