Hi, I am a new comer to this forum but have read some of your other discussions with interest. I am a female Tae Kwon Do student and I am getting closer to my black belt grading (Nov). I will soon be required to break boards and tiles. Does anyone out there have any advice on preparing physically and mentally for breaks?
I guess it is a matter of having confidence in your own ability and techniques, but at the moment I am facing the hurdle of overcoming fear at the thought of pushing my foot or hand through a solid object.
Any advice gratefully accepted.
Cheers,
ged17
preparing for breaks
Moderator: Available
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Allen M.
preparing for breaks
Hi ged17.
You've come a surprisingly long way in TKD without having to break boards yet. How many are you required to break? are they 1" thick or 2" thick? The best way is to sneak them out before the test, bake them good in the oven, then put your name on them.
If you have never broken boards before they probably won't give you too many to break at once. Are you going to be assigned the techniques or can you pick the ones you want to use ahead of time to train for the breaks?
The hardest part for new-board breakers is the mental part. You just don't know what you can do until you've done it. It becomes easier after that. The two techniques that seem to consistently break the most boards is the 360 deg spinning wheel kick and an elbow strike. I assume that you've been doing knuckle pushups for at least two years now? If so, your knuckles are already tough enough to punch through boards. If you punch boards, remember to go thru the board with the inner knuckles of your first and index fingers, not with the flat part of your fist.
TKD tests use all sorts of techniques for board breaking. Find out ahead of time and practice the daylights out of building up speed in your technique. I've seen 7-year-olds go thru boards like butter and burly men not even put a crack in the board. It's all in the technique, but that technique's main component is speed.
Also, pick the heaviest to hold the boards for you and make sure they are firmly set in a long stance and straight-armed as much as possible so the board remains relatively stationary upon impact.
Sometimes there is a slight curve in the board when looking at it edgewise. Make sure the concave side is facing you, not the convex side. Try to pick boards with wide grains and get one with a knot in it if you can. All these are little tricks, and if you are new to the game the more of these tricks you can use to your advantage, the better your chances are of success the first time.
You need to strike as if there is no board there and you have to plan on ending your strike at least a foot deeper than where the board actually is. When I used to punch boards. I angled them so my knuckles would hit the grain just right on impact and planned for my elbow to be where the board was. With elbow strikes I used to envision my elbow hitting the gut of the person holding the board -- and sometimes it did. With a kick like a wheel kick or a hand strike like a spinning backfist, you can't do that. The power is traveling in a circle, and you just plan on continuing the movement at least 90 degrees past where the board is held. For front kicks, you should practice hitting the bag with the ball of your foot, side kicks with the heel, and roundhouse either with the ball of the foot or your big toe, and NEVER with your instep. Bagwork gives mileage.
Remember it is the speed as well as the confidence. Good luck.
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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera
You've come a surprisingly long way in TKD without having to break boards yet. How many are you required to break? are they 1" thick or 2" thick? The best way is to sneak them out before the test, bake them good in the oven, then put your name on them.
If you have never broken boards before they probably won't give you too many to break at once. Are you going to be assigned the techniques or can you pick the ones you want to use ahead of time to train for the breaks?
The hardest part for new-board breakers is the mental part. You just don't know what you can do until you've done it. It becomes easier after that. The two techniques that seem to consistently break the most boards is the 360 deg spinning wheel kick and an elbow strike. I assume that you've been doing knuckle pushups for at least two years now? If so, your knuckles are already tough enough to punch through boards. If you punch boards, remember to go thru the board with the inner knuckles of your first and index fingers, not with the flat part of your fist.
TKD tests use all sorts of techniques for board breaking. Find out ahead of time and practice the daylights out of building up speed in your technique. I've seen 7-year-olds go thru boards like butter and burly men not even put a crack in the board. It's all in the technique, but that technique's main component is speed.
Also, pick the heaviest to hold the boards for you and make sure they are firmly set in a long stance and straight-armed as much as possible so the board remains relatively stationary upon impact.
Sometimes there is a slight curve in the board when looking at it edgewise. Make sure the concave side is facing you, not the convex side. Try to pick boards with wide grains and get one with a knot in it if you can. All these are little tricks, and if you are new to the game the more of these tricks you can use to your advantage, the better your chances are of success the first time.
