Whats with board breaking?

[GranFire]

LOL!

I actually find that it cuts the cocky back down to size. As TKD prctitioner, it's part of out rank advancement for th higher belts, the oly part of the test you know right then and there on the spot if you got it! There have been a few that found themselves wondering, just what went wrong here! Not a bad thing, really.

You can fake technique sparring, you can fiddle your way through a from, but where the board is involved, it's a true test!

We only break every two month, or for Demonstrations (and there it's to wow the crowd with what you know will work)

[NightStalker14]

LOL!

I actually find that it cuts the cocky back down to size. As TKD prctitioner, it's part of out rank advancement for th higher belts, the oly part of the test you know right then and there on the spot if you got it! There have been a few that found themselves wondering, just what went wrong here! Not a bad thing, really.

You can fake technique sparring, you can fiddle your way through a from, but where the board is involved, it's a true test!

We only break every two month, or for Demonstrations (and there it's to wow the crowd with what you know will work)

I used to play pranks on some of the kids that would screw around in class... I'd rotate the board ninety degrees so they struck against the grain.

Teaches you to look at the board first!

[GranFire]

I used to play pranks on some of the kids that would screw around in class... I'd rotate the board ninety degrees so they struck against the grain.

Teaches you to look at the board first!

I like your evilness!

[GranFire]

Board Equivalency

OK, as promissed, straight from the ITA manual:

(refering to 1x12 #3 white pine, cut into 11" segments=adult board)

*one adult wood board or a blue plastic board is roughly equivalent to a rib, elbow,knee or a collar bone. Two adult wood boards or a black plastic board is equivalent to an uknea, radius, 2 ribs, jaw, etc. Three adult boards are equal to a skull, femur, tibea, fibula, etc. Four adult boards are stronger than any part of the human body.

By thinking in terms of board equivalency, board breaking ca serve to increase awareness of the devastating power of real TKD. [....]*

[matsushorinryu]

OK, as promissed, straight from the ITA manual:

(refering to 1x12 #3 white pine, cut into 11" segments=adult board)

*one adult wood board or a blue plastic board is roughly equivalent to a rib, elbow,knee or a collar bone. Two adult wood boards or a black plastic board is equivalent to an uknea, radius, 2 ribs, jaw, etc. Three adult boards are equal to a skull, femur, tibea, fibula, etc. Four adult boards are stronger than any part of the human body.

By thinking in terms of board equivalency, board breaking ca serve to increase awareness of the devastating power of real TKD. [....]*

I'm sorry, but I definetly have to disagree that breaking 3 boards is equal to a skull. mostly because the skull is harder and rounded. The shape of the skull makes it stronger. The closest thing to breaking a skull (might even be a bit harder) is breaking a coconut. I can show you guys that are not trained in Martial arts at all that can break 3 or 4 boards with ease. I honestly see no point in it besides a form of conditioning and training yourself to actually make contact. All of which can be acheived with Makiwara.

[Sagacious Lu]

You can fake technique sparring, you can fiddle your way through a from, but where the board is involved, it's a true test!

Maybe we have different ideas about what sparring is but I can't fathom why you would say this. Sparring is the one thing that you can't fake; either you're dominating your opponent or you aren't. You can break boards if you have the right technique (which is a very different skill from hitting and damaging a resisting opponent- so much so that I don't believe breaking boards equates to breaking bones at all) and you might be able to make your forms look great but that's just parlor tricks and showmanship if you can't handle yourself against a real opponent. The real test comes when you face one. I've frequently seen senior students get embarrassed by their juniors. Despite the difference in rank sparring brought out the truth, which is that the junior was the superior martial artist.

[GranFire]

I'm sorry, but I definetly have to disagree that breaking 3 boards is equal to a skull. mostly because the skull is harder and rounded. The shape of the skull makes it stronger. The closest thing to breaking a skull (might even be a bit harder) is breaking a coconut. I can show you guys that are not trained in Martial arts at all that can break 3 or 4 boards with ease. I honestly see no point in it besides a form of conditioning and training yourself to actually make contact. All of which can be acheived with Makiwara.

Dude, I didn't write that stuff, I just copied it. I guess the skull follows different rules, like eggs. Try to squash an egg in your hand...it's nearly impossible, but tap it lightly on the edge of the skillet and there, it cracks.



@ Lu.

I didn't mean to say that *faking it* in sparring was something bad per say. You just do not have to be precise in your technique as you have to be breaking a board. Kicking an opponent with the instep or the ball of your foot on a roundkick does not make that much of a difference, but I wouldn't want to try it on a board!

Same with a hand technique, you can be a little off on a person, in terms of tightening your fists or knifehands, but when a sloppy hammerfist connects with the wood, you're in a world of hurt!

That's what I mean by *Faking It*

[Sagacious Lu]

@ Lu.

I didn't mean to say that *faking it* in sparring was something bad per say. You just do not have to be precise in your technique as you have to be breaking a board. Kicking an opponent with the instep or the ball of your foot on a roundkick does not make that much of a difference, but I wouldn't want to try it on a board!

Same with a hand technique, you can be a little off on a person, in terms of tightening your fists or knifehands, but when a sloppy hammerfist connects with the wood, you're in a world of hurt!

That's what I mean by *Faking It*

I see what you're saying, you certainly can't always land a clean shot against someone who's trying not to get hit. If you like board breaking that's fine, it's just that sometimes I think people make more out of it than it is. Breaking definately requires technique, but the thing is getting good at breaking boards only makes you good at breaking boards. I'm sure it's fun, and it looks cool in demonstrations but hitting the board is completely different from hitting a person- I don't think being able to break boards means that you can break a person's rib with a strike. It's a training practice that I've always been skeptical about.

[GranFire]

It's just one of the tools of learning. like I said, you don't get a chance to see what you can do with what you are learning very often, though I have had my share of bruises and have hit some folks harder than I wanted to, by accident. It's not supposed to be a dicipline in itself, that's for sure.

But it is the one thing the laymen and -women can easily relate to...sort of

Anyhow...I am off, later we have boardbreaking....it's fun to do, but not so fun to hold....LOL!