let's try something different...

[Jphtkd]

So almost all the active threads have some argument about the pro's and con's of Kukkiwon certification... how about something new... anybody care to share their feelings on brick breaking? Do any of you practice it and if so, what do you do for conditioning?

 

[NPTKD]

you know I was wondering the samething. I have to break 5 for my fifth under my grandmaster, and I also back kick one. i like it. I think that it is a must for testing, but I never practice it.

 

[TaeKwonDoKevin]

I haven't tried bricks in years, but I still do concrete patio blocks at times. I have really cut back on the concrete though. 2 reasons for this.

1 - I'm getting close to 50 years old, I just don't heal as fast as I use to, I've never broke any bones on concrete, and I don't want to start.

2 - It seems to me concrete just doesn't have the same strength from block to block. It seems I can buy 7 blocks and it never fails, 1 out if the 7 will be 2x as strong as the others.

I used to really enjoy breaking concrete. I used to do 2 together withOUT a spacer.....using a palm heel

For conditioning I would punch rope that was flat on the floor. I would also punch a maple tree in our backyard, and punch on a block. The same conditioning for a hammerfist. When I used a palm heel, I didn't do much conditioning. When kicking...side kick, I just did bagwork.

Most of my breaking is wood now.
I'm wanting to do a baseball bat........now that would be cool with a spin hook :ultracool

 

[dortiz]

: )

 

[NPTKD]

I haven't tried bricks in years, but I still do concrete patio blocks at times. I have really cut back on the concrete though. 2 reasons for this.

1 - I'm getting close to 50 years old, I just don't heal as fast as I use to, I've never broke any bones on concrete, and I don't want to start.

2 - It seems to me concrete just doesn't have the same strength from block to block. It seems I can buy 7 blocks and it never fails, 1 out if the 7 will be 2x as strong as the others.

I used to really enjoy breaking concrete. I used to do 2 together withOUT a spacer.....using a palm heel

For conditioning I would punch rope that was flat on the floor. I would also punch a maple tree in our backyard, and punch on a block. The same conditioning for a hammerfist. When I used a palm heel, I didn't do much conditioning. When kicking...side kick, I just did bagwork.

Most of my breaking is wood now.
I'm wanting to do a baseball bat........now that would be cool with a spin hook :ultracool

I am the same way getting older things don't heal as fast. I tell ya when i hand to do 2 bricks for my second my grandmaster put a rag onthe top and it hung over the side. Well when I went over to set up i moved it to the center, i didn't know any better. I was breaking palm heal on this on. needless to same I thought I broke my wrist. since then, always over the side.

 

[TaeKwonDoKevin]

I am the same way getting older things don't heal as fast. I tell ya when i hand to do 2 bricks for my second my grandmaster put a rag onthe top and it hung over the side. Well when I went over to set up i moved it to the center, i didn't know any better. I was breaking palm heal on this on. needless to same I thought I broke my wrist. since then, always over the side.

Yes Sir.....I learned the hard way too, but one 1 block, it gave the fingers a good banging. I now know the proper way to do a palm heel AND how to do it on concrete. Live & Learn......I was much younger and "tougher" then. LOL

 

[Twin Fist]

i generally think most breaking is sort of silly. sort fo cool, but sort fo silly too

 

[dancingalone]

So almost all the active threads have some argument about the pro's and con's of Kukkiwon certification... how about something new... anybody care to share their feelings on brick breaking? Do any of you practice it and if so, what do you do for conditioning?

I break occasionally to inspire my students and to show them the old man still has the goods. I have my students break regularly also. Always at belt exams and occasionally during the odd class. I feel breaking is essential for you to benchmark your progress. We can't hit each other full force, so how do you know how effective you are as a striker unless you break boards and bricks from time to time?

Makiwara practice is a staple in my dojo for conditioning the striking knuckles.

 

[shesulsa]

I rarely break ... but I can see the application in training. Hit it wrong and ... it doesn't work too well and you get hurt; hit it right and ... you're usually okay and the target is destroyed.

Blah. Still don't wanna do it right after my morning java, tho.

 

[msmitht]

I used to break bricks all the time. My late GM used to have us condition our hands and feet for the strikes. There is no real way to condition the skin. You could strike a makwara board to help with proper alignment of your wrist/forearm (ankle/foot) while punching, kicking and using various parts of your body. We were tought to start with soft targets then progress to more dense materials. After a while you get better at not hurting yourself. I still got bruises and the ocasional laceration but it was fun. Craziest one was my head through 3 2/4/18 in bricks. gm had to teach me "proper alignment" of my head and neck so I wouldn't kill myself. got it on my first try. Good thing too. My friend who was also testing tried it and got a concussion.
Some old school korean and japanese masters used to have gnarly scars/calluses on their knuckles from over training on different striking surfaces. Most of them have arthritis now.

 

[granfire]

I need bricks for other things....

and since my hands started hurting for no reason, I think I pass, I keep throwing them for SD reasons as back up plan.

 

[ATC]

No practice here. I can tell you that the one thing that I thought was crazy when I tested at my dojang that I am at now, was that they do not use spacers at all. They just stack brick on brick. The min requirement for an adult black belt is 3 brick stacked. However because we all compete and the school record for black belt is 9 and for color belt is 7 we all try for that. The most I ever did without spacers is 6. Just a big slab of concrete is what it looks like, and feels like too. The cinder blocks holding the bricks shatter as well when breaking so many bricks without spacers. I can tell you that 9 bricks with no spacers is crazy.

Oh if you are attempting to go for the record (black or color belt) then palm strike is allowed. Other than that you must break the 3 with the strike of choice from the Subunim or GM. Usually a knife hand or ridge hand. Every now and then he may choose a punch but no palm or hammer is allowed, nor elbow.

 

[goingd]

My old school did and I plan to when I start testing black belts. We never used any spacers. I would buy some myself and practice at home. I've always done the break with a knife hand. To me, breaking in general is necessary for testing and developing power. Like another poster said, we cannot hit each other full force.

 

[NPTKD]

:angel:

 

[firerex]

i havent gotten a chance at a brick although i would love too, my instructor wants me a few more ranks up before i try (i'm a first degree level 2) however i feel i can atleast break one

 

[firerex]

and another thing, my instructor once said, they make rebreakable bricks, but i'm not going to break something that hard that can be put back together, once something that's that hard is broken i want it to stay that way

 

[dancingalone]

i havent gotten a chance at a brick although i would love too, my instructor wants me a few more ranks up before i try (i'm a first degree level 2) however i feel i can atleast break one

The patio bricks from Home Depot really aren't tough to break. IMO they're the equivalent of 2 wooden boards.

 

[granfire]

and another thing, my instructor once said, they make rebreakable bricks, but i'm not going to break something that hard that can be put back together, once something that's that hard is broken i want it to stay that way

Black rebreakables?

 

[Marginal]

I've broken concrete tiles. I only do that for testing though. (I think I had to do three last time with a downward punch.) So far it hasn't been that tough on the bones, but I tend to get cut up a bit. Not something I'd want to train on with any kind of regularity.