Biomechanics of martial arts and combative sports

Abstract

The pioneer studies on the biomechanics of martial arts were published in the nineteen sixties and seventies. After these articles were published, several other biomechanical studies have been conducted about martial arts and other related punching sports using a variety of different measures and methods, especially in the last decade. In general, these studies were concerned with the enhancement of performance and extending the understanding of injury risk. This paper presents a comprehensive review on this subject. It is divided in two major topics: The first topic covers articles about the kinetics, kinematics and electromyography of specific hand strikes, kicks, throws and fall techniques; the second topic focus on some aspects of motor behaviors and perceptual abilities fundamental for efficient and successful performances in martial arts and combative sports (i.e. Repeatability of movement, reaction times).