First break!

[Plin]

I went to the dojang holiday party, and was having a good time. It was fun to have a real chance to talk to folks I'd only had a nodding acquaintance with until now. In the back of the room, a bunch of people (of all ages) were practicing breaking boards, both the rebreakable kind and some that were left over from this past week of testing. At a certain point, our master instructor started writing holiday messages on the boards so people could take photos afterward and keep them as souvenirs.

Since I just earned my yellow stripe on Monday, and have never been anywhere near a board, I was content just watching. It never even occurred to me to try... and then I was handed a pine slab with a scribbled greeting. Um, what? I wasn't ready! Also, I was wearing a dress.

Reader, I broke that sucker on the first try, and it was SO SATISFYING. I can't wait to do it again.

I tried to embed the image, but couldn't get it to work. So here's a link instead: Baby's first board break

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Congrats! That must have been a good feeling

 

[Plin]

It really, really was.

 

[_Simon_]

Congratulations, it's an amazing feeling isn't it!

I love, love, love breaking...

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I’ve never done breaking, but everyone who does seems to enjoy it. Good show!

 

[dvcochran]

I went to the dojang holiday party, and was having a good time. It was fun to have a real chance to talk to folks I'd only had a nodding acquaintance with until now. In the back of the room, a bunch of people (of all ages) were practicing breaking boards, both the rebreakable kind and some that were left over from this past week of testing. At a certain point, our master instructor started writing holiday messages on the boards so people could take photos afterward and keep them as souvenirs.

Since I just earned my yellow stripe on Monday, and have never been anywhere near a board, I was content just watching. It never even occurred to me to try... and then I was handed a pine slab with a scribbled greeting. Um, what? I wasn't ready! Also, I was wearing a dress.

Reader, I broke that sucker on the first try, and it was SO SATISFYING. I can't wait to do it again.

I tried to embed the image, but couldn't get it to work. So here's a link instead: Baby's first board break

Keep making those memories. Nothing better than spending time with you (Martial) family.

 

[Plin]

Congratulations, it's an amazing feeling isn't it!

I love, love, love breaking...

I was surprised at the rush it gave me. I wanna break more stuff!
This could get dangerous...

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I was surprised at the rush it gave me. I wanna break more stuff!
This could get dangerous...

Step away from the Christmas tree, Plin.

 

[Plin]

Do I really need furniture? Hmm...

 

[JR 137]

Do I really need furniture? Hmm...

It really gets interesting when you see wooden pillars and start thinking how many hits it would take to get through it. Or large trees in your yard.

 

[JR 137]

One night at my fraternity house a couple of the guys asked if I could break stuff. Somehow there were a few pine boards laying around and one of them picked one up and asked me if I could break that. I showed him how to hold it right (so he didn’t get hit with a piece) and punched through it. As we drank more and more, the stuff got progressively more and more ridiculous. My hands and forehead were throbbing the next morning.

To be young, drunk and stupid. Those were the days.

 

[Dirty Dog]

One night at my fraternity house a couple of the guys asked if I could break stuff. Somehow there were a few pine boards laying around and one of them picked one up and asked me if I could break that. I showed him how to hold it right (so he didn’t get hit with a piece) and punched through it. As we drank more and more, the stuff got progressively more and more ridiculous. My hands and forehead were throbbing the next morning.

To be young, drunk and stupid. Those were the days.

LOL
When I was in HS, I worked a job at a cinder block plant. Whenever someone new came on, I'd get bet them lunch that I could break X with J. The breaks got progressively more difficult until I stopped getting lunches.

 

[dvcochran]

I was surprised at the rush it gave me. I wanna break more stuff!
This could get dangerous...

Go ahead, get dangerous, just be smart about it!

 

[Plin]

Go ahead, get dangerous, just be smart about it!

Words I try to live by in general, really.

 

[donald1]

Good for you!
I kinda like breaking. Last time I did a break i did it with hammerfist. Accidentally hit it with my wrist instead of my hand. Now that hurt. Didn't help the fact that it was a brick. Left a bruise for a week. Luckily though it did break first hit. Ironically I was telling the kids just moments before breaking that proper technique is essential.

 

[Bruce7]

Words I try to live by in general, really.

I prefer side kicks, I have never hurt my foot. I also prefer breaking to the side not down.

I broke my first plastic board a few days a go, I like it. Way less expensive so, you get a lot more practice.
The sound is not as cool as a board or look as cool as flying pieces of brick, but it is still fun.

Another good thing about plastic boards is there are different colors for different strengths.
A downside to wood or bricks from my experiences is I don't think that they are uniformly strong.

I wonder do they make stronger black boards or just add more boards?

 

[Bruce7]

Words I try to live by in general, really.

Did Buffy marathon, decide Dark Willow and Giles favorite scene( last episode season 6).

 

[Plin]

"I'd like to test that theory."

I rewatch the whole series once every couple of years. I'm about due for another go-round.

 

[Bruce7]

"I'd like to test that theory."

I rewatch the whole series once every couple of years. I'm about due for another go-round.

Have you been practicing on your own over the holidays? If you are still into braking things get a black plastic board from Amazon.

 

[Plin]

I have been working on the curriculum for my next two tests. There are a few things I want to have modeled for me in person (not just by someone in a YouTube video), so I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself. I do tend to get carried away with enthusiasm and geek out when I'm excited about something, so it's requiring some effort to hold back.

In the meantime, I've been focusing more on establishing a regular training regimen to improve my strength and flexibility, so I'll be able to improve my technique while still learning the foundations. I want to be ready to execute the more advanced moves when I get to them, since there's no point learning fancy kicks if you're too weak or stiff to actually do them.
That's my thought process at this stage, anyway.

We have rebreakable plastic boards at the dojang; I think it'll be a few years before I work my way up to the black ones!