Board/Brick Breaking

[Dougall]

Breaking seems to cause a bit of a divide in people. some are part of the "boards don't hit back" camp while others think it's a good exercise to display correct technique, power and hand conditioning
However styles like boxing, kickboxing etc. don't train or perform in any sort of breaking exercises but they still obviously punch with adequate power.
My question is do you think, if they attempted it, boxers could punch through bricks or boards like Taekwondo practitioners do? Could kickboxers kick through boards the same way?
If they couldnt would it be due to their power or would it be because boxers always wrap and glove up and dont have the training hitting hard solid objects like karateka/ taekwondo praticioners?

 

[Paradigm]

Breaking seems to cause a bit of a divide in people. some are part of the "boards don't hit back" camp while others think it's a good exercise to display correct technique, power and hand conditioning
However styles like boxing, kickboxing etc. don't train or perform in any sort of breaking exercises but they still obviously punch with adequate power.
My question is do you think, if they attempted it, boxers could punch through bricks or boards like Taekwondo practitioners do? Could kickboxers kick through boards the same way?
If they couldnt would it be due to their power or would it be because boxers always wrap and glove up and dont have the training hitting hard solid objects like karateka/ taekwondo praticioners?

Why not just elbow through the board?

 

[Dougall]

Why not just elbow through the board?

Elbows would be included in what Im talking about too. We never really see Muay Thai practitioners elbowing through boards but no doubt they had solid elbows. So could they, without much additional training, elbow through a stack of bricks like kyokushin fighters? Or is it a different type of training and conditioning required to elbow solid objects?

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

I think some kind of hand conditioning could be beneficial, as long as it was found to be safely and correctly done, and not cause arthritis later. If there's some way to do that someday, I think it could be a good idea.

As for breaking things with your hands, I think that might be more for exhibition use (gaining students) than practical. But if you can do it, that's cool with me, it's kinda like it's own little mini sport that doesn't have a lot of purpose IRL imo, like guard game in BJJ...

 

[rmongler]

TBH, breaking objects is an objective measure as to how much impulse you are developing in your strikes, and i think can be a useful measuring stick in a greater training modality.

I mean if you just look at competitions, you can visibly tell a difference between the poise of guys who break vs guys who don't break as the level goes up.

 

[Big Nasty Edison]

I have only done breaking a few times in my life. I think its fun but otherwise a waste of money. Anyone can break boards and patio stones, even without any technique. I find it mainly useful for kids. Board breaking can be a huge confidence booster to them, making them feel good and want to keep training. Which is important IMO. And if you can keep them listening to you, you can teach them the real stuff that they don't even realize is important.

And like already said, it can get the interest of the general public that still think karate black belts are some kind of magical killer. Basically trick them into coming because they saw you break a bunch of boards, then teach them legit stuff. They won't know any better.

 

[Dougall]

I mean if you just look at competitions, you can visibly tell a difference between the poise of guys who break vs guys who don't break as the level goes up.

Could guys who dont break boards do this and have the correct poise without modifying their technique?
would a good boxer be able to punch through those boards in the same way or would they not be able to generate the force/ have the correct poise?

 

[Ryyonvin]

Could guys who dont break boards do this and have the correct poise without modifying their technique?
would a good boxer be able to punch through those boards in the same way or would they not be able to generate the force/ have the correct poise?

I see no reason why a boxer wouldnt be able to break boards with their fists. The amount of force a boxer puts behind their punch is several hundred pounds if not in the thousands.

If my noodly-ass arms could break a board at 8 years old then I'm pretty confident a pro or even amateur boxer could do the same.

To those that think this can only be accomplished by TMAists who practice this stuff then you would need to put forth a pretty compelling argument to convince me as to why the form of a TMAist would be greater than that of a boxer when it comes to punching.

 

[Big Nasty Edison]

Could guys who dont break boards do this and have the correct poise without modifying their technique?
would a good boxer be able to punch through those boards in the same way or would they not be able to generate the force/ have the correct poise?

