What often fascinates people is whether bodybuilders can fight. People always debate who would do better in a street fight: a bodybuilder or a skinny guy.
What often fascinates people is whether bodybuilders can fight. People always debate who would do better in a street fight: a bodybuilder or a skinny guy. Big guys look intimidating, but does having more body mass mean you can punch harder and do better in a street fight?
Fighting requires a lot of energy both physically and mentally, and people drain very quickly in real street fights. Therefore, the way in which you use your body is very important, whatever your body mass.
In the grappling element of a fight a bigger guy will have a significant advantage over a smaller guy, at least initially. It is naturally assumed also that the bigger the person, the harder they can punch. However, to look closer at this, it is the acceleration and the weight of the fist combined that dictates the force of the punch.
Essentially, to punch hard you need to be able to accelerate make your fist heavy AND throw it as fast as possible. Advanced fighters are skilled at enhancing the kinetic chain in their body to achieve exactly this effect.
Bruce Lee was a good example of a smaller-framed person using speed and movement to generate short-distance power, such as in his famous one-inch punch.
So, can bodybuilders fight?
Well, yes. But you will limit your ability to move, the larger you become.
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