Breaking boards

Mujician

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Is breaking boards purely the reserve of practitioners of Tae Kwon Do? Most searches both on this forum and the wider internet brings up links to Korean martial artists.
I'd like to give it a go - I'm a student of Wado Ryu Karate. We have plenty of techniques that could break boards.
I was looking for advice on what I should get - re-breakable boards?, or wood? What kind of wood do I need (can't actually believe I just wrote that I'm looking for wood on the internet!)?
 

JR 137

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Lots of arts break stuff. Kyokushin (karate) loves to break stuff.

Wood is for sissies. Get ice, concrete, roofing tiles, etc.

In all seriousness, he careful. The boards actually hit back. Improper technique and setup will get you hurt. Learn from a person who knows what they're doing rather than videos.
 

Headhunter

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I don't see the value of it. Most of the ones you see in demos of 5 year olds breaking is fake boards that are already broken.It looks cool but that's about it
 

Bill Mattocks

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I don't see the value of it. Most of the ones you see in demos of 5 year olds breaking is fake boards that are already broken.It looks cool but that's about it

You may not see the value, but there is one, IMHO.

Breaking Concrete - Soft Break

We don't break boards much in the dojo where I train. We have some rebreakable boards, but they're not in use much. We do sometimes break concrete pavers, in the manner shown in my video above. Usually multiple pavers, without spacers inbetween.

I have been 'informed' by well-meaning imbeciles who insist on impugning my integrity to tell me that we 'cook' our concrete pavers, or bake them in an oven, or dry them out, or wet them down, or whatever it is people think we do that would cause them to be 'easy' to break.

We do not. We buy them at the hardware store and use them like we get them. About a buck apiece, 2 inches by 8 inches by 16 inches.

So...assuming you don't think I am lying, what purpose does it serve?

First, for the younger and/or weaker students, it build confidence. It's amazing to see their faces when they decide to place their faith in their own abilities and bust that board, concrete, etc.

Second, there's some technique required beyond brute strength. I have seen too many times a small, young, person without major muscle growth bust up some serious concrete, when bigger stronger people could not. I know women in my dojo whom I outweigh by a hundred pounds at least who can bust more pavers than I can (I can do three, some of them can do six, and remember, without spacers, a 'soft' break just like you see in the video).

Third, speaking only for myself, there is another dimension to the special mental place I find myself in when I am breaking. Sounds stupid or mystical or something to say it out loud, but the best way I can put it is I have to know the concrete is already broken - before I break it. Then I pass my hand through where it used to be. Yeah, sounds dumb. Sorry.

So although it's certainly not the be-all and end-all of martial arts training, I think it certainly has its place and time. It's not just a cool show.
 

JR 137

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I don't see the value of it. Most of the ones you see in demos of 5 year olds breaking is fake boards that are already broken.It looks cool but that's about it

Breaking has value. It teaches proper technique, striking through your target, and focus. Do it often enough, and it conditions your striking weapon - bones become denser, skin becomes tougher, etc.

It's definitely not a be all, end all by any stretch of the imagination. And if people are doing fake breaks, that has no bearing on the OP, you, nor I doing real breaks.

And I'm not a fan of people staring their target down and winding up forever before the break; just do it. I know some of that may be showmanship, but I've seen people do that without a crowd watching.

And breaking is fun. So looking not as you're not the one getting broken.
 

JR 137

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Be this guy...


Not this guy...


And why did they say "Failed KARATE Brick Punching?" It's TKD!

One of the few goals I have in life is to not be "that guy" on YouTube.
 

WaterGal

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I don't see the value of it. Most of the ones you see in demos of 5 year olds breaking is fake boards that are already broken.It looks cool but that's about it

Rebreakable boards aren't fake, they’re a training tool, so you can have students practice board breaks without going through a big stack of boards.
 

Dirty Dog

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Is breaking boards purely the reserve of practitioners of Tae Kwon Do? Most searches both on this forum and the wider internet brings up links to Korean martial artists.
I'd like to give it a go - I'm a student of Wado Ryu Karate. We have plenty of techniques that could break boards.
I was looking for advice on what I should get - re-breakable boards?, or wood? What kind of wood do I need (can't actually believe I just wrote that I'm looking for wood on the internet!)?

If you just want to give it a try, go to your local lumber yard and buy 1x12 pine. Chop it up into 10" chunks. You'll get four from each plank, with one little 8" baby board left over. Find a good holder and break them.
If you want to practice more, then rebreakable boards are the best bang for the buck. We use THESE. The green board is exactly average for a standard pine board, and the engineering is excellent. Ours have been broken literally thousands of times over the years. I periodically compare the green board to a pine board and I still cannot tell any difference (that's an admittedly subjective test).
My personal choice for demos is concrete pavers. I pay less than $1 for 16"x8"x2" pavers, which makes them cheaper than wood. And they're more consistent. The impact required to break wood changes based on things like humidity. I can leave concrete pavers in the abck of the truck and let them get rained on and it won't change how they break.

This is an old video. I was cleaning out the closet and had some left over pavers and broke them as a demo at a testing for low colored belts. That's why the power break is only 5 pavers.
As you can tell, I'm not a fan of the big silly dramatic build ups to breaks. I'll set it up and do something slow so students can see how the break is going to be done, then just do the break.

I don't see the value of it. Most of the ones you see in demos of 5 year olds breaking is fake boards that are already broken.It looks cool but that's about it

Fortunately, your inability to understand the value of breaking has no impact (see what I did there?) on the value of breaking.
Breaking teaches good technique. It demonstrates the ability to generate levels of power that most of us prefer not to demonstrate when sparring with people we like. It instills confidence. And it's just plain fun.
Videos of 5 year olds with wafer boards has nothing more to do with breaking than videos of George Dillman and his no touch knock out nonsense has to do with legitimate martial arts.
 

