Board breaking, who uses it?

[eXcessiveForce]

then pad work would be the same way bri.


We must break several stations of boards in combination. You are not allowed to stop and measure or prepare once the combination is started.

1 pine board has approximate density as 1 human rib. If they both bend 1 centimeter they will snap.

2 to 3 boards is like the lower bones of the arm or a true rib.

4 to 5 is like the shin and bones in the upper arm.

I believe the jaw is 1 board also but its been awhile since I read about it.

[ryanhall]

EF,
Your logic is faulty.

Just beacuse something 'accurately' represents the strength of a target on a human body doesn't mean that hitting it is a good training method. As Bri stated, board breaking is very static. You have to stand in a certain place, the boards don't move, don't have any weight to them, and can only be hit from one side.

I can whack away at a wall all day with the edge of my hand if I wanted to toughen it up. It doesn't necessarily make my strike any better or enhance my ability to chop someone in half straight through the midsection--the wall is much more solid than a torso, after all. See the questionable reasoning here? I know plenty of people who can break a few boards (while tellinge me all about ribs, bones, breaking, etc.) yet completely lack power when they actually have to hit you.

If you want to work on power, hit the bag. It's heavy, solid, allows for combinations, and it's not a completely static target that can be hit from only one angle. If you want precision, hit the focus mitts. A good feeder can really improve your striking speed and accuracy. You want to learn how to spar/ringfight? Spar all the time against someone who's fighting back.

If you like breaking boards, fine. Do it all you want. More power to you. Just don't have the illusion that it will add to your ability to fight in any way, shape, or form.

[Szczepankiewicz]

We never break more than one board (no stacking)

We break the re-breakable boards.

We do sometimes play with blind breaks in sequence (setting them up while you have no precognition of where there at).

Breaking boards is a useful training method.
Sparring is a useful training method.
Hitting the bags ...
Kata...
Randori...
Calisthenics...
Taking notes...
Meditation...
Scenario Training...
Seminars...

Each of these has a time and a place that can be useful for your training. Some are more effective than others when it comes to self defense or fighting or competing or keeping your ass from doing stupid things.

Ryan makes good points, breaking a board does not necessarily 'equal' breaking human bones. Too many variables.


It's a small part of our training but we get these two advantages:
Breaking boards makes you focus, use proper alignment, and ensures your hips are involved.

It also demonstrates that your strikes can hit anything without damaging yourself in the process.

Just like every other training method, if that's ALL you do then you'll find out sooner or later where your weaknesses lie...

Spanky

[eXcessiveForce]

I was referring to bri's comment on energy. Energy is energy.

However board breaking is for breaking. Impluse shockwave.

Most knockouts are fluid shockwave (but not all)


I am not a promoter of board breaking but there is some merit to it. It won't help you much in a fight, mostly because it is more mental training than physical. When you are breaking 2x4's with palm heals it is easy to believe you can do some damage.

[Damian Mavis]

Well I am a fighter and breaking boards along with ALL my training has added to and enhanced my fighting ability.

There's going to be lots of little training methods you won't understand but that doesn't mean they are wrong. I do all kinds of different training, some of it seems more beneficial than others but it's all good to one degree or another. Breaking 5 inches of pine with my hand takes total commitment and fearlessness, do you know how easy it is to break your hand if you make a mistake against 5 inches of pine? Very easy. But I've never had an injury yet due to proper technique. The fact that I can hit harder than guys much bigger than me through board breaking is proof to me that it has helped me be a better fighter.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

[Szczepankiewicz]

do you know how easy it is to break your hand if you make a mistake against 5 inches of pine?

Don't I know it...5 inches of wood is very dangerous to play with.

[osopardo]

Originally posted by Damian Mavis
... do you know how easy it is to break your hand if you make a mistake against 5 inches of pine? ...

I just remembered, the first test my son had to break boards he was only seven years old. The instructor said "pine", so I cut up a bunch of pine boards for him to practice on at home. The kid had a very difficult time breaking the boards, which I figured was because he was a first-timer.

I talked to the instructor about this at the next class and he noticed some of the boards sitting next to our gear bag.
He asks me, "Are those the boards your son has been practicing on?"
"Yes."
"Do you know the difference between construction-grade, #2 southern yellow pine and white pine?"
"Huh?"
"Why dont you just let me provide the boards for his test. I think he'll do fine."

[jubaji]

Originally posted by Szczepankiewicz



Don't I know it...5 inches of wood is very dangerous to play with.

LOL

[crosstrainedwar]

Do any of you use dit da jow liniment on your hands and feet before and after breaking boards? I was told that this is a must for avoiding health problems later on in life. Somebody once told me that a karate guy who broke boards for many years can no longer use his fingers to push or sweep coins across a tabel.
Thanks in advance.

[Thai Bri]

Originally posted by eXcessiveForce
I was referring to bri's comment on energy. Energy is energy.

Is it? Tell me. If you side kick a heavy bag, with good technique and as much power as you can muster, you should give it a fair old whack. Right? Now let a balloon fall, and do the same thing to it. What happens? The balloon nonchalantly moves about 6 inches. Now do the same with a back fist. Thgis time the bag shows little effect, wjhilst the balloon gets batted good style?

Why? Because there are different kinds of impact, and they have different applications.

[Kosh]

The comment that energy is energy still stands, what you are talking about is momentum and transfer of energy.

[Thai Bri]

Semantics. And missing the whole point.

[brokenelbow]

I used to hate breaking and thought it a waste of time, now I do it as a check to make sure I'm using good mechanics. I'm also doing my breaks using two breakable or two pines and punching from only 6 or 8 inches from the board. That's where I punch from and where I want to test.

Part of it is also a mind game. One guy at testing the other week started his punch well but then you could see he doubted for a split second. Big noise, no break and a set of swollen knuckles.

Spank why never break more than one board why do you use only the re-breakable boards?

[MichiganTKD]

Board breaking

What people who don't believe in board breaking sometimes fail to realize is that breaking in itself is not the reason why we train. Board breaking, quite simply, allows us to demonstrate the full power, speed, and accuracy that we cannot demonstrate on another human being. It is one thing to practice on a sandbag, makiwara, free fight etc. It is another to see what those techniques are really capable of. And since we do not engage in fights to the death, not legally anyway, the only way to demonstrate full power without seriously hurting or killing our fellow students is to break boards, patio blocks, bricks etc. No, it is not entirely realistic, but it is the next best thing. And I understand Koreans were doing breaking of one sort or another hundreds of years ago. It really got popularized with Mas Oyama.

[Deadman2002]

I dont know if any of you lot has seen them, nobody has mentioned it but i recently started breaking linked boards that require certain amounts of pressure to break through. The good thing is you can put them back together again afterwards. We have black and white boards, black being harder. They seem to be made out of some sort of hard plastic material. We also have a breaking horse so noone has to hold them up which is cool.
People may scoff at board breaking 'not practical' and all that but it is a good indicator for how powerful your kicks are becoming so you can see your progress.