What is the best way to condition for breaking?

[sensei8]

Well, I once read in a martial arts magazine some time ago in which the author said that one could place either a brick or a board in a oven for a short time in order to weaken the material. I DON'T THINK SO! The author even went on to warn his readers to keep an eye on the boards that are in the oven in case the board catches on fire. He also warned his readers to use a oven mitt when removing the materials from the oven; both warnings are pretty good ideas!

HELP!

[DWx]

That is one way of cheating. Baking them takes out all the moisture but whats the point in doing the break if you're just going to cheat?

[Tiger1962]

DWx - what you say is true. We've never broken bricks but regarding wood, have been told that the way the grains are on the wood boards also determine how or if the wood board will break easily or not. Any *knots* in the wood will make it more difficult.

I've also heard of instructors putting boards in the oven to *bake* them making them more brittle and thus easier for the kids to break. Don't know if anyone else has heard of this or not.

[DWx]

DWx - what you say is true. We've never broken bricks but regarding wood, have been told that the way the grains are on the wood boards also determine how or if the wood board will break easily or not. Any *knots* in the wood will make it more difficult.

Yeah a lot of things can affect how difficult a particular board is. Best boards aren't too sappy, are taken from the outer part of the trunk (so the grain just cuts across rather than curves) and have no knots in. For stuff like gradings I advise people to inspect the boards before they attempt them. Change it if its really bad or flip it over if one side of it doesn't look too good.

I've also heard of instructors putting boards in the oven to *bake* them making them more brittle and thus easier for the kids to break. Don't know if anyone else has heard of this or not.

It does work. Whenever we're chopping up the firewood at home for our fireplace its a lot easier if theres been a couple of sunny days to dry the wood out. Its splits a lot easier if there's no moisture.

[sensei8]

I've also heard of instructors putting boards in the oven to *bake* them making them more brittle and thus easier for the kids to break. Don't know if anyone else has heard of this or not.

That is one way of cheating. Baking them takes out all the moisture

It does work. Whenever we're chopping up the firewood at home for our fireplace its a lot easier if theres been a couple of sunny days to dry the wood out. Its splits a lot easier if there's no moisture.

Oh my word, people really do this. I thought the author was just kidding or something, I mean, I read this around 1975. Sheech!

Knot riddle boards are almost impossible to break. Seems lately at a local name brand supplier, I find more knots than not. Makes testing/demos more difficult to get when all one finds is knots after knots. Besides, who wants to break a board that's cost a small fortune to break and then throw it away? Not me because I'm extremely thrifty...cheap!

[Tiger1962]

Well, I once read in a martial arts magazine some time ago in which the author said that one could place either a brick or a board in a oven for a short time in order to weaken the material. I DON'T THINK SO! The author even went on to warn his readers to keep an eye on the boards that are in the oven in case the board catches on fire. He also warned his readers to use a oven mitt when removing the materials from the oven; both warnings are pretty good ideas!

HELP!

I agree with you ---- and I do know instructors that do this!

[bushido_man96]

I've heard of the baking boards tricks, too.

At our school, the instructor tends to buy a bunch of boards up front, and if we don't break them all, then they set in the moist basement until the next testing to be used. So, they tend to gain moisture, and get tougher! It usually ends up being the black belts that he uses to clean up these boards, in demos.

[bushido_man96]

What I have discovered during breaking after all these years, is that the holder is as much responsible for the outcome of the break as the person doing the kicking.

Case in point & speaking from personal experience: you could be performing a break and the holder isn't holding the board properly. As the kick is executed, the holders push back extremely hard causing the kicker to go flying back on the floor landing on their backside. Alternately, you can get holders that are afraid to hold and pull away at the last moment.

In either case, it can work against the kicker. Holders need accurate instruction as much as kickers do.

Board holding is a whole other can of worms. I always end up holding boards at testing and demos, and I just hate doing it. I always get the ones that are testing, and are nervous. We hold the boards, then they get ready, then they take 13 freakin' practice runs before they finally go to hit the darn thing, and usually bounce the first time. Then, they are more nervous, so they take 13 freakin' more pracitces, and then they do 13 more for good measure, then attempt again, and BONK! By this time, my arms are dead tired from holding up boards, locking my arms out. And we still have 2 more people to break.

These are reasons alone to practice more in a class setting, for both holders and breakers.

Holders: proper hand position, board position, and stance.

Breakers: set up, one or two practice runs to set proper distance and angle, and break.

[joesteph]

What I have discovered during breaking after all these years, is that the holder is as much responsible for the outcome of the break as the person doing the kicking.

Holders: proper hand position, board position, and stance.

Breakers: set up, one or two practice runs to set proper distance and angle, and break.

From what Tiger and Brian are saying, it's like the breaker is the pitcher and the holder is the catcher. They don't work together only when there's a game, they show up for practice so that they work as a team when it really counts.

[bushido_man96]

Good analogy, Joe. That's the way to look at it.