Headhunter

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If you just want to give it a try, go to your local lumber yard and buy 1x12 pine. Chop it up into 10" chunks. You'll get four from each plank, with one little 8" baby board left over. Find a good holder and break them.
If you want to practice more, then rebreakable boards are the best bang for the buck. We use THESE. The green board is exactly average for a standard pine board, and the engineering is excellent. Ours have been broken literally thousands of times over the years. I periodically compare the green board to a pine board and I still cannot tell any difference (that's an admittedly subjective test).
My personal choice for demos is concrete pavers. I pay less than $1 for 16"x8"x2" pavers, which makes them cheaper than wood. And they're more consistent. The impact required to break wood changes based on things like humidity. I can leave concrete pavers in the abck of the truck and let them get rained on and it won't change how they break.

This is an old video. I was cleaning out the closet and had some left over pavers and broke them as a demo at a testing for low colored belts. That's why the power break is only 5 pavers.
As you can tell, I'm not a fan of the big silly dramatic build ups to breaks. I'll set it up and do something slow so students can see how the break is going to be done, then just do the break.



Fortunately, your inability to understand the value of breaking has no impact (see what I did there?) on the value of breaking.
Breaking teaches good technique. It demonstrates the ability to generate levels of power that most of us prefer not to demonstrate when sparring with people we like. It instills confidence. And it's just plain fun.
Videos of 5 year olds with wafer boards has nothing more to do with breaking than videos of George Dillman and his no touch knock out nonsense has to do with legitimate martial arts.
I'm not trying to make an impact on the value of it I'm simply saying my opinion
 
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Mujician

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Rebreakable boards aren't fake, they’re a training tool, so you can have students practice board breaks without going through a big stack of boards.

From what I have seen, the rebreakable boards seem to wear out. How may times do they break, before they start wearing out?
 

JR 137

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It's ok. I've had my tongue on the left side of my mouth for years. We live and learn.
 

Gerry Seymour

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From what I have seen, the rebreakable boards seem to wear out. How may times do they break, before they start wearing out?
It depends which ones you buy. The cheap ones will wear out much faster. Someone here posted one they use at their school (DDog?) that still feels the same as a pine board after thousands of breaks.
 

Balrog

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I was looking for advice on what I should get - re-breakable boards?, or wood? What kind of wood do I need (can't actually believe I just wrote that I'm looking for wood on the internet!)?
Use re-breakable boards like these. The initial cost per board seems high, but they are cheap as dirt compared to real wood these days. They are color coded for difficulty; as a rule of thumb, kids break green and below, adult females break blue, adult males break brown, Mongo breaks black. :)

Breaking boards has real value. The re-breakable ones force you to hit on target. And of course, you have to have enough power to go through the board and break it, and that comes from having good technique.

Don't forget that holding boards for someone who is breaking does carry some hazards, such as smushed fingers, etc.
 

Gerry Seymour

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Use re-breakable boards like these. The initial cost per board seems high, but they are cheap as dirt compared to real wood these days. They are color coded for difficulty; as a rule of thumb, kids break green and below, adult females break blue, adult males break brown, Mongo breaks black. :)

Breaking boards has real value. The re-breakable ones force you to hit on target. And of course, you have to have enough power to go through the board and break it, and that comes from having good technique.

Don't forget that holding boards for someone who is breaking does carry some hazards, such as smushed fingers, etc.
This brings up another question: is there a recommended method for solo breaks? Breaking isn't something I'm likely to introduce to my students anytime soon, but it would serve in some work I'm doing on my off-side, so I'd be working solo. I suppose I could put the board across cinder blocks or something similar, but that only allows downward breaks.
 

JR 137

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Forgot to insert the quote in my last post...

Wait.....are you saying I've been walking around with one toe up to defend against chi balls all these years for nothing

It's ok. I've been walking around with my tongue against the inside of my left cheek to nullify chi balls. We live and learn.
 

Bill Mattocks

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This brings up another question: is there a recommended method for solo breaks? Breaking isn't something I'm likely to introduce to my students anytime soon, but it would serve in some work I'm doing on my off-side, so I'd be working solo. I suppose I could put the board across cinder blocks or something similar, but that only allows downward breaks.

I think I've seen holders online for rebreakable boards but can't recall where. I'll look around.
 

WaterGal

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Use re-breakable boards like these. The initial cost per board seems high, but they are cheap as dirt compared to real wood these days. They are color coded for difficulty; as a rule of thumb, kids break green and below, adult females break blue, adult males break brown, Mongo breaks black. :)

Yeah, those are the good ones. The tongue-and-groove kind that are foam coated are cheaper, but we were having to throw them out and buy new ones every couple months. We got a couple of these in the fall and they seem as good as new. Plus they're easier to put back together. (We use a yellow one for the 4-5 year olds, an orange one for the slightly older kids, especially lower belts, and a green one for older kids/higher belts. The green was *supposed* to be the same as 1" pine board, but is not. We'll get a blue and a brown one here in a little while.)
 

Midnight-shadow

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Lots of arts break stuff. Kyokushin (karate) loves to break stuff.

Wood is for sissies. Get ice, concrete, roofing tiles, etc.

In all seriousness, he careful. The boards actually hit back. Improper technique and setup will get you hurt. Learn from a person who knows what they're doing rather than videos.

but...but...but.....Master Bruce Lee said the boards don't hit back! :p
 

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