You need to strike as if there is no board there and you have to plan on ending your strike at least a foot deeper than where the board actually is. When I used to punch boards. I angled them so my knuckles would hit the grain just right on impact and planned for my elbow to be where the board was. With elbow strikes I used to envision my elbow hitting the gut of the person holding the board -- and sometimes it did. With a kick like a wheel kick or a hand strike like a spinning backfist, you can't do that. The power is traveling in a circle, and you just plan on continuing the movement at least 90 degrees past where the board is held. For front kicks, you should practice hitting the bag with the ball of your foot, side kicks with the heel, and roundhouse either with the ball of the foot or your big toe, and NEVER with your instep. Bagwork gives mileage.
Remember it is the speed as well as the confidence. Good luck.
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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera
preparing for breaks
I have broken boards many times and it is not complicated and there is no trick to it either. Keep the technique simple, focus on the center of the board and see yourself putting your hand or your foot through the board. That part is the confidence in youself "a leap of faith" that it will happen just as you envision it happening.
The best first break is using the palm heel of your hand. It is the strongest and most stable when striking with your hand. Don't slap the board with the palm, but focus the heel of your hand striking something on the other side of the board. The board is not the obstacle or the goal. The point beyond the board is the goal.
There is no special physical or mental training required. You just have to believe you can put your hand through the board. We have women in our studio breaking boards within a few months of their first visit. And it can be done with a minimum of skill. We use it as a confidence builder to let them see they can do something they never thought they would be doing.
We have very small children in our studio do this with their small skinny arms. It is amazing to watch. If the board is supported on cinder blocks we tell them to see if they can tag the floor. If the board is held up for then, then we tell them to see if they can tag the person on the other side of the board. It gives them something to focus on beyond the board.
With a palm heel strike, or a hammer strike, which are best for first time breaks, you are not likely to injure or break something if you "miss". It will sting, it may bruise, but you won't suffer major injuries.
A first time break with the front knuckles of your hand can be very difficult and requires a very clean technique. Also, if you do miss with the knuckles it will hurt and and can be discouraging the first time. Wait to try a knuckle strike after you had some success with other strikes.
The really cool thing about breaking boards the first time is when you make that first break it is a great adenilin rush and you see immediately how really easy it is to do. It is an immediate "ah Ha! I get it" type reaction. As soon as you break your first board, you will be eager to try it again, then trying to do two or three layers of boards. The number of boards really does not matter once you know you can do it.
Have fun with this. Keep the technique clean and quick. Focus to the other side of the board or boards. There is nothing fancy to this at all.
Good luck to you. Let us know how it goes.
BB
The best first break is using the palm heel of your hand. It is the strongest and most stable when striking with your hand. Don't slap the board with the palm, but focus the heel of your hand striking something on the other side of the board. The board is not the obstacle or the goal. The point beyond the board is the goal.
There is no special physical or mental training required. You just have to believe you can put your hand through the board. We have women in our studio breaking boards within a few months of their first visit. And it can be done with a minimum of skill. We use it as a confidence builder to let them see they can do something they never thought they would be doing.
We have very small children in our studio do this with their small skinny arms. It is amazing to watch. If the board is supported on cinder blocks we tell them to see if they can tag the floor. If the board is held up for then, then we tell them to see if they can tag the person on the other side of the board. It gives them something to focus on beyond the board.
With a palm heel strike, or a hammer strike, which are best for first time breaks, you are not likely to injure or break something if you "miss". It will sting, it may bruise, but you won't suffer major injuries.
A first time break with the front knuckles of your hand can be very difficult and requires a very clean technique. Also, if you do miss with the knuckles it will hurt and and can be discouraging the first time. Wait to try a knuckle strike after you had some success with other strikes.
The really cool thing about breaking boards the first time is when you make that first break it is a great adenilin rush and you see immediately how really easy it is to do. It is an immediate "ah Ha! I get it" type reaction. As soon as you break your first board, you will be eager to try it again, then trying to do two or three layers of boards. The number of boards really does not matter once you know you can do it.
Have fun with this. Keep the technique clean and quick. Focus to the other side of the board or boards. There is nothing fancy to this at all.
Good luck to you. Let us know how it goes.
BB
preparing for breaks
I have broken boards at a few demonstrations and most of the advice of the previous posters is accurate.
