Measuring Improved Response Time
with
Quickening
by Robert L. Peck
A simple
experiment was performed with a group of people who had been
practicing some of the ancient quickening or churning exercises
in terms of their reaction time. This experiment was devised to
prove that those who practice the ancient exercises have a much
quicker response time and explains why the martial arts came forth
from the early universal schools of Yoga.
A
measurement of the time it took a group of fifteen middle aged
people using the prescribed exercises to respond to the sound of a
clap was compared with a control group of about the same average age
and a control group of children. The test required keeping the eyes
closed to avoid any visual clues and keeping the hands at the side
to equalize the required distance to move the hands and then to clap
the hands as soon as possible following the sound of a clap. A sound
engineer analyzed a sound recording to evaluate the actual time of
response.
The two
control groups consisted of a group of eighteen children, 12 to 13
years old, and a group of 14 middle aged men and women. Two times
were measured, one for the fastest individual response and the
second for the time between the first and the last clap or the time
interval of the groups response which gave an indication of the
uniformity of the group’s response.
|
In Seconds |
Adults |
Girded Adults |
Children: 12-13 yrs |
|
Fastest Time |
0.320 |
0.170 |
0.240 |
|
Time Interval |
0.250 |
0.110 |
0.140 |
|
Average Time |
0.445 |
0.225 |
0.310 |
|
Slowest Time |
0.570 |
0.280 |
0.380 |
This study
is quite exciting since it indicates that the ancient practices
counter the normal drop off in response time with aging, with for
instance the conclusion that a 70-year-old had a response time
faster than an average 12-year-old. It also shows that the average
response time is twice as long for people of about the same age
not engaged in the ancient practices.
The
importance of quickening can be made quite apparent when one’s
response time with a sword in a battle can be equated with
survival. It also suggests quite strongly that the early Greek Gymnastics
included the later suppressed exercises and why age was not a
criterion for foot soldiers.
