Board Breaking for younger students IE testing

[chiflow]

 

Curious what you fellow martial artist think about breaking boards in general as a testing requirement or hobbie. In the past i have been required to break boards in some arts, TKD for one. Later on as i began to teach more i began to change my mind about this. For this reason, i have read and heard from numorous places that people under 18 can damage themselves for life by breaking. basically because they are not fully developed and even with proper watching and technique such injury have and can occur.

 

It has been my goal to help protect my students and self from injury in present and future. sometimes bad things happen

 

i suffer from some knee issues due to things asked of me as a beginner.

 

it makes me wonder sometimes if i should have perhaps trained somewhere else

 

 

 

Keep it real

 

Chiflow Bows

[Shorinryu Sensei]

My opinion of board breaking is that it's all for show and has no purpose of function in the martial arts other than to make kindling for the wood stove. An axe works better.

 

People will tell you it improves power (it doesn't) and focus. As for focus, you'd better learn to get that focus down immediately, because a person you're going to hit isn't going to stand there for 5 minutes while you breath, take 10 practice/warmup shots, etc like you will see people do before breaking an innocent pine board.

 

Now, before everybody gets their panties in a bunch here...this is my personal opinion, which I'm entitled to, and no one is going to convince me otherwise that breaking of any sort (other than bones) has any real merit in the arts. Sorry....it's theatrics and instills a false sense of power to individuals/students.

[AngelaG]

I don't think children should break boards - or do knuckle push-ups, or anything like that. Their bones are soft and still developing and continued impact can deform the bones and create a lot of problems in later life.

[TangSooGuy]

I think breaking can serve a purpose, but I think it all too often gets blown out of proportion, and ends up being more about theatrics than technique.

 

When looked at the right way, breaking can be a good tool to challenge oneself.

 

That said, I don't believe kids should ever break with their hands..but certain breaks with the feet can be okay.

 

I know a black belt who is also a pediatric doctor who generally concurs.

 

Brweaking wit the hands in particular can cause damage to growth plates, and the child's hands may never develop properly.

 

Children should also never attempt to break adult sized boards. Small children should be breaking 6" wide boards if they break at all, and larger children should break a maximum of an 8" wide board.

[krzychicano]

I don't think small children should break boards but then again if they are advancing the same as the older students then they should be treated the same as far as testing goes. But what I mean by younger students is 4 to about 7.

[tkdrocks]

In our organization, board breaking is required from Red belt and beyond. We use the plastic rebreakable boards for several reasons. They have different colors for different ages.

 

1. They are calibrated such the same amount of force will always break the board.

 

2. In order to break, they need to be hit in the center.

 

3. For testing, you get 3 attempts. A rebreakable ensures that 3 strikes did not break the board, only one.

 

We do not allow anyone to use their fist until they are a 2nd degree Black Belt which the youngest age would be 15.

 

The heal, elbow and ball of foot can deliver a lot of punishment with little risk to injury. In fact, I much prefer breaking boards over holding them while they are broken.

 

Breaking boards really is not a big deal, but the mental aspect of mind over matter is really important. Also, IMO, it does help with technique. A person that is having difficulty breaking a board with a sidekick is probably not chambering correctly or not using their heal or their aim is off.

 

Also, in our testings, board breaking is the last thing we do. So, everyone is very tired after working out, forms, one-steps, 3-steps and sparring. This is another one of the mental aspects focusing when you are exhausted. We do not use a point system. Each person must pass every aspect of their testing.

 

My wife, who is a 1st degree Black Belt always tries to provide drama by waiting until her third attempt to actually break her boards (at least that is what I kid her about).

[PrideampPoise]

We only break boards at testing, and the kids are asked to do it as well, though until brown belt, its all kicks/strikes with the heel or palm.

 

Under 13 uses balsa wood type boards that are only about a 1/4" thick, so I don't think there is much danger of broken bones, at least no more so than when they are playing on a playground.

 

To me, the value is the same as in target kicking/striking, though there is an additional mental element it requires. Really, it is just a way to practice accuracy that provides immediate feedback that targets don't always provide.

 

I don't think its "necessary", but it is a useful training tool, when kept in the proper perspective.

[swdw]

For this reason, i have read and heard from numorous places that people under 18 can damage themselves for life by breaking. basically because they are not fully developed and even with proper watching and technique such injury have and can occur.

 

I don't think small children should break boards but then again if they are advancing the same as the older students then they should be treated the same as far as testing goes.

 

First quote is right

 

Ssecond quote is wrong about treating younger and older students the same.

 

There is a process in the development of the bones called ossification. This is the hardening of the ends of the bones (what people commonly call growth plates) at a certain age. If sufficient trauma occurs before ossification is complete, it can have consequences as the child gets older. The younger the person, the more flexible the bones are and the easier it is with sufficient or repeated trauma to cause problems farther down the road.

 

For this reason anyone under the age of 16 should NOT make board breaking part of their training. Also, stay away from makiwara training until at least 16. Although ossification is not complete until later, most bones can handle the stress. The reason for the caution is because of the direction of the impact force on the joint and bone ends. Although other contact sports may not cause a problem at 10, the impact forces happen from a different angle and in a different manner.

 

This is also the reason that bags should be sized for the age of the student. Because of the give in the bag. much of the shock is absorbed. However, a 10 year old should not be working on a 120lb bag because the shear weight now becomes an issue.

Edited March 16, 2005 by swdw

[Menjo]

I dont think breaking boards should be apart of testing, only in regular training, and as a hobbie, fine.

[DragonMike]

All of our stdents break boards at every test, and adult black belts break bricks. I think this shows an ability to preform a powerful on target technique and great preasure.