# measuring reach?



## slugfest (Dec 31, 2006)

As the title reads.
How is a fighters reach measured?


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## Fedor>all (Oct 22, 2006)

slugfest said:


> As the title reads.
> How is a fighters reach measured?


Yeah I don't understand that either.. I mean, whenever they show reach they have numbers like 69 - 77, and Goldberg says "_____ has a ____ inch advantage". No guy has arms 77 inches long.. he'd need high heels to stop his knuckles from dragging.


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## WouldLuv2FightU (Jul 17, 2006)

Standing with their arms paralell to the ground, and perpendicular to their body...they measure fingertip to fingertip, or maybe knuckle to knuckle. It's like their wingspan.

If they say Fighter A has a 69 inch reach, and Fighter B has a 65 inch reach, then Fighter A has a 4 inch reach advantage, but in reality his arm is only 2 inches longer, you gotta divide it in half since your measuring both arms + back/shoulders. And really, that 2-4 inches could all be in the person's back/shoulders, and they could have the same length of actual arm.


A better question would be how do you find a site that lists everyone's reach advantages? I can't find shit on the web to find out individual fighter's reach advantages.


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## pauly_j (Nov 28, 2006)

Yep. Measure the width of the crusafix. 

Edit- also, the reach they measure doesn't always reflect if a fighter has an advantage, as you're actual reach is only the length of your arms, when they include your back in the measurement. Being 6ft and 165lbs means that I'm pretty narrow, but I have long arms. That means someone shorter and wider than me would have a pretty similar reach when my arms are actually longer.


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## cdnbaron (Jan 17, 2007)

Even then, reach doesn't take into account body width. A guy like Silva who is thin has more actual reach than a guy who is more broad.

I was having this conversation with a friend during the event last night. I think reach is one of the most over-emphasized aspects of MMA. The only time it really makes a difference is in a fight like Sylvia-Monson, where the reach advantage is about 6 inches per arm.

I would like it if they found a way to measure actual arm length, rather than wingspan. And if it could be consistent, that would be nice too. The example that sticks out in my mind (because he's my favorite fighter) is GSP's reach normally being 72-74 inches, but 78 inches in the second Hughes fight. That made me laugh.


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## pauly_j (Nov 28, 2006)

Just windmill your arms loads. It makes them longer :thumb02:


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## teachbug (Sep 18, 2007)

slugfest said:


> As the title reads.
> How is a fighters reach measured?


Hold your arms out...straight out....now have someone measure from your middle finger, across your shoulders to the Other middle finger......this is called your wingspan.

That is how they measure reach.

Oops, after reading the entire thread I see that this was already said many times....I guess I should read before I answer.
I guess you could also measure from the deepest part of your armpit to your middle fingertip, that might be more accurate.


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## slugfest (Dec 31, 2006)

Thanks for clearing that up, what a rather useless figure considering it really means little in how far a guy can punch from. I assumed it was how far ones fist could reach from a standing position with hip swing included which would be a more realistic measure of punching ability. Thanks


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## JuggNuttz (Oct 5, 2006)

i read somewhere it was arm outsterched to the side hands in fist. and measured from back of the armpit to the face of the knuckes for each arm and then added together.




found this, both are kinda right

Boxing: reach


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## cdnbaron (Jan 17, 2007)

JuggNuttz said:


> i read somewhere it was arm outsterched to the side hands in fist. and measured from back of the armpit to the face of the knuckes for each arm and then added together.


It's not just the length of the arms added together, if it were, every fighter would have ridiculously unproportional arms.

Generally, the rule of thumb is that your reach (re: wingspan) should equal your height. That has been known since at least the 1400's (I'm sure much earlier, but I'm no historian), look at Da Vinci's painting, the Vitruvian Man, it illustrates how the body is all in proportion.

So as of now, they use the wingspan measurement, but I think its time that they measure differently, like armpit to end of closed fist. It would also be interesting to see how fighter's leg lengths measure up to each other, not that it would really make a difference, as good kickers are going to kick, just as good punchers are going to punch, regardless of their arm length.


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