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How exactly a punch with extremely powerful force is launched is not fully understood. According to previous studies, the power needed to generate a karate punch is not a result of strong muscles, but is related to the control of the muscle by the brain.

Researchers from Imperial College London and UCL conducted a study to test the punching ability of karate experts. They found that it is the brain which is responsible for the generation of a powerful punch, and not the muscle strength.

For the study, the researchers compared 12 karate black belts trained for around 14 years with 12 people of similar age, who were physically fit members of the public, but did not have any experience of martial arts. 

It was seen, as expected that the karate group had the ability to punch harder from a short distance of 5 cm. It was found that their ability to punch was co-related to the synchronization between the movement and timing of their shoulders and wrists. 

"The karate black belts were able to repeatedly coordinate their punching action with a level of coordination that novices can't produce. We think that ability might be related to fine-tuning of neural connections in the cerebellum, allowing them to synchronize their arm and trunk movements very accurately," Dr Ed Roberts, from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London, who led the study, was quoted as saying by Medical Xpress. 

Brain scans revealed that in each group, the brain's white matter in cells - which acts as the connections between brain regions -had a different structure, and it correlated directly with punching ability.

The scans, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), displayed structural differences in the white matter of the cerebellum and the primary motor cortex, which are responsible for controlling movement.

"We're only just beginning to understand the relationship between brain structure and behavior, but our findings are consistent with earlier research showing that the cerebellum plays a critical role in our ability to produce complex, coordinated movements," added Roberts. "There are several factors that can affect the DTI signal, so we can't say exactly what features of the white matter these differences correspond to. Further studies using more advanced techniques will give us a clearer picture."

While the researchers have not established a cause and effect relationship between the differences in white matter and successful punching, they do suspect that those who could punch harder could do so because of changed and developed brains due to training.

The study has been published in the journal Cerebral Cortex.