Originally Posted by Ironpalm

First of all not true. If you dont break a coconut you are said to have level 1 iron palm of 9 possible levels before moving into Sone Tan palms. Second, I didnt say I could not--I said I dont. Theres a massive difference. Most professionals wont risk breaking thier hand over silly tests, "Gee I wonder If I can break this with my hand?" Wtf does that actually have to do with martial arts? NOTHING. Its about how good you are at breaking that medium. Doubt it? Fine break a board, try some bricks, try ice, then try a coconut. Breaking one has no bearing on the next and each has a special technique to learn for that break. This is why most breakers have certain breaks they are known for. Most of them will tell you they cant do each others breaks. Breaking is like sword bending on the neck--a show. Not that its not real, just not practical use of your training time. If you're looking for self defense try to learn to hit moving targets not break stationary ones. I practice to break people so I practice the forms, study anatomy and the dimmak points. To this we add a healthy dose of adrenal stress training.