Allen does explain a few of the tricks that will help a non expert acheive success. The drier the wood, the easier it will break. If you plan on bringing or cutting your own wood, buy a 1" x 12" board and cut to 10" in length. If you plan to break more than one board at a time make sure the grain (by looking on the 1" edge of the board) of both boards are facing the same way.
The holder of the board can determine whether the board is broken. If the person holding the board allows the board to move during impact, it will substantially reduce the force of momentum on impact. However it is not neccessary to have a holder to break a board. The main factor is ken kitae (knuckle conditioning). If you practice hitting makiwara enough, your knuckles will be strong enough that there will be no flinching or expected pain when contact with the board is made.
I have boken boards by holding them in my left hand by the thumb and index finger and slightly throwing it up a little while punching with my right fist. The board is in the air when struck (therefore not held). This is an impressive break because you need to have strong well conditioned knuckles and be very explosive with your punch. Two attributes that determine a successful karate technique. Do not try this while facing the audience in case the board sails across the room and does not break. If it does not break the punch was not explosive enough.
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Len
Allen does explain a few of the tricks that will help a non expert acheive success. The drier the wood, the easier it will break. If you plan on bringing or cutting your own wood, buy a 1" x 12" board and cut to 10" in length. If you plan to break more than one board at a time make sure the grain (by looking on the 1" edge of the board) of both boards are facing the same way.
The holder of the board can determine whether the board is broken. If the person holding the board allows the board to move during impact, it will substantially reduce the force of momentum on impact. However it is not neccessary to have a holder to break a board. The main factor is ken kitae (knuckle conditioning). If you practice hitting makiwara enough, your knuckles will be strong enough that there will be no flinching or expected pain when contact with the board is made.
I have boken boards by holding them in my left hand by the thumb and index finger and slightly throwing it up a little while punching with my right fist. The board is in the air when struck (therefore not held). This is an impressive break because you need to have strong well conditioned knuckles and be very explosive with your punch. Two attributes that determine a successful karate technique. Do not try this while facing the audience in case the board sails across the room and does not break. If it does not break the punch was not explosive enough.
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Len
preparing for breaks
Thanks to all who have replied to my question so far. I have taken note of your advice and will attempt to act upon it.
For my grading I will be required to break a single 1 inch board with various kicks. I can be asked to do any or all of the following: front snap kick, side kick, turning kick (roundhouse) and axe kick (downward heel). In addition I will be required to break four tiles with a downward punch.
I have just learnt these requirements and was relieved because as a senior (i.e. over 18yrs) student I could have been required to break two boards with the above kicks and up to 6 tiles. So I am pleased that they have taken into account my stature (small!!) when setting the requirements.
I am not really sure why we don’t do more breaks in our training. Our particular do-jang closed down for about four years when the instructor moved away. I am in a small rural community and there was no-one else willing to take on the club. Since it reopened I have become the senior student so training is often geared towards the junior ranks as these are by far the majority of students. However I feel that the instructor tries to cater for all the students needs. We get together regularly with other clubs from the same academy who are about an hours drive away. We have combined gradings and I feel our club standard is as good as any of the other local clubs. They don’t do many board breaks either. It is not a grading requirement until going for black belt.
I realise that speed is a crucial factor in power. So how to develop good speed in a technique? Practice, practice, practice…. Anything else?
I have a recurring knee problem which seems to be exacerbated by performing techniques at high speed. This is a situation I think I will just have to live with, but do high speed techniques necessarily cause more wrenching on the joints or am I doing something wrong?, like over extending the leg?
I have been doing knuckle pushups for the last 18 mths or so, but I am told (and I know it to be true) that I need to toughen my knuckles a lot more. I have a heavy bag at home and will have to start foregoing the mitts to add to the toughening process. The problem is, as a female I don’t really want hardened, scarred knuckles!! A hard decision, success or vanity… It is hard enough explaining to my workmates some of the weird bruises on a Monday morning after a particularly arduous weekend training session. "And you do this for enjoyment?" is the usual comment. "You’ll never what you’re missing out on" I tell them.
Regards,
ged17
For my grading I will be required to break a single 1 inch board with various kicks. I can be asked to do any or all of the following: front snap kick, side kick, turning kick (roundhouse) and axe kick (downward heel). In addition I will be required to break four tiles with a downward punch.
