Boards Don't Hit Back...Or Do They?!

[sensei8]

Interesting math computations and all involved in tameshiwara.

The story about your dad Danielle...

[bushido_man96]

kinda reminds me of a time with my dad. This guy thinks he's never ever wrong and when he is he will never apologise or admit defeat. So me and my sister make it our personal mission to one-up him wherever possible. Had just gotten a brand new plastic rebreakable board delivered. This thing is hard. I personally reckon it must be equivalent to around 3 or 4 wooden boards and a lot less forgiving if you get it wrong. So my dad comes up wanting to have a look and starts going on about all this TKD lark being easy and its all a matter of the right leverage etc. I tell him "go on then, prove it, if I can break it so can you". Get him and my sister to brace it and I break it. Then its his turn. Smacks it as hard as he can with a punch and just stops dead on the board. Look on his face was priceless. Asked him if he was ok and he just mutters something and goes off into the garage to do manly things. Found out later via my mum he'd been sitting there with a bag of peas on his hand and kept hiding it down the side of the chair when I came downstairs

Wounded hand and wounded pride, eh?

[shadowspawn]

kinda reminds me of a time with my dad. This guy thinks he's never ever wrong and when he is he will never apologise or admit defeat. So me and my sister make it our personal mission to one-up him wherever possible. Had just gotten a brand new plastic rebreakable board delivered. This thing is hard. I personally reckon it must be equivalent to around 3 or 4 wooden boards and a lot less forgiving if you get it wrong. So my dad comes up wanting to have a look and starts going on about all this TKD lark being easy and its all a matter of the right leverage etc. I tell him "go on then, prove it, if I can break it so can you". Get him and my sister to brace it and I break it. Then its his turn. Smacks it as hard as he can with a punch and just stops dead on the board. Look on his face was priceless. Asked him if he was ok and he just mutters something and goes off into the garage to do manly things. Found out later via my mum he'd been sitting there with a bag of peas on his hand and kept hiding it down the side of the chair when I came downstairs

Ah I remember the first time I failed to break a board. I ended up with the dreaded one-knuckle LOL Of course I'll often end up with it after breaking a few boards anyway. I always thought I just don't notice it until after I stop. Not sure on that though and I'll have to confirm one day. Oh and in that same session that I mentioned above, after the guy failed to break it with his hand again, he jumped up and stomped on the board. Unfortunately for him, it still didn't break and now he has a sore foot in addition to a sore hand LOL

[Shizentai]

They absolutely do hit back! =normal force!

Anyway, I hate breaking wood, not because I think the exercise is fruitless, but rather because of moral feelings. I like to make things like shelves out of salvaged wood, and we only have so many trees left to clean the air we breathe. When I am about to break a board I always pause for a moment and can't help but think to myself "What a glorious waste of such a precious resource! This tree had to die just so I could prove my toughness." Every now and again I don't mind, but to do so regularly would almost seem to negate the furious amounts of recycling and tree planting I do on a regular basis.

[JusticeZero]

I suppose that would depend on whether the broken board was disposed of in say a landfill where it would not decompose - and thus would continue to sequester its stored carbon reserves away. Plants take CO2 out of the atmosphere by growing, but once they grow, a lot of it is released again as they decay. It is only through growing plants and turning them into forms that fix the carbon away that the CO2 can be removed.

[Shizentai]

There is a bit more to it than that, like CO2 produced by machines burning fuel to chop the tree, haul the lumber, remove bark, then trim and sand it, shipping again etc. but I don't think I should go into the rest of this topic here. I can see the train I derailed falling right over a cliff and burning at the bottom of a canyon soon.

Mostly what I was getting at is that sudden acts of destruction don't appeal to me nearly as much as working tirelessly for hours to create something usable. Maybe it's really just a personal thing.

[DWx]

Anyway, I hate breaking wood, not because I think the exercise is fruitless, but rather because of moral feelings. I like to make things like shelves out of salvaged wood, and we only have so many trees left to clean the air we breathe. When I am about to break a board I always pause for a moment and can't help but think to myself "What a glorious waste of such a precious resource! This tree had to die just so I could prove my toughness." Every now and again I don't mind, but to do so regularly would almost seem to negate the furious amounts of recycling and tree planting I do on a regular basis.

Could always use rebreakable boards instead? I know they're plastic but it terms of lifespan and useage time you can argue they're better. Plus its much cheaper to purchase one board which you can use 100's of times than to keep buying wood just to throw it away 2 seconds later. I prefer them anyway as they require greater accuracy and can give you somewhat measurable feedback as they're fairly consistent every time you break.

[Shizentai]

Could always use rebreakable boards instead? I know they're plastic but it terms of lifespan and useage time you can argue they're better. Plus its much cheaper to purchase one board which you can use 100's of times than to keep buying wood just to throw it away 2 seconds later. I prefer them anyway as they require greater accuracy and can give you somewhat measurable feedback as they're fairly consistent every time you break.

I've actually messed around with those before, but I think the brand we got was a little on the easy side. Maybe it would have been appropriate for kids or something. I'm sure they make them tougher than that, but I never got around to ordering more.

[DWx]

Could always use rebreakable boards instead? I know they're plastic but it terms of lifespan and useage time you can argue they're better. Plus its much cheaper to purchase one board which you can use 100's of times than to keep buying wood just to throw it away 2 seconds later. I prefer them anyway as they require greater accuracy and can give you somewhat measurable feedback as they're fairly consistent every time you break.

I've actually messed around with those before, but I think the brand we got was a little on the easy side. Maybe it would have been appropriate for kids or something. I'm sure they make them tougher than that, but I never got around to ordering more.

Yeah it very much depends on the brand and type of board. As a rule, if its got foam padding or is hollow, don't even bother with it as they're for kids or beginner adults. I've always found these good: http://www.blitzsport.com/Standard-Smash-Board One white is probably 2 wooden boards of the same thickness and the blue is maybe 4 boards. Been using mine for years.

[bushido_man96]

They absolutely do hit back! =normal force!

Anyway, I hate breaking wood, not because I think the exercise is fruitless, but rather because of moral feelings. I like to make things like shelves out of salvaged wood, and we only have so many trees left to clean the air we breathe. When I am about to break a board I always pause for a moment and can't help but think to myself "What a glorious waste of such a precious resource! This tree had to die just so I could prove my toughness." Every now and again I don't mind, but to do so regularly would almost seem to negate the furious amounts of recycling and tree planting I do on a regular basis.

If it is that much of an issue for you, keep the broken boards and burn them as firewood.