Yesterday we covered RADIANS and talked of the relationship they had with DEGREES. We then discussed The International System for measuring units and covered Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion process.
Today we continued the SI metric system, going over the definitions and Fortich touched on how a battery works, the sources of energy, and the First Law of Thermodynamics.
Prof Parker returned from a two day absence, his doctor has given him medicine for his eyes and he is feeling better. He returns to help Prof Fortich (handling phones and other duties) and maybe he'll be able to lecture again by Thursday.
Yesterday I decided to buy the Ninth Edition of the text book, seeing as it is now authored by Grob and Shultz. Maybe I'll keep this one upstairs, and my second hand 8th Edition will be kept downstairs.
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| The Tao of Physics | When we talk about the Laws of Physics, I can't help but notice how they are very important and applicable to the Martial Arts, since I have been training in one discipline or another off and on for a long time. Seeing things in different ways can be helpful, so here is my point of view...
Of course, the most obvious law of physics utilised in Martial arts is
Force = Mass times Acceleration.
If you are a smaller guy against a larger opponent, you'll need more acceleration (or speed) to make up for the difference.
The First Law of Thermodynamics is all about the conservation of energy. Well, that is what Wing Chun is all about too! Wing Chun (chinese boxing) is sometimes called the 'lazy mans martial art', because there is no wasted movement - it is all about economy of motion. The First Law continues "Energy can not be destroyed. It can only be transformed from one form of energy to another." In Wing Chun, you use the opponents force (or 'energy') not by direct confrontation, but by deflecting and moving it in a different direction.
When we talked about the lever, with the control being at the fulcrum, this explains how a small person can throw a much larger opponent. For example, in Judo, the hips are used as a fulcrum and the opponent is pulled over and then thrown with little effort.
An interesting read is The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra, PhD. He delves far into the link between modern Physics and Eastern mysticism.
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