Anyone, including people with zero training, could break two or three pine boards. It's all physics and hitting along the grain.

 

[listrahtes]

Its a dumb idea. Either you use something everyone can break and have no training effect at all besides an inflated ego or you really take hard objects and weaken your bone structure.

Actual studies show this. It reduces the density of your bones. Think of it as a spider web that does not get tighter but looses connections. The only effect you have is that you loose pain of your cutaneus tibial nerve.

Its enough to train against sandbag / pads and with shinguards in sparring to toughen your hands and legs.

If people would be honest they just use it to show of and install a false sense of technical superiority which is very common in many asian MA. The more the less effective the MA is.

 

[Azam]

Anyone, including people with zero training, could break two or three pine boards. It's all physics and hitting along the grain.

This.

Although there are levels. Two or three pine boards the average joe could break. It's all about the grain.

The purpose of breaking (tameshiwari) is a measure of how well you put force into strikes (technique indicator) and how conditioned the striking area is that you're striking with (i.e. your knuckles, various parts of hand or feet for example). It's a measure of how well you put everything together for a technique - poor technique = no break or you hurt yourself, good technique = break and don't hurt yourself.

Is it necessary? Not really. But it is the best way to test your technique & conditioning (without any form of protection) without having to hit someone physically - with pain as the teacher if you get it wrong.

There are definitely levels to this though - most martial artists won't have the type of conditioning required to break certain objects with certain parts of the body - that goes for everyone. Sure boxers/kickboxers will be able to break most things - but there are things they would struggle to break or fracture parts of their body trying to.

Cue - Kiyohide Shinjo - breaking boards with your fingertips, smashing your toes with a thick wooden plank, breaking boards with your toes or breaking a baseball bat with your forearm bone - is something that I'd imagine boxers/kickboxers would struggle with as well as a lot of people doing tkd/karate unless you take training seriously.







Also there is a lot of sneaky shit that goes on with breaking demos (people buy fake boards, fake bats etc to con people). You can tell straight away if something is fake - if it takes very little force to break it or requires little distance (like inches away from a board or tiles).

 

[Big Nasty Edison]

Also there is a lot of sneaky shit that goes on with breaking demos (people buy fake boards, fake bats etc to con people). You can tell straight away if something is fake - if it takes very little force to break it or requires little distance (like inches away from a board or tiles).

Along with guys baking their bricks to dry them out and make them more brittle.

When I was helping teach a youth program at a rec center, I was asked to do a breaking demo. I work in IT and never really practice breaking. I stuck to knife hands and straight punches for standing boards, and hammer fists and elbows for stacked patio stones. I think I only did three patio stones with a hammer fist but it was still enough to impress the kids and soccer moms lol. It at least helped make them more willing to hear what I had to say in class.

 

[tangata motu'a]

is there any way this picture is legit?

 

[spacetime]

My question is do you think, if they attempted it, boxers could punch through bricks or boards like Taekwondo practitioners do?

Bricks no, boards yes. If they do, their hand will break like glass.

 

[DoctorTaco]

It’s dorky but fun. I was just telling someone yesterday I want to have a bunch of 1” pine boards cut so I could bring them to the mma gym and let all the fighters go nuts with it.

 

[JKD sanda]

About 1:35 min they’re breaking bricks

 

[spacetime]

It's viewed more as a mental hurdle. Once you've done it you move on, usually.

 

[franklinstower]

We broke legitimate rocks in our kung fu school. Twice as thick as your hand and a little longer. They were tough rocks till you knew the trick. Then still tough but entirely doable. Not everyone could do it even with the trick.

 

[shincheckin]

breaking bats is somewhat common in both the MT and KT community

 

[the_winding_way]

The technique you use to break the board also matters.

Breaking a board with a punch is not the same as breaking one with a jumping spinning back kick.