Wood Vs. Rebreakables?

[Kwiter]

Kwe sewakwekon, Hello everyone, what are your thoughts on Board breaking?
Wood or Rebreakable boards?


I'm leaning toward rebreakables as they DON'T deplete the limited wood supply of earth but certainly Rebreakables are not traditional enough for some and are made from what appear to be non recyclable materials.

Nia:wen kowa Many Thanks

 

[Dave Leverich]

I like rebreakables for the consistency, but I like wood for the tradition and uncertainty of difficulty. As far as pine... I live in Oregon, we plant 3/1 for the trees that are cut, and the ones cut generally aren't old growth, but the ones that have been planted. So, I'm not very concerned with the #2 pine boards... I just use them as wall art, or kindling for someone's fireplace.

Wood.. grows btw. I've helped plant in the past, it's a great way to spend a day, dropping in 6" seedlings .

 

[Kacey]

I like rebreakables for the consistency, but I like wood for the tradition and uncertainty of difficulty. As far as pine... I live in Oregon, we plant 3/1 for the trees that are cut, and the ones cut generally aren't old growth, but the ones that have been planted. So, I'm not very concerned with the #2 pine boards... I just use them as wall art, or kindling for someone's fireplace.

I think Dave has this nailed - rebreakables are more consistent, wood is more uncertain. I will add to this, and say that wood is, in some ways, more forgiving - rebreakables must be hit very precisely on the join, while wood can be broken away from the center if you hit the grain hard enough. It all depends on your goals, what you're doing, and how good you are at it.

 

[terryl965]

I like rebreakables for the consistency, but I like wood for the tradition and uncertainty of difficulty. As far as pine... I live in Oregon, we plant 3/1 for the trees that are cut, and the ones cut generally aren't old growth, but the ones that have been planted. So, I'm not very concerned with the #2 pine boards... I just use them as wall art, or kindling for someone's fireplace.

Wood.. grows btw. I've helped plant in the past, it's a great way to spend a day, dropping in 6" seedlings .

Dave you said it better than I could have said

 

[jks9199]

I like rebreakables for the consistency, but I like wood for the tradition and uncertainty of difficulty. As far as pine... I live in Oregon, we plant 3/1 for the trees that are cut, and the ones cut generally aren't old growth, but the ones that have been planted. So, I'm not very concerned with the #2 pine boards... I just use them as wall art, or kindling for someone's fireplace.

Wood.. grows btw. I've helped plant in the past, it's a great way to spend a day, dropping in 6" seedlings .

Thanks for hitting on a point that drives me nuts...

People complain about the use of paper because trees are cut down to make it. (What about rag-pulp paper?)

People complain about the use of lumber in a variety of industries.

None of them seem to be noticing that most lumber and most paper is made from wood grown specifically for the purpose! Or that there is actually, at least according to some research, more forestland in North America today than there was prior to European colonization.

Now...to get on topic... I've played with the rebreakable boards before. I didn't particularly like them, but that's just personal opinion. Lumber gets too expensive for me to do much breaking, and there's the whole issue of what to do with the remnants when you're done. And I think there are other ways to achieve much the same result in terms of testing/proving power. I'd suggest getting a couple of rebreakable boards, giving them a try, and making your own decision.

I do use breaking occasionally, often as a confidence builder, and sometimes to stress the importance of proper technique and body alignment. (If I'm doing breaking... I actually prefer to use 2x12s, not 1x12s that seem so common...)

 

[fnorfurfoot]

Personally, I use rebreakables with my students for a number of reasons.

In the long run, they are a lot cheaper than wood, they are more consistant, and they are much cleaner to use.

I only use wood once a year with my students. I use wood as my Christmas gift to them. This year I spent a little over $100 on pine boards that I brought home, cut, boxed up, and brought with me to the school. Then they broke them in roughly two hours, I boxed them back up, and now use that $100 dollars worth of wood as kindling. It's kind of a waste. I prefer pulling the rebreakables out every so often. It's much easier on my wallet.

 

[Rich Parsons]

Kwe sewakwekon, Hello everyone, what are your thoughts on Board breaking?
Wood or Rebreakable boards?


I'm leaning toward rebreakables as they DON'T deplete the limited wood supply of earth but certainly Rebreakables are not traditional enough for some and are made from what appear to be non recyclable materials.

Nia:wen kowa Many Thanks

As with any interferrence fit there will be variations in manufacturing. Also there will be wear and tear on these interfaces. It might take a whole lot of year, not sure as I do not own one. But I do not like the fit issue. I have used one before and if it was set up just a little off angle it made it much harder to break. To me the point of breaking is confidence not to make splinters, assuming one presecribes to the theory of breaking. I was also able to get it so it broke real quick and easy.

