How is breaking most important to you

[Stold]

TKD sparring? Please, never compare TKD sparring to UFC again. I once put a man in a stretcher sparring with TKD rules. In a real fight, with TKD rules, I would be the one in the stretcher. Collar bone was probably a bad example as it's one of the easiest to break, especially with an axe kick.

 

Of course, what happens when someone tries to axe kick you in a real fight?

[Meiou Ikarino]

I wasn't comparing so much the fighting style itself, as how easy it really is to break bones.... True, collar bone is easy to break, but someone had asked about it.

 

Conditioning is a big part though. If you eat right, with a good bit of calcium, and you've conditioned yourself, there's a less chance of you getting injured.

[Ti-Kwon-Leap]

If one fails to break the board in question the hand/ foot bares the brunt of the impact.

 

When you break a board, what actually happens is that the board is bent past it's point of flexibility.

 

Failing to break the board will hurt worse because the hand/ foot gets caught with the rebound.

 

That being said, breaking may be an art but not a necessity.

 

Allow me to explain my point of view...

 

On a basic level, board breaking serves to test a student's ability to focus his/ her power at a given point in space.

 

While this does not compare to trying to land a 360 hook kick on a moving opponent, it does prepare the student for the proper mechanics necessary for well executed techniques.

 

Could the student learn the same technique using a heavy bag?

 

I say yes and no.

 

Usually when one hits a heavy bag, his primary concern is hitting hard but not quickly.

 

I'm sure you've all seen a big, slow (usually beginning) martial artist attempting to break a board with a slow, powerful kick that may knock a standing Wavemaster over but would do nothing but push a board holder back a foot or so.

 

The ability to break light objects requires a certain amount of speed.

 

A student learns this very quickly after an embarrasing board "pushing" test in front of friends and family.

 

The only reason I do breaking now is for demonstration. People really seem to enjoy board breaking exibitions because they can observe techniques in their pristine simplicity.

 

I was in a competition last night where I broke a board held 7-1/2 feet off the ground. It was a real crowd pleaser. It really wouldn't have mattered (to me) if the board was there or not, but something tells me that a jump front kick even at that height wouldn't have impressed anyone if that stupid board wasn't there.

 

And that brings me to my final thought; there comes a point where the board doesn't really exist anymore, and I think that is the essence of breaking, [which is] overcoming that mental boundry that says: If you try to break that brick, you could really hurt yourself!

Edited March 10, 2003 by Ti-Kwon-Leap

[KickChick]

Very well said... thanks for that post.... and hey where have you been???

[ZeRo]

very well said and like kickhick said where you been!

 

today i did a palm heel brake and a front elbow strike break. be proud for me!

[Ti-Kwon-Leap]

I've been here quite a few times lately but I mostly just read posts and absorb...

 

And... way to go ZeRo!

[ZeRo]

thanks Ti.