# Human Punch Force Calculator

Created by AbdulRafay Moeen
Reviewed by Łucja Zaborowska, MD, PhD candidate and Steven Wooding
Based on research by
Adamec J, Hofer P, Pittner S, Monticelli F, Graw M, Schöpfer J. . Int J Legal Med. 2021 May Biomechanical assessment of various punching techniques International Journal of Legal Medicine (May 2021)
Last updated: Dec 19, 2022

Using our human punch force calculator, you can find out how many newtons of force is in your punch and learn how many pounds of punch force a human can deliver on average.

Here, we will tell you about your potential impact force and the pressure of your punch, all based on your weight, punching speed, time of delivery, and the surface area of your punch.

• How much punching force a human has;
• What is the average punching force; and
• How amateur punches compare to those of athletes.

In this calculator, we've often referred to force and pressure. If you want to improve your grip on these matters, check out our force conversion and pressure conversion tools.

## What is the average force of a human punch?

The force of a human punch varies drastically based on the following significant factors:

• Mass of the punching and receiving body;
• Velocity at which the punch hits the target;
• Angle & surface area of the punch and the target;
• Time it takes for the punch to reach its max kinetic energy; and
• Cushion effect on both ends due to foam, padding, gloves, or wrapping.

General observation shows that an untrained person can deliver above 750 newtons of punch force with 150 psi of pressure in ideal conditions. In contrast, an elite boxer or mixed martial artist can go as high as 5000 newtons and 800 psi. So watch out! 👊

## How to use the human punch force calculator

The human punch force calculator is an effective tool to help you understand your punch pressure and potential impact force, i.e., the maximum force attainable under the given conditions.

1. In the first field, enter your body weight, e.g., 75 kg.

The system will then calculate your potential impact force and punch pressure with the default values.

🙋 These default values are suitable for an average person who is untrained in the art of combat sport. 🥋

1. The second field is the punch speed where we enter the velocity of our punch, e.g., 3.8 m/s (default).

💡 An untrained human can throw a punch as fast as 7 m/s. In comparison, professional athletes reach up to 20 m/s.

1. The third field is the delivery time for the punch to gain maximum kinetic energy before hitting the target, e.g., 0.3 seconds (default).

2. The fourth field is the surface area, required to calculate the pressure of the punch, e.g., 4 inches2 (default).

💡 The greater the surface area of the punch, the more distributed its pressure will be.

1. The fifth field is the impact force, which is the punch force that we wish to calculate.

Based on the previously given values, an average person with a mass of 75 kg can have a potential impact force of 950 newtons or 214 pounds-force.

2. And the last field is the punch pressure, which gives the pressure of the human punch force based on the given surface area. For the sampled values, we get 53 psi.

💡 An untrained person can reach up to 150 psi. Comparatively, the punch pressure of an elite combat athlete can reach around 800 psi.

Thus, the impact force result shows us how many newtons of force are in a punch, and the punch pressure expresses how much psi a punch exerts.

🔎 To see the acceleration of your punch, press the Advanced mode button, located under the calculator.

## Formula to calculate how much force a human punch exerts

We use the following formulas to calculate how much force a human punch exerts:

For calculating the impact force, we use:

• $F = m \times a$

Here, we know that:
* $$a = v \div t$$


And for calculating the punch pressure:

• $P = F \div A$

where:

• $F$ – Impact force of the punch, measured in newtons (N);
• $m$ – Mass or weight of the punching body, in kilograms (kg);
• $a$ – Acceleration of the punch, in meters per second squared (m/s2);
• $v$ – Velocity of the punch, measured in meters per second (m/s);
• $t$ – Time it takes for the punch to hit the target, in seconds (s);
• $P$ – Pressure exerted by the punch, in pascals (Pa); and
• $A$ – Average surface area of the punch in square meters (m2).

Let's use these formulas in an example and find out how many pounds of punch force can a human of 100-kilogram mass deliver without training:

1. First, let's find the acceleration of the punch. We need to divide the velocity, a.k.a, the speed of the punch, by the time it takes to deliver the punch.

Since our person is untrained, let's take an average punch speed of 3.8 m/s and a delivery time of 0.4 seconds.

Placing the values in the acceleration formula, we get:

$a = 3.8 \div 0.4 = 9.5$

Thus, the acceleration of our punch is 9.5 m/s2.

🙋 Generally, a person's reaction time is directly proportional to their weight.

1. Multiplying our given mass with this acceleration, we get the impact force of our punch:

$F = 100 \times 9.5 = 950$

And so, the potential impact force of the punch is 950 newtons.

2. To convert newtons (N) into pounds-force (lbf), we multiply our result by a constant number of 0.22481:

$950 \times 0.22481 = 213.5695$

Thus, an untrained human weighing 100-kilograms can deliver around 213.6 pounds of force.

💡 It requires around 300 pounds of force to crush a watermelon 🍉, whereas, for a steel can, it requires about 50 pounds🥫.

## FAQ

### How many pounds of punch force can a human bear?

About 900 pounds of punch force can break the strongest bone in the human body, i.e., the femur. Thus, it is safe to say that anything above that may be fatal.

### What is the potential punch force of a boxer weighing 80 kg?

2400 newtons or more is the potential impact force of a punch from someone skilled in combat sports like boxing.

We calculate this force using the following formula:

• F = m × a

where:

• F – Impact force of the punch;
• m – Mass of the boxer; and
• a – Acceleration of the punch reaching the target.

To calculate the punch force:

1. Assume the acceleration of the punch is 30 m/s² for a skilled boxer.
2. Multiply their weight by the acceleration of the punch (80 kg × 30 m/s²).
3. The result is 2400 N or 540 pounds-force.

### How much pounds-force will I require to squeeze a watermelon?

Between 240 to 360 pounds-force or 1000 to 1600 newtons of force is required to squeeze a watermelon. However, it depends on how ripe the watermelon is, as over ripped watermelons tend to go soft and are easily crushed.

### How much force would it take to punch through someone?

Around 45,000 psi, or 800,000 newtons will be exerted if a human weighing 80 kg generates a velocity close to that of a bullet, i.e., 760 m/s in 75 milliseconds. That's how much force it would take to punch through someone.

AbdulRafay Moeen
Body weight
lb
Punch speed
ft/s
Delivery time
sec
Surface area
in²
Impact force
N
Punch pressure
psi
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