Would superhuman fighters view others in bullet time? How do irl quick fighers view slower ones?

Bullsherdog

Orange Belt
Joined
Jan 3, 2017
Messages
67
Reaction score
7
A common thing in fiction is the perception that someone who moves beyond superhuman say faster than the speed of sound like superman would see enemies moving in bullet time motion in a fight in the way how Neo begins to see Agents moving slower than snails once he unlocked the powers of the One. And the pattern in fiction goes that the much faster a person is, he would begin to see even superhuman opponents who moves faster than light as slow as snails. That for example Cyborg 009's Joe Shimamura would perceive enemies moving faster than light speed as moving in the motion of a video that is set to play 3X slower once Joe decides to launch his speed at 5X the speed of light.

I am curious in real life how would a reaction of someone moving at supersonic speed view a fast peak human fighter such as Mike Tyson? Would it be slow motion Matrix style vision? Or would they view it the same as us normal people would?

Also how do real life fast fighters perceive a much slower fighter (especially a striker)? Does the slower person literally look slower? IRL if I train and develop the speed of Muhammad Ali, would someone like Tim Sylvia look slower to me?
 

pdg

Senior Master
Joined
Feb 19, 2018
Messages
3,568
Reaction score
1,034
Firstly, I can't believe this is actually a question...

But hey, I'll play along.

Right, superheroes etc. - I have no clue because it's not actually a thing, you do know that right?

As for real people, you need a basis for comparison.

One person can look slow compared to another - exactly how a car doing 25 looks slower than a car doing 100...

On a personal level, as I've got faster, some other people appear slower than I remember them.

In both cases there is a point of reference.

With no point of reference, everything will just look normal to you.
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

MT Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
12,209
Reaction score
6,307
Location
New York
No clue about superheroes, but there were instances where people I had trouble handling felt like they became slower/I was more able to dodge their punches. This MAY be a result of me speeding up, but I would bet more that it's a result of me being able to recognize patterns/telegraphing, my 'instinct' improving, and/or getting quicker reflexes (possible, not sure if this can be trained), then me becoming faster so other people seem slower.
 

marques

Master Black Belt
Joined
Jun 7, 2015
Messages
1,187
Reaction score
382
Location
Essex, UK
It is hard to tell. It is not actually seeing others in slow motion, it is being able to process the information much faster than the opponent and being fullly aware of that. Slow motion is just a good/simple way to put it on screens.

For example, it is making a fake or feint, having a moment of doubt about what to do next and still being able to hit easily, and repeat it all again, while the opponent looks dumb or sleepy. But he is just slower processing what is happening and seems freezed, or actually is, or does whatever uncoordinated and harmeless. Sometimes reviewing what happened, everything seems in slow motion.

It can also be being able to predict and manipulate the opponent, so he is always "delayed".
 

skribs

Grandmaster
Joined
Nov 14, 2013
Messages
7,446
Reaction score
2,517
I've been asking questions like this in the off-topic section instead of general. "Martial Arts in Sci-Fi and Fantasy" (I have 3 or 4 posts in there).

Let's say someone is capable of running at 6000 MPH, or 8800 feet per second. Extreme super speed. If someone can run this fast, then they can cross a 12-foot room in less than 0.0015 of a second. They would need reactions quick enough to not plow into a wall, or their power will kill them in seconds. There's a Youtube channel called "Because Science" that does all sorts of videos on why you don't want super strength, invisibility, etc. (They probably have one on speed). Basically that with super strength you'd break your own arms, with invisibility by bending light around you, you wouldn't see light, etc.

The only way for super powers to work is if you another power that compensates for whatever pitfalls await. Super strength must come with super durability (and usually does), otherwise a punch would rip your own arm off. The ability to bend light must come with the ability to see the light (even though it never hits you), otherwise you're blind as well. And super speed must come with the senses to be able to process it.

---

However, there is a perspective you often hear where things "slow down" for people as they get more experienced with something. I watch the NFL, and you often hear about how an experienced player will have the game "slow down". It's not that the game slows down, it's that your reactions speed up as you recognize the same stimulae and have built the neural pathways to respond.

To do an overly simplistic explanation of how this works in martial arts:
  1. The first time you see a kick, you don't even know what it is, so it nails you in the face
  2. The tenth time you see that kick, you recognize what it is, so you can at least see it coming, but you are indecisive on whether to block, dodge, or counter, so you get kicked in the face.
  3. The hundredth time you see the kick, you start to see the motions the person makes when chambering the kick, i.e. the way they turn their shoulder and what they do with their hips. Now you see it coming and can sometimes respond appropriately, but you still get hit a bunch.
  4. The thousandth time you see the kick, you see the subtle motions that lead into the kick, and those clue you that the kick is coming, and you can respond pretty quick. You may still get tricked by fakes and/or not know how to respond to combos.
  5. The ten thousandth time you see the kick, your response is automatic. You know exactly what it is, whether its a fake or not, and whether they're going to throw a combo after it.
Your responses get faster. You recognize a lot quicker what the kick is, you don't have to think about it while the foot is flying to your face, and you have more muscle memory built into your responses.

So where at first it seems like "notice kick" occurs after "got kicked", over time it becomes "notice kick" before "get kicked" and then you get more and more time to think between those two events, because you're building the appropriate neural pathways to deal with that event.

