The Art of Pivoting

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Mix Martial Arts… Regardless of the style of martial art is being mixed, the act of pivoting is the main ingredient. Pivoting is the art in martial art. By means of a tabula rasa, a blank slate, an artists manipulates a medium with fluid, unrestricted movements. Without the pivoting action, all movements would be restricted to linear, militant formations, front to back, side to side. Pivoting is a circular (non-linear) shift of the body’s center of mass. (The center of mass is an imaginative point where all the body’s mass is calculated to a single focal point). In the course of pivoting, the body’s center of mass is focused and accelerated about a point (like the ball of the foot). The force generated is swept out radially. The subtle actions of the pivot, which receives little to no attention, has the potential to generate vass amounts of force. The angular acceleration, produced by pivoting, increases the amount of force a fighter can apply to a target. Pivoting helps a fighter to slip a strike, evade a submission and offers an added dimension to a linear strike. With the assistance of Physics, the 2nd Law of Motion, a thought experiment will show the importance of pivoting. No math, we shall leave the math to the mathematicians.

2nd Law of Motion states that anything that experiences a force will undergo a change in momentum. Thought experiment: Pivoting is a circular movement. Movements are a change in position during a certain duration of time a.k.a. Speed=Distance/Time. All movements generate momentum. If a person takes an object with mass, like a fist and speeds it up, it is said that the object has momentum. Momentum is the movement of any object with mass a.k.a. Momentum=Mass x Speed. Just looking at the equation of momentum, a fighter can manipulate the speed of their center of mass and the overall mass. Dealing with speed, pivoting decreases the amount of time spent executing an attack or movement. The less time spent covering the distance of attack, the greater the change in momentum. Usually, the mass of a striking instrument remains the same, but in the event of an attack, a fighter can strike with just the arm & fist or a fighter can strike with the whole weight of the body. (Weight is mass under the influence of gravity). Pivoting increases overall mass by getting the entire weight of the body behind the strike not just the weight of the striking instrument. Pivoting also increases the speed of the strike by reducing the time spent covering the distance.le weight of the body. (Weight is mass under the influence of gravity). Pivoting increases overall mass by getting the entire weight of the body behind the strike not just the weight of the striking instrument. Pivoting also increases the speed of the strike by reducing the time spent covering the distance.

Why did we just engage in a thought experiment into momentum?… Because a change in momentum, over-time, generates force a.k.a. Force=Mass x Acceleration and acceleration is a change in speed. Every fighter wants to strike with more force yet not every fighter is aware that the slightest of movements can create the maximum amounts of force. Whatever restricts a fighter’s act of pivoting also restricts a fighter’s ability to generate force. Resistance, in the form of friction & tension, prevents a fighter from reaching their full potential. Pivoting creates less resistance by reducing the surface area of the pivoting point. If the pivoting point is the foot, then the surface area can be reduced by lifting the heel of the foot off the ground. In the case of a fighter being on their back, pivoting of the hips & shoulders, through shrimping, reduces surface area. The body’s center of mass is focused the hips & shoulders instead of the entire body. Footwork & groundwork balances the body, restoring & maintaining the body’s center of mass while it spins around a pivoting point. If you are able to manipulate the things that influence force, then you are able to manipulate force. It’s a domino-effect. Pivoting manipulates Momentum (which is a mass traveling at a constant speed) thus manipulates Force (which is a change in momentum) and sequentially manipulates Torque (which is a circular, non-linear force). Therefore, the physics behind any strike or evasion originates from the ground. (In the case of the “superman” punch, the ability to apply a force greatly decreases when a fighter leaves the ground. Off the ground, the fighter is unable to get their entire weight of their body behind the punch).

Force is a transference of energy from the ground up. This transference is strengthen by repetition. Repetition establishes a balance within the body so that it can pivot about a point with the maximum amount of efficiency & the least amount of resistance. Resistance produces friction and friction is a force which reduces the force generated through pivoting. An excessive amount of tension restricts momentum & force. An excessive amount of surface area increases friction which reduces momentum & force. Natural, fluid actions allow for unrestricted movements. Unrestricted movements allow for the greatest change in momentum. The change in momentum is force. This pattern is reminiscent of a tree, eternally rooted in the movement, whatever action that affects one of the roots affects all the branches of the tree. If you really want to increase the force applied by your fist, then you must be aware of the path which force travels… from the ground up.