Which is harder your kick or punch

[BoarSpear]

I disagree....but none of you guys ever listen to an intellegent argument, or back your statements up with facts, soooooooo......

whatever.
if it makes you happy, do it.

Whoa an intelligent arguement? what the hell is that? which facts? the fact that boxers punch harder than they kick? or that mt people kick harder than they punch?...yes the legs are much stronger than the arms but if you dont spend all day kicking you ar likely to punch harder...no doubt i would rather be kicked by mike tyson than punched by him...but i would prefer He ill cho (sp) to punch me over his kicking me.and of course you would rather a gracie punch you than grab you...it all depends on what.... and how you train.

[Whispers]

Your legs are vastly stronger than your arms. If you don't believe it, try standing on your hands for awhile. Also your foot and shin are naturally tougher than your forarm and hand so they make better striking surfaces. There is no logical reason for you punches to be harder than your kicks unless you are movement retarded.

The only exception are those people who train solely their arms for striking purposses, such as boxers.

[Garland]

I came to a revelation...if I want to punch with more power I must start walking on my hands...I'll get on that!

[BoarSpear]

I came to a revelation...if I want to punch with more power I must start walking on my hands...I'll get on that!

Hey that will make it much easier for you to kick em in da neck!

[GonzoStyles]

more strength in the legs thats a fact, but you legs weigh more so not as much speed . Hands travel less distance compared to most kicks (right cross versus round kick) and are far more speedy. plus if we are talking a round kick thats an epiphysis versus 27 bones in the hand/wrist, makes the conditioned leg versus the unbound fist a studier weapon.

[TerryV]

Well my 2 cents I think hands are faster because of the distance traveled, but feet (leggs) have MUCH more power. But I dont know anything about kick boxing.

[seppuku]

kicks deliver more force than punches. theres shock absorbers in the wrist and elbow that take a lot of the force out of a punch. with a kick (yeah im muay thai) your hitting them at about the same range, but with your shin. sharper, harder. once yo uget to the stage where kicking to the head isnt a problem, kicks are far more effective than punches. tho, obv, using both together works better. jab cross then rhs kick to the head. not a nice thing to have come at you with venom behind it.

kicks all the way lol. cant hurt your wrist kicking someone either... or break your knuckles...

[Shard]

Force = Mass X Acceleration.

In theory, your legs would have more Power, due to the fact that its heavier than your arms. The Acceleration isn't as important here because the speed at which you can punch and kick would not make much of a difference. Unless of course you're like Ali in his prime, his arm could shoot out to its full length in 40 milliseconds. Than yea, the acceleration would make a world of a difference.
Legs have a lot more raw power than hands.Compare how far a ball kicked goes, to one that is thrown. BUT, at least 7/10 times, hands are much more accurate than Legs.

Since the question is which is harder, it would be my kick, but if you asked which was more powerful, my hands or my legs, i would say my hands. With my legs i can Sweep, Kick or jab. With my hands, i can jab, uppercut, Slap, catch, twist, Poke, etc etc. Countless moves can be used with the hands Not just a punch. But ultimately, i will still say that my kicks are harder.

[jukado1]

I've always found that my punches to the leg are as fast and effective as my kicks to the head, So for now i'll stick to hitting high and kicking low.

[shaolin-warrior]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but the formula for knock down power is mass x velocity, so i would would say sat i can generate more knock down power with the mass of my leg wich is 4 times bigger than my arm even if it was 3 times slower..

[Piston]

My quick 2 cents...(or 2 pence im a Brit)

If one was to test without any any former training which limb was faster and stronger, they would come to the conclusion that legs are more powerful but slower and punches are vice versa.

However should someone take an art that places emphasis on kicking ones leg speed increases at a phenomenal rate. Same goes for an art that focuses on punches somewhat more (yes i know this is a sweeping generalisation but bear with me.) I play prop forward for a rugby team (in case u have no idea what this means i push a lot of people who weigh about 20-25 stone around with my legs) and have been doing so for years now and as a result i have thighs that scare dogs in the park as they come looming over the horizon (i.e they r big), since I started doin TKD i can kik faster than greased weasel sh*t, roughly at the same sorta speeds as my boxing companion sparrer punches (TKD vs.boxing matches r fuuuun).

Its just a matter of trainin you crazy kids.

[Shard]

Yes, i totally agree, with the proper training the legs can go much faster than the hands. but if equal time and effort are put into training both legs and hands, chances are the hands will be the faster of the 2. Its just the way the body is built. Although there are certain individuals that have the fastest kicks no matter how much they train their arms.

Its not really how fast your attack is, its how fast it speeds up from Guard to Target. Almost the same but its different. Although we can't really have a zero acceleration in a punch.

[Into the Finals mood sorry](For simplicity's sake, we say the foot is 0.5meters. And that it takes 100 miliseconds to shoot out. Final speed at Target would be Distance over time= 0.5/0.01 =50. That would be your acceleration too.
Lets say the hand is 0.4x50 millisecs to shoot ot target. 0.4/0.005=80

Leg =4kg(simplicity again)
Punch=1kg

4x50=200(newtons)
1x80=80(newtons) Your punch would be weaker.)


Ignoring the math, theres also the factor of how much weight you can put behind the punch or kick. And the Angle from which a punch/kick lands. Like a Snap kick on a body doesn't hurt as much as a Round house would.

[Piston]

Ignoring the math, theres also the factor of how much weight you can put behind the punch or kick. And the Angle from which a punch/kick lands. Like a Snap kick on a body doesn't hurt as much as a Round house would.

So very true. Also as any good teacher will tell you (and as you probaby already know to be true) strength is nothing without timing and positioning.

[Sircnay]

As far as hands are concerned, boxers, you think that the hands have less to travel but that's because of your stances. You stand crouched-liked and forward, so that your hands are ready and on the go.

I stand almost sideways with my body more up and back. I kick a lot, I kick as fast as I can punch and I work both out equally. Can I chain as many kicks as punches? No. I can chain far more punches than I can kicks. I can do about 4-5 kicks of the same average amount of power before I have to "reset" to regain my energy lost. I can do about 8-10 punches before the same effect happens.

As it's been stated, it's dependent on your training. I do TKD and MT and of course my kicks are far more powerful and superior to my punches. Though I'm working on getting a 40/60 split with their effectiveness instead of relying so much on my legs. I've been getting punched in the face a lot lately and starting to respect the hands more.

[Gard]

The advantage of kicks is speed and power and distance. Hands how ever leg you be more mobile, fake better, deliver more frequently, expand less energy. and of coarse keep you in better balance.