I prefer wood. I respect others might not like it, for the splinter issue and clean up.

To me it is a personal decision.

 

[still learning]

Hello, We have two different brands of rebreakables....both are excellant.

For Demo's and testing we use the pine woods, mainly because we do several hits almost the same time. Plus the Professor wants us to break the wood instead.

Because rebreakables are made of plastic, the material is harder feeling than wood. Wood is softer to hit, does not require to be hit in the middle too (like above).

Beside fire woods, we also use the pieces and shape them into practice knives. Lots too!

For home practice? Rebreakables are great to use, over and over and over again. Your hands will take more beatings than wood. Always use some kind of glove for protection.

.........Just my thoughts on this.....Aloha

 

[pstarr]

By the time you've broken your rebreakable several times, you've more than paid for it (if it had been wood)!

 

[Kwiter]

Nia:wen kowa Many Thanks for the insight , I think I'll go for some Rebreakables to try out and yes they will mainly be used for a confidence booster for the kids.

 

[exile]

Nia:wen kowa Many Thanks for the insight , I think I'll go for some Rebreakables to try out and yes they will mainly be used for a confidence booster for the kids.

Just be prepared to have to pound them like hell to get the two halves of the rebreakable back together! I use a wooden mallet for this purpose, and running a bar of soap a few times up and down the surfaces at the join of the board helps a bit, but it still takes a good deal of work...

 

[Kacey]

Just be prepared to have to pound them like hell to get the two halves of the rebreakable back together! I use a wooden mallet for this purpose, and running a bar of soap a few times up and down the surfaces at the join of the board helps a bit, but it still takes a good deal of work...

It depends on what kind you use. For kids, I like the ones with the pegs that come in different colors, representing different thicknesses of boards - because they can be further individualized by offsetting the two pieces.

For adults, the tan ones that slide together are good - but I've never had to use a mallet to get them together; I just line up the grooves, put one end on the ground, and lean on the other one. They may slide a little jerkily the first few times, but they do slide.

 

[exile]

For adults, the tan ones that slide together are good - but I've never had to use a mallet to get them together; I just line up the grooves, put one end on the ground, and lean on the other one. They may slide a little jerkily the first few times, but they do slide.

Maybe it's just the particular one I'e got. I've tried the slide-in approach just the way youdescribe, but after an inch or so it jams and I have to fetch the mallet. I'm not sure what the longevity of these boards is, but it looks to me as though it'll take a major fraction of the board's life before it slides together willingly... if it ever does. But I might just have gotten a strangely machined one. It's pretty stiff—supposedly the equivalent of two one-inch boards, which corresponds fairly closesly to the breaking difficulty, so far as I can judge...

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I like wood for the forgiving nature that it has. However for long term
price you just cannot beat a rebreakable board.

 

[zDom]

I like wood.

 

[Kwiter]

For the hard to refit I've a nice Rubber Mallet, I guess I'll finally have a use for it, tried to use for Anesthesia for the Mrs when she was pregnant but think she woulda beat me to a pulp with it in the delivery room ;-)

Skennen Peace.

 

[Dave Leverich]

That did bring up an interesting side-thought, which brand of rebreakables...

The first ones I used was back in 86, a full inch thick and solid plastic. I think they weighed about 40 pounds each ;p. Those were the slide-in style, break-mate's. Worked well, but technology moved on.

The new ones I use are the ones seen here:
http://www.karatesupply.com/martial_arts_boards.htm

I love these for the fact that you can pick by board color/difficulty.

#2 pine is still my favorite though hehe.
Although... a nice patio brick is hard to pass up

 

[searcher]

I and my students break a bunch, but only for demonstrations and on the occasional test. We don't actually break very much stuff in class. We instead, do a lot of training and conditioning of the hands/feet to prepare for breaking. I don't have any re-breakables, even though I have given them thought. Most of my students are now moving on from wood to pavers. I wonder why they don't make re-breakables pavers? LOL. It would save me from making more flower beds with the remains.

 

[Xue Sheng]

I’m with zDom, I like wood… of course I haven’t broken any yet those damn trees are big, I keep hitting them but I have yet to break one.

Otherwise I recommend re-breakables

 

[exile]

I and my students break a bunch, but only for demonstrations and on the occasional test. We don't actually break very much stuff in class. We instead, do a lot of training and conditioning of the hands/feet to prepare for breaking. I don't have any re-breakables, even though I have given them thought. Most of my students are now moving on from wood to pavers. I wonder why they don't make re-breakables pavers? LOL. It would save me from making more flower beds with the remains.

I actually do have a rebreakable brick, manufactured by the same outfit that produced my rebreakable board—it's supposed to be at least as tough as a real house brick. I've not tried to break it yet...funny, that! :wink1: