Fighting Science: The Laws of Physics for Martial Artists [Paperback]

Martina Sprague (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2002

Size and strength will take you only so far in martial arts. If you want to reach your maximum potential on the street or in the ring, you need to go beyond conditioning and focus on getting the most out of every technique. In this book, Martina Sprague teaches you everything you need to know to successfully apply the laws of physics for maximum power in every technique. Start with ten fundamental fighting concepts to exploit your opponent's weaknesses and identify your strengths. Once you have a solid overview of these strategic concepts, move on to a detailed look at how things like momentum, rotational speed, friction, direction, impulse and conservation of energy can work for or against you. Not a science whiz? Don't worry about it. Martina breaks down each idea, giving you easy to understand examples and hundreds of practical applications for stances, striking, kicking, defences, footwork, movement, throws, takedowns and grappling. This book is supplemented by hundreds of photographs, detailed glossaries, summary and review sections and even quizzes to test yourself on what you have learned. Whether you would like to gain a detailed understanding of the laws of physics for martial artists or just want a few hundred ways to get the edge on your next opponent, this is a must-have book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Turtle Press (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880336723
• ISBN-13: 978-1880336724
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Martina Sprague is a military historian and martial artist. Her most recent book, Swedish Volunteers in the Russo-Finnish Winter War, 1939-40, is a history of combat and neutrality politics at the start of World War II. Her next book, Lessons in the Art of War: Martial Strategies for the Successful Fighter, compares Asian and Western martial arts with a focus on the theories of Sun Tzu and Carl von Clausewitz. This book will be released by Tuttle Publishing in 2011. For more information about this exciting new study, please visit Martina's Web site: www.modernfighter.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars science articulated, January 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Fighting Science: The Laws of Physics for Martial Artists (Paperback)

There is nothing new under the sun, but what Martina Sprague has done in Fighting Science is articulate the principles of physics as applied to martial arts. The book is educational both for the martial artist and the science interested person in general.

The first chapter whets your appetite by discussing and comparing concepts and situations you may end up in both as a standup fighter and a grappler. Subsequent chapters explore physics in depth applied to martial arts, with a start in balance, followed by momentum and motion and how it translates into force. Next follows the exploration of speed and friction, which counteracts speed, and how to increase your power or decrease your opponent's power by manipulating the time during which your striking weapon impacts the target. An explanation of how to conserve energy by using your own and your opponent's movement to your advantage follows, which naturally leads to your ability to end a fight quickly. The last chapter talks about how physics helps a martial artist attain the focus he or she needs to accomplish board and brick breaking, as well as other astonishing feats.

Through its simple explanations and hundreds of practical exercises, the book adds to the excitement of teaching and learning, and shows how, with some scientific knowledge and a lot of dedication, it is possible for the average Joe to perform with the precision he or she needs to defeat an adversary both in competition and on the street. Definitely a worthwhile book.

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars provides fresh insight, October 7, 2002

By 

Loren w Christensen (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fighting Science: The Laws of Physics for Martial Artists (Paperback)

Fighting Science is a wonderful, information crammed martial arts book that fills a much-needed void in the field. Author Martina Sprague clearly knows her stuff and passes on her knowledge in a simple and easy-to-understand language that even the science and math challenged among us can grasp at first read.

Even if you have been studying the martial arts for years, her explanations as to the science behind you favorite moves will have you exclaiming, "So that's why that technique works so well."

Perhaps more importantly, with a new understanding of the simple laws of physics that make a technique work and work well, you might discover the solution to a problem you've had with a particular punch, kick, or throw.

Her simple explanations as to the physics behind your movements, backed by hundreds of clear photos, will not only improve your techniques but will help you defeat your opponent, whether it's in the ring or in the street.

I highly recommend it.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Go beyond technique, June 28, 2002

By 

Jennifer Lawler (Lawrence, Kansas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fighting Science: The Laws of Physics for Martial Artists (Paperback)

Martina Sprague's book, Fighting Science, helps martial artists at all skill levels understand how the techniques work and how to make them work better. She helps fighters understand certain principles that they may have noticed but never quite identified (for example, a heavier fighter may not be as fast as a lighter fighter, but he's harder to stop once he gets going.) Sprague's book helps you understand what these principles are and how they apply. For example, she explains that a heavier fighter has more inertia to overcome to get started, but that heavier mass is harder to stop once it's moving. Then she gives tips on how to accommodate for this property.

Although I thought I knew a lot about martial arts, Sprague's book gave me even more insight into how fighters can get more from their training. I would recommend it to any martial artist interested in why and how the martial arts work, and to any martial artist who wants to get better.