Performance Diagnostics for Impact Sport
We provide the combat and impact sports industry and science community with the technology to accurately and reliably measure and analyse all aspects of striking performance
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We provide the combat and impact sports industry and science community with the technology to accurately and reliably measure and analyse all aspects of striking performance
Contact UsThe ability to measure human impacts has always been fraught with challenges both in accuracy and safety. Historically, load cells or force plates have been utilised to measure force. Force measurements vary enormously from one set-up or product, to another, as force is entirely subjective i.e. the harder the surface the more force that is generated, there is no standardisation. No one wants to train for maximum power by striking a really hard surface. Inherent in any design, is the fact that they move dangerously little under impact, typically 1mm to 3mm (1/32nd to 3/32nds of an inch) To overcome this, product designers have used padding like foam or rubber or even springs to make the user experience more acceptable. Innumerable designs are only handheld for this reason. Anything Infront of the loadcell creates new problems; data is lost before the device can get to take a measurement and materials as described, in front of a load cell or force plate, have a non-linear characteristic in relation to the force applied. Add to this they have an unpredictable wear characteristic, that will change over time, data then becomes even more skewed and misleading. The "data" collected being what is remaining after changes to its characteristic, following distortion by the materials in front of the device. It is for these reasons trainers of professional athletes discourage their use. Arcade punching machines, long misunderstood, measure speed only, can be likened to punching a balloon, with virtually no resistance to impact, an essential characteristic to impact measurement. They must be considered as ‘meaningless & entertainment only’. Our objective, our passion, was to overcome all these shortcomings and to create a standardised calibrated measurement device (everyone’s the same) that would allow sports athletes, coaches and scientists to measure, analyse, enhance and monitor all aspects of striking performance..
The PowerKube® measurement system combines a tactile striking pad, which incorporates our Controlled Compression Technology (CCT) effectively braking the heaviest strike over 12cm (or 5 inches)i.e resistance increase with the weight of the strike, multiple user coaching software, a touch screen user interface and a choice of sophisticated mounting systems to create a fully interactive coaching and training solution.
We uniquely capture the peak power generated at the point of impact measuring in watts (W) this is the speed related initial impact which, is a short-lived power spike (like a shock) that lasts just a few millionths of a second. As the amplitude of power is speed dependant, the faster the strike greater the power generated.
We also capture the kinetic energy component generated during a strike measuring in joules (J) Long after the power has been captured the kinetic energy continues. It is the kinetic energy that gives a strike its penetrative characteristic.Unlike inanimate objects, athletes move their centre of gravity during the impact, to harness their kinetic energy. This goes some way to explain superhuman breaking capabilities in some martial arts.
We concluded all strikes contain both power and kinetic energy, but in widely differing amounts. That gives every technique its digital signature. Based on mass biodata and working alongside professional athletes of every discipline, we built our algorithm using, multiple high speed sampling & Machine Leaning (ML) to generate a compound unit of measurement of power (W) and energy (J) to reflect a strikes combined destructive force, we call this the franklin, named after the inventor Kevin Franklin, a quantification of Impact Power® (f). Our commercial objective is for the franklin (f) to become the de facto standard for all human impacts in sport and academia. At Strike Research our goal is simply to assist in the evolution of impact sport training and understanding. Now available in a range of commercial packages www.powerkube tech
Reaction time from an audible and visual trigger to the peak point of impact is displayed in seconds.
Endurance is measured over a series of 25 repetitions with results being displayed in a visual bar graph.
Objective data. Subjectivity around training practices in the martial arts and combat sports has always been a huge point of discussion and argument. We provide athletes and coaches with objective data allowing them to answer the many long standing and to date unprovable theories surrounding power generation in the combat sports and martial arts.
Health monitoring. Research in to performance, maintaining long term health and rehabilitation for athletes within all sports is an increasingly important focus for all sports governing bodies and organisations. Regularly measuring and monitoring performance provides invaluable data to further evolve and develop protocols to achieve these outcomes.
Validation. The PowerKube® has been continually validated by world leading research facilities and universities and endorsed by athletes and coaches at the UFC, the worlds leading commercial combat sports organisation.
