Kicking Distance

[Gigermann]

Push Kick, Technique (Brawling/Karate-3); MA78—well, maybe that's not exactly what was asked, but it is still relevant.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by kdtipa

true... I hurried. But I do think that regardless of the explanation, a corpse (sack of potatoes, sack of rock salt, etc) wouldn't move nearly as far as something you throw. There are things designed to go far when you kick them (soccer ball), but get a slab of roof tiles from the hardware store and try kicking it. Then try picking it up and tossing it. I bet kicking distance (on a "normal" surface) is best measured in a unit like inches, where the throw could be yards (or at least feet) depending on your strength.

You don't have to kick things along the ground, though. If you get your foot under the slab of roof tiles and launch it properly you could get some distance out of it. I can think of reasons you might be able to throw it even farther, but friction with the ground is not a factor if you're kick-throwing an object properly.

[roguebfl]

It should be noted that when you kick to damage something on the ground you tend to kicking a point above it's center of gravity so that the force is opposed the ground to maximize the impact on the object

But when you kick for distance you tend to kick below the center of gravity so the forces isn't opposed by the ground.

[Kromm]

If you're going for distance, you don't really kick the object at all – you hook your foot under it, lift, and propel up and out. The motion is similar to a kick, whence the use of the same verb, but a football player and a karateka aren't doing the same thing at all. My answer above specifically assumes this kind of kick. If you're trying to send something sliding or rolling along at ground level, you'll get much less distance. I'd probably just use a damaging kick and figure knockback.

[Crakkerjakk]

I'd just use the knockback rules but double the damage required to get a yard of distance for full-body contact with the ground. Easy and simple.