Two variables I have an issue with from this particular experiment is a) using an Olympic runner, who would have trained and optimized their body for the normal running technique when the muscle memory might get in the way of doing an optional naruto run and b) she even mentions that the fear of falling can slow a runner down, which probably isn’t a factor for shinobi that do training sparring with real kunai and shurikens like they are trying to kill each other.
The bit where amateur runners tend to improve while professional runners tend to see a reduction could indicate that the techniques are different enough that being tuned for the one could get in the way of doing well at the other.
Not that I think the conclusion is necessarily wrong, just that the flaws in this approach make me think that this isn’t definitive.
Best way to study this IMO would involve a cohort training for each, then splitting up each cohort and switching half of them to the other style partway through, then test each participant for both the normal run and the Naruto run, then looking at total average for each style and then the relative difference each style makes for each person.
Though that won’t correct for the fear factor, might need to set up a punishment system for the slowest n runners (by time, not heat, so even the person winning the heat can’t relax and assume they are in the clear) where the punishment is worse than falling at speed.
Next big hurdle is getting this experiment past ethics boards. For that I think a genjutsu would work best.
That’s all true, but not using the arms as a counterbalance is going to reduce the amount of force you can put through the leg. There’s also a huge energy expense from putting the center of mass not directly on top of the foot when acceleration slows down, instead of using the body as a spring to bounce on the ground the muscles are used to avoid falling forward.
Two variables I have an issue with from this particular experiment is a) using an Olympic runner, who would have trained and optimized their body for the normal running technique when the muscle memory might get in the way of doing an optional naruto run and b) she even mentions that the fear of falling can slow a runner down, which probably isn’t a factor for shinobi that do training sparring with real kunai and shurikens like they are trying to kill each other.
The bit where amateur runners tend to improve while professional runners tend to see a reduction could indicate that the techniques are different enough that being tuned for the one could get in the way of doing well at the other.
Not that I think the conclusion is necessarily wrong, just that the flaws in this approach make me think that this isn’t definitive.
Best way to study this IMO would involve a cohort training for each, then splitting up each cohort and switching half of them to the other style partway through, then test each participant for both the normal run and the Naruto run, then looking at total average for each style and then the relative difference each style makes for each person.
Though that won’t correct for the fear factor, might need to set up a punishment system for the slowest n runners (by time, not heat, so even the person winning the heat can’t relax and assume they are in the clear) where the punishment is worse than falling at speed.
Next big hurdle is getting this experiment past ethics boards. For that I think a genjutsu would work best.
That’s all true, but not using the arms as a counterbalance is going to reduce the amount of force you can put through the leg. There’s also a huge energy expense from putting the center of mass not directly on top of the foot when acceleration slows down, instead of using the body as a spring to bounce on the ground the muscles are used to avoid falling forward.