Breaking.

[MJS]

I know the TKD section has threads about this, but I thought I'd put one here, for non-TKDists. Some arts do it, others dont. Do you find any value in it? Is it something thats required in your art, for advancement?

 

[searcher]

I find that it is a nice confidence builder. I require it for all ranks starting at blue. They get one board added for each level going up. At BB level, they have the option of 4 boards flatted together or 1 paver.

 

[Omar B]

I agree it is a great confidence builder. I remember my first break came out of the blue, my sensei just for some reason decided we were all gonna break that day or else. I think the fear and apprehension before actually help the experience quite a bit. You get all keyed up on fear and adrenalin, then you do it and realize, it's no where near as big a deal and you could have possibly done twice as much ... on till he tells you to break twice as much.

But yeah, for me breaking boards was a big deal, but my first brick changed my life. I literally thought I was indestructible for about a week.

 

[Chris Parker]

Hi,

I feel it depends on the focus of the school and instructor. For example, I have a Tae Kwon Do background (many, many years ago... oh, I feel old...), and there breaking was done seemingly to look impressive at demo's, and partially because "that's just what you do". In other words, there didn't seem to be any real reason for why we did breaking, it was just an aspect of the training that you did, like the poomse, or sparring.

When I first did some breaking, it was not really well done. In the middle of a demonstration, the instructor had a few more senior students go through some breaking, then looked around at the rest of us. Most were fairly new, with about 6 of us having been training for 6-to-12 months (including myself). I was asked if I had ever broken a board before, I said no, and I got the answer "Oh. Oh, well, it's easy, just use an elbow". I was about 13 at the time, and that was the extent of the explanation I was given before attempting my first break. Not really what I would consider a positive experience, despite successfully breaking the board (after a few attempts).

Later, we did breaking in our (my current) school. Here, we went through what it entailed in detail, including why we were breaking (from our perspective), how to do it safely, correct technique, and more. From our point of view, breaking is another aspect of pushing the boundaries of what you believe you are capable of (as Omar said, changing his life), as well as the aforementioned confidence, and developing focus in striking. Very different experiences.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Breaking like anything done in a positive way can help your training. The simple act of focusing and bringing together all of the various physical and mental attributes and elements of generating power plus a mental determination and a razor like focus to go through the target can help a practitioner. Like Chris said an explanation of why you are doing it is important! Still it does not need to be done frequently but it definitely is one more piece of training that can be beneficial!

 

[Stac3y]

We do it for fun, but it's not required. I find it's good for focus and precision, as well as confidence.

 

[dancingalone]

You should break occasionally if only to measure your ability to project power. The trick is to not make a big production out of it, where you spend half a minute meditating and building yourself up to do it. Just look at the target, aim, and go! If you can break 3 boards successfully in an off-the-cuff manner like that you, you know you have useful, usable power when you need it.

 

[Draven]

I find it absolutely useless for training, but I also consider it fun. So its not important to me & certainly not a need for promotion.

 

[MJS]

I have done it, mostly for demo purposes. Nothing fancy, just simple breaks. As for the confidence builder...yes, it works. I remember one of my past instructors, who happens to be a member of this forum (stickarts) worked with me on some breaking. We used a rebreakable board. After numerous tries, and much frustration, I finally did it, with a straight punch.

As from that, I think alot of it does come down to the focus of the school and the student. For myself, its something that I no longer spend time focusing on.

 

[sfs982000]

It's mandatory for us to break upon reaching blue belt. Personally I think it can be a useful tool if done sparingly. As it's already been stated it is a great confidence booster, but also it can be a useful tool to refine technique. Trying to break a board(s) with say a front kick and you don't have you toes pulled back can teach you a valuble lesson really quickly.

 

[still learning]

Hello, It is required and for Black belt testing? failure to break = failure to past the test too...even after completing the whole testing too...done last...

Yep? NOT sure what our Professor is thinking...One older lady fail to break a board and yet broke others- was giving a failure to a higher rank of black belts

She is assistance Instructor and her knowledge of everything was better than most- her times in classes teaching...was excellant knowledge and skills, her physcial condition is better than kids half her age..too...(she is over 50 Years old)

NOT sure if this should be a major requirement too...after seeing this?

Aloha, ...true tests is in the real streets , in real situtions!

 

[Marginal]

I find it absolutely useless for training, but I also consider it fun. So its not important to me & certainly not a need for promotion.

It's mainly an exercise to build spirit and discourage hesitation.

 

[Em MacIntosh]

I find it fun to do. It kinda goes without saying that it's not so much a matter of power but finesse. I'd go even further by saying it teaches you a 'feel' for how much power/depth you need to break the object in question. You generally don't need full force to break one pine board with the grain, the idea is to do it with proper technique using enough power.