A New Instrument for Punch Analysis in Boxing

Reliability and Practical Use of a Commercial Device for Measuring Punch and Kick Impact Kinetics

Martial arts, boxing and combat sports such as mixed martial arts participation have gained popularity in recent years internationally. One common aspect to these sports is the training and skill in maximizing strike impact of punches and kicks, referred to as impact kinetics, with commercial devices now available to assess punching and kicking power in athletes training facilities and gyms. We, therefore, assessed the reliability of a commercial device, the PowerKubeTM (Strike Research Ltd., Norwich, England) via the technical error of measurement (TEM) in both linear and non-linear simulated strikes to the center of target, off-center, level and inclined in a laboratory setting. The highest mean impact power resulted from level, center strikes (5782 ± 230 W) followed by level, off-center strikes (4864 ± 119 W, p < 0.05), inclined center strikes (4500 ± 220 W, p < 0.05), and inclined, off-center strikes (3390 ± 151). Peak power reductions ranged from 15.9% (level, off-center) to a maximum of 41.4% (incline, off-center) compared to the level, center strikes. Coaches are advised to take steps such as videoing strikes with high sampling rates to better ensure consistency in impact orientation, being perpendicular and centered on the strike pad, to best capture the peak power of kicks or punches.

Biomechanics of the Upper Limbs: A Review in the Sports Combat Ambit Highlighting Wearable Sensors

Over time, inertial sensors have become an essential ally in the biomechanical field for current researchers. Their miniaturization coupled with their ever-improvement make them ideal for certain applications such as wireless monitoring or measurement of biomechanical variables. Therefore, in this article, a compendium of their use is presented to obtain biomechanical variables such as velocity, acceleration, and power, with a focus on combat sports such as included box, karate, and Taekwondo, among others. A thorough search has been made through a couple of databases, including MDPI, Elsevier, IEEE Publisher, and Taylor & Francis, to highlight some. Research data not older than 20 years have been collected, tabulated, and classified for interpretation. Finally, this work provides a broad view of the use of wearable devices and demonstrates the importance of using inertial sensors to obtain and complement biomechanical measurements on the upper extremities of the human body.

Analysis of the Contact Area for Three Types of Upper Limb Strikes

Performance in strike combat sports is mostly evaluated through the values of the net force, acceleration, or speed to improve efficient training procedures and/or to assess the injury. There are limited data on the upper limb striking area, which can be a useful variable for contact pressure assessment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the contact area of the upper limb in three different strike technique positions. A total of 38 men and 38 women (n = 76, 27.3 ± 8.5 years of age, 73.9 ± 13.8 kg of body weight, 173.3 ± 8.4 cm of body height) performed a static simulation of punch with a fist, palm strike, and elbow strike, where three segments of the right upper limb were scanned. The analysis of 684 images showed a correlation (r = 0.634) between weight and punch technique position in men and significant differences in elbow strike (p < 0.001) and palm strike (p < 0.0001) between women and men. In both groups, the palm demonstrated the largest area and the elbow the smallest one. These data may be used to evaluate strike contact pressure in future studies in forensic biomechanics and assessment of injury in combat sports and self-defense.

Using an artificial neural network to develop an optimal model of straight punch in boxing and training in punch techniques based on this model and real-time feedback

The work was aimed to develop an optimal model of a straight punch in boxing based on an artificial neural network (ANN) in the form of a multilayer perceptron, as well as to develop a technique for improving the technique of punches in boxing based on feedback, when each punch delivered by a boxer was compared with the optimal model. The architecture of the neural network optimal punch model included an input layer of 600 nodes-the values of absolute accelerations and angular velocities, four hidden ones, as well as a binary output layer (the best and not the best punch). To measure accelerations and angular velocities, inertial measuring devices were attached to the boxers' wrists. Highly qualified participated in the data set for the development of the optimal model. The best punches were chosen according to the criteria of strength and speed. The punch force was determined using a boxing pad with the function of measuring the punch force. In order to be able to compare punches, a unified parameter was developed, called the punch quality, which is equal to the product of the effective force and the punch speed. To study the effects of biofeedback, the boxing pads were equipped with five LEDs. The more LEDs were turned on, the more the punch corresponded to the optimal model. As a result of the study, an almost linear relationship was found between the quality of the punch of entry-level boxers and the optimal model. The use of feedback allowed for an increase in the quality of punches from 11 to 25%, which is on average twice as high as in the group where the feedback method was not used. Studies have shown that it is possible to develop an optimal punch model. According to the degree of compliance with this model, you can evaluate and train boxers in the technique.

Validation of a Unique Boxing Monitoring System

Much development work and scientific research has been conducted in recent years in the field of detecting human activity and the measurement of biomechanical performance parameters using portable sensor technologies, so-called wearable systems. Despite the fact that boxers participating in one of the most vigorous and complex disciplines of all sports, it is one of the disciplines where no noteworthy, advanced performance analytic tools are used for training or for competition purposes worldwide. This research aimed to develop and validate a comprehensive punch performance sensor system for the measurement and analysis of biomechanical parameters in the sport of boxing. A comprehensive validation study on linear regression was conducted following the development of the sensor system, between the gold standard of a Kistler force plate and Vicon motion capture system, to compare sensor-derived measurements with the gold standard-derived measurements. The developed sensor system demonstrated high accuracies ranging from R² = 0.97 to R² = 0.99 for punch force, acceleration, velocity and punch-time data. The validation experiments conducted demonstrated the significant accuracy of the sensor-derived measurements for predicting boxing-specific biomechanical movement parameters while punching in field use. Thus, this paper presents a unique sensor system for comprehensive measurements of biomechanical parameters using the developed mobile measurement system in the field of combat sports

Force and velocity of impact during upper limb strikes in combat sports: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Upper limb strikes are frequent movements in combat sports and self-defence systems, in which numerous types of strikes can be applied. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarise and compare the mechanical consequences of different types of upper limb strikes among various sports disciplines. A literature search was conducted in Scopus and Web of Science, with the following search formula: (impact force) AND (strike) AND (taekwondo) OR (karate) OR (self-defence) OR (combat sport) OR (boxing). The search resulted in 28 studies describing 9 kinds of strikes, where straight punches and reverse punches have larger mean impact forces than the kung fu punch (p < 0.001) and that a palm strike had a lower strike velocity (p < 0.001) than a reverse punch, straight punch, or junzuki punch. The highest recorded mean force was found for a straight punch (3427 N). Athletes in mixed martial arts, trainers of self-defence or tactical coaches can expect that straight punches and reverse punches should be performed at high speeds (over 10 m/s) and provide similar or larger impacts than other upper limb strikes; therefore, those punches should favour a combat athlete to win a competition or succeed in self-defence.

Inertial Sensors for Performance Analysis in Combat Sports: A Systematic Review

The integration of technology into training and competition sport settings is becoming more commonplace. Inertial sensors are one technology being used for performance monitoring. Within combat sports, there is an emerging trend to use this type of technology; however, the use and selection of this technology for combat sports has not been reviewed. To address this gap, a systematic literature review for combat sport athlete performance analysis was conducted. A total of 36 records were included for review, demonstrating that inertial measurements were predominately used for measuring strike quality. The methodology for both selecting and implementing technology appeared ad-hoc, with no guidelines for appropriately analysing the results. This review summarises a framework of best practice for selecting and implementing inertial sensor technology for evaluating combat sport performance. It is envisaged that this review will act as a guide for future research into applying technology to combat sport.