That also explains why I might have to do 100x of a process at work, and it takes me a day and a half to get the first one done, an hour to get the next one done, and 3 hours to finish the 100.
 

drop bear

Sr. Grandmaster
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
23,337
Reaction score
8,070
Guys who have just had fights experience this when they do their next sparring session.

Or when you watch football players box.
 

drop bear

Sr. Grandmaster
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
23,337
Reaction score
8,070
A common thing in fiction is the perception that someone who moves beyond superhuman say faster than the speed of sound like superman would see enemies moving in bullet time motion in a fight in the way how Neo begins to see Agents moving slower than snails once he unlocked the powers of the One. And the pattern in fiction goes that the much faster a person is, he would begin to see even superhuman opponents who moves faster than light as slow as snails. That for example Cyborg 009's Joe Shimamura would perceive enemies moving faster than light speed as moving in the motion of a video that is set to play 3X slower once Joe decides to launch his speed at 5X the speed of light.

I am curious in real life how would a reaction of someone moving at supersonic speed view a fast peak human fighter such as Mike Tyson? Would it be slow motion Matrix style vision? Or would they view it the same as us normal people would?

Also how do real life fast fighters perceive a much slower fighter (especially a striker)? Does the slower person literally look slower? IRL if I train and develop the speed of Muhammad Ali, would someone like Tim Sylvia look slower to me?

How would you see someone moving faster than light. Even if you could react. You would need the light. You would go blind.
 

Buka

Sr. Grandmaster
Staff member
MT Mentor
Joined
Jun 27, 2011
Messages
12,952
Reaction score
10,443
Location
Maui
I know guys who are so fast.....if you fight them and blink, you die in the dark.
 

Buka

Sr. Grandmaster
Staff member
MT Mentor
Joined
Jun 27, 2011
Messages
12,952
Reaction score
10,443
Location
Maui
Must be the chicks and kiais.

Edit: Well, you know, it was with me.
 

Steve

Mostly Harmless
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
21,918
Reaction score
7,474
Location
Covington, WA
I think the flash and Superman, sure... yeah. But green lantern? No. He sees punches in real time.
 

Xue Sheng

All weight is underside
Joined
Jan 8, 2006
Messages
34,273
Reaction score
9,385
Location
North American Tectonic Plate
The answer to all such question always ends up in the same place

latest


h9AE5095E
 

jobo

Grandmaster
Joined
Apr 3, 2017
Messages
9,762
Reaction score
1,514
Location
Manchester UK
A common thing in fiction is the perception that someone who moves beyond superhuman say faster than the speed of sound like superman would see enemies moving in bullet time motion in a fight in the way how Neo begins to see Agents moving slower than snails once he unlocked the powers of the One. And the pattern in fiction goes that the much faster a person is, he would begin to see even superhuman opponents who moves faster than light as slow as snails. That for example Cyborg 009's Joe Shimamura would perceive enemies moving faster than light speed as moving in the motion of a video that is set to play 3X slower once Joe decides to launch his speed at 5X the speed of light.

I am curious in real life how would a reaction of someone moving at supersonic speed view a fast peak human fighter such as Mike Tyson? Would it be slow motion Matrix style vision? Or would they view it the same as us normal people would?

Also how do real life fast fighters perceive a much slower fighter (especially a striker)? Does the slower person literally look slower? IRL if I train and develop the speed of Muhammad Ali, would someone like Tim Sylvia look slower to me?
Its an intresting question apart from the super human thing,

But lets take a rEal "super human, " some one who can deal with a base ball or a punch, thown at its optimal speed by another super human, to them, a punch or a base ball thrown by an average human, would indeed Look ponderous ly slow
 

geezer

Grandmaster
MT Mentor
Joined
Oct 20, 2007
Messages
7,364
Reaction score
3,571
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Because nerds aren't afraid to follow their passions. Plus martial arts movies are mostly watched by nerds.
Source: I'm a nerd.

Flying Crane´s remark was an ironic reference to BS Dog´s last thread ...on precisely that topic :D
 

DanT

2nd Black Belt
Joined
Jan 8, 2017
Messages
702
Reaction score
289
Location
Planet X
Think of it like this. When you throw a baseball to a 2 year old, you use a very slow underhand throw. If you threw the ball overhand at 90 miles an hour, you would kill them. However, a 90 mile an hour fast ball for a baseball player is not that fast. You become comfortable with the speed and learn to read and adjust. Punches that seemed "fast" when you started training become slow and boring after a few years. So time does "slow down" in the sense that you become familiar with the strikes enough to be able to read the preemptive motion of them, adjust, and block or dodge them easily. You're reactions in daily life become faster too, as you become excellent at judging trajectories of not only fists, but objects too.
 

skribs

Grandmaster
Joined
Nov 14, 2013
Messages
7,446
Reaction score
2,517
Think of it like this. When you throw a baseball to a 2 year old, you use a very slow underhand throw. If you threw the ball overhand at 90 miles an hour, you would kill them. However, a 90 mile an hour fast ball for a baseball player is not that fast. You become comfortable with the speed and learn to read and adjust. Punches that seemed "fast" when you started training become slow and boring after a few years. So time does "slow down" in the sense that you become familiar with the strikes enough to be able to read the preemptive motion of them, adjust, and block or dodge them easily. You're reactions in daily life become faster too, as you become excellent at judging trajectories of not only fists, but objects too.

There are other reasons I don't throw a 90 MPH fastball at a kid. Reasons that have nothing to do with the kid.
 

Latest Discussions

Top