Karate Practitioners Have Different Brain Structures

According to the Cerebral Cortex Journal, scientists in Britain have determined that karate practitioners do not purely use brute strength or muscular mass to achieve their concrete-breaking power - rather, through years of practice, their brains have rewired themselves to perfect and repeat the most efficient methods of striking a target.



While the notion of "practice makes perfect" is no new idea, these scientists think they may have found proof of the brain actually changing in physical structure, specifically in the "white matter" area of the brain. Researchers measured punches from a group of karate blackbelts and a group of equally fit athletes. At a distance of 5 centimeters, the karate practitioners could consistently generate a punch with more impact and PPSI (pounds per square inch). It is believed that the brain, aside from having a different structure, also sent signals to develop the nerves that initiated these precise movements to a level of near-perfection.