I have just learnt these requirements and was relieved because as a senior (i.e. over 18yrs) student I could have been required to break two boards with the above kicks and up to 6 tiles. So I am pleased that they have taken into account my stature (small!!) when setting the requirements.
I am not really sure why we don’t do more breaks in our training. Our particular do-jang closed down for about four years when the instructor moved away. I am in a small rural community and there was no-one else willing to take on the club. Since it reopened I have become the senior student so training is often geared towards the junior ranks as these are by far the majority of students. However I feel that the instructor tries to cater for all the students needs. We get together regularly with other clubs from the same academy who are about an hours drive away. We have combined gradings and I feel our club standard is as good as any of the other local clubs. They don’t do many board breaks either. It is not a grading requirement until going for black belt.
I realise that speed is a crucial factor in power. So how to develop good speed in a technique? Practice, practice, practice…. Anything else?
I have a recurring knee problem which seems to be exacerbated by performing techniques at high speed. This is a situation I think I will just have to live with, but do high speed techniques necessarily cause more wrenching on the joints or am I doing something wrong?, like over extending the leg?
I have been doing knuckle pushups for the last 18 mths or so, but I am told (and I know it to be true) that I need to toughen my knuckles a lot more. I have a heavy bag at home and will have to start foregoing the mitts to add to the toughening process. The problem is, as a female I don’t really want hardened, scarred knuckles!! A hard decision, success or vanity… It is hard enough explaining to my workmates some of the weird bruises on a Monday morning after a particularly arduous weekend training session. "And you do this for enjoyment?" is the usual comment. "You’ll never what you’re missing out on" I tell them.
Regards,
ged17
preparing for breaks
ged17,
Congratulations on reaching the level you have and good luck on your testing!
I thought I would pass on two tricks I’ve used in the past to improve speed, at least in arm techniques, punches particularly.
If you have a place to hang a string with possibly a knot or piece of tape for weight at about head height, after a very good warm-up, but before heavy punching, use the string target by touching it with open hands, simulating punching movements. Continue this movement increasing your speed gradually until your hand appears blurred all the way out and back. Once you get the feel for it, close your hands to fists and try it again. The idea is of course not to really touch or punch the string, but use it as a focus point to get close to full extension (about 90 to 95%) out of your arms. A warning is not to use the wall or something close to a beam or solid surface, you will eventually be moving so fast, that a miss calculation will hurt. A second warning is to only do this exercise about twice a week, it is very hard on your joints.
A second technique that can be used more often per week, is to touch your heavy bag with the knuckles of your fist and see how fast you can pull back your hand, sort of a reversal of fast punches.
As always, use these if they work for you, and disgard them if they don’t.
Again, good luck, I’m sure you will do well.
nick
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"We forge our bodies in
the fire of our will." Han
from 'Enter the Dragon'
Congratulations on reaching the level you have and good luck on your testing!
I thought I would pass on two tricks I’ve used in the past to improve speed, at least in arm techniques, punches particularly.
If you have a place to hang a string with possibly a knot or piece of tape for weight at about head height, after a very good warm-up, but before heavy punching, use the string target by touching it with open hands, simulating punching movements. Continue this movement increasing your speed gradually until your hand appears blurred all the way out and back. Once you get the feel for it, close your hands to fists and try it again. The idea is of course not to really touch or punch the string, but use it as a focus point to get close to full extension (about 90 to 95%) out of your arms. A warning is not to use the wall or something close to a beam or solid surface, you will eventually be moving so fast, that a miss calculation will hurt. A second warning is to only do this exercise about twice a week, it is very hard on your joints.
A second technique that can be used more often per week, is to touch your heavy bag with the knuckles of your fist and see how fast you can pull back your hand, sort of a reversal of fast punches.
As always, use these if they work for you, and disgard them if they don’t.
Again, good luck, I’m sure you will do well.
nick
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"We forge our bodies in
the fire of our will." Han
from 'Enter the Dragon'
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Allen M.
preparing for breaks
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Coming to the harder part, the clay, this was a favorite "trick" of mine that maybe it can help you, too: I used to break substantial wood (2” thick pine) a few times. I wrapped my fist with my Tee-shirt [against the wishes of my Sabunim]. I know I saved myself from severe injury as I saw, on different occasions, those in front of me and behind me hurt themselves, and one guy right after me shatter his fist once and others cry. [Two-inch boards are monsters. ONE INCH BOARDS, even multiple boards are asymptotically EASY – NO PROBLEM so don’t worry] See if you can cushion your knuckles in a similar fashion for the clay break. (I would hide my tee-shirt in my dobok until I was right up to the break and it was too late for someone else to say “NO!) I wasn’t brave, I was smart. I hope this one helps you.
