Wampeia

From the open position the leader switches foot work so that he is doing the same steps as the follower. The leader release his right hand on the step back.

Photo Courtesy of Heather Olson

On the step forward both bring their free hands together with palms facing each other.

Photo Courtesy of Heather Olson

On the next step back they release the same hand and repeat.

Now we are going to find the force exerted by the leader to accelerate the follower backwards a certain amount on the third step.

F_total =ma where F_total is the sum of the forces, m is mass, and a is acceleration.

The only force acting on the follower in the x direction is the normal force from the leader and the force in the x direction on the leader is the negative normal force since each force has an equal and opposite force exerted back on it. The sum of the forces in the x direction of the system would be zero if there was no acceleration because the normal forces cancel each other out. To make the follower accelerate, the force acting on her must be greater than the one she exerts on the leader. Let's say we want the follower to have an acceleration of A. Now the equation says: F_total =mA, so normal force- normal force+x=mA where x is the force needed to make the equation equal, so if you have the mass of the follower and the acceleration you want you can find the force needed.

 

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23 November 2004