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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera
you are lucky.For my grading I will be required to break a single 1 inch board with various kicks. I can be asked to do any or all of the following: front snap kick, side kick, turning kick (roundhouse) and axe kick (downward heel). In addition I will be required to break four tiles with a downward punch.
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Not to worrySo I am pleased that they have taken into account my stature (small!!) when setting the requirements.
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If it is your dojang than it is better than all the others around. Don’t even think otherwise and don’t compare your place with others because you are light on board breaking. I’ll bet your dojang excels in other attributes.I am not really sure why we don’t do more breaks in our training… and I feel our club standard is as good as any of the other local clubs. They don’t do many board breaks either. It is not a grading requirement until going for black belt.
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Just “Practice, practice, practice” can get you no more than a flat tire. The best TKD kicks are done with alternating relaxing and hardening of the muscles at the right time. You need to practice different ways of doing just that.I realise that speed is a crucial factor in power. So how to develop good speed in a technique? Practice, practice, practice…. Anything else?
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Not a good thing. Maybe all the above, maybe none of the above. You need to see a good sports doctor, not just for TKD but for the health of your life. There could be something else wrong that only a doctor can detect. In terms of doing something wrong on your part: Are you all stretched out before you kick? Do you pivot properly and completely on the ball of your supporting kick [knee problems are more common for TKD kickers who do not pivot properly and/or try to get their kicks up too high before they get the go-ahead from the rest of their body] Sometimes it is the supporting knee that is at fault and sometimes it is the knee of the kicking leg that bears the guilt. Knees can be hyper extended, If you think this is a problem (I’d have to watch you work out before I could give any kind of opinion, than you can keep a slight bend in it at the end of the kick. Also keep your supporting leg bent. Axe kicks coming down need to have a slight knee bend in the kicking leg if they are the least sensitive. Same with wheel kicks. You MUST learn hip action. Without it, TKD kicks are all wrong and people have hurt themselves.I have a recurring knee problem which seems to be exacerbated by performing techniques at high speed. This is a situation I think I will just have to live with, but do high speed techniques necessarily cause more wrenching on the joints or am I doing something wrong?, like over extending the leg?
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Maybe and maybe not. Start working on doing the pushups on only two knuckles of each fist. If that hurts too much [sometimes severe pain here is a sign of damaging your knuckles], cushion them with a face towel or a facecloth for a while until they get tougher. The leather on a heavy bag can condition you. Hit the bag more lightly than hard until your knuckles toughen up. I recommend a bucket of myung beans. You can toughen up everything safely without leaving marks. Eave the makiwara alone. You Do want to do it for enjoyment, and damaging your body in the process is not my idea of enjoyment. You should be able to break a single 1” pine board of standard breaking quality with almost no knuckle conditioning, not difficult and the sooner you learn that the better you'll be.I have been doing knuckle pushups for the last 18 mths or so, but I am told (and I know it to be true) that I need to toughen my knuckles a lot more. … I don’t really want hardened, scarred knuckles!! A hard decision, success or vanity…
Coming to the harder part, the clay, this was a favorite "trick" of mine that maybe it can help you, too: I used to break substantial wood (2” thick pine) a few times. I wrapped my fist with my Tee-shirt [against the wishes of my Sabunim]. I know I saved myself from severe injury as I saw, on different occasions, those in front of me and behind me hurt themselves, and one guy right after me shatter his fist once and others cry. [Two-inch boards are monsters. ONE INCH BOARDS, even multiple boards are asymptotically EASY – NO PROBLEM so don’t worry] See if you can cushion your knuckles in a similar fashion for the clay break. (I would hide my tee-shirt in my dobok until I was right up to the break and it was too late for someone else to say “NO!) I wasn’t brave, I was smart. I hope this one helps you.
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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera
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Allen M.
preparing for breaks
Pardon my English and spelling in the above writeup, but it's been a long week and I don't have enough energy left to fix it. Good luck, you should have no problem passing your breaks.
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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera
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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera
