Breaking Cinder Blocks

[RJRKihap]

For my next tournament I would like to break a cinder block slab or two. I’m thinking a hammer-fist. I’ve only broken boards so far. Any input on the proper way to break cinder blocks would be greatly appreciated.

 

Ron

[TangSooGuy]

Actuaslly, if you have the fundamentals of breaking wood down, breaking cinder/patio blocks ought to be fairly easy. Cinder blocks are actually more forgiving than wood in my experience, in that if you hit them hard enough, they WILL break, while the same isn't always true of wood. that said, make sure you keep the blocks somewhere dry. Cinderblocks are like sponges, and get very dense and hard to break when saturated with water.

 

I usually break 3-4 at a demo, as the cleanup for more than that gets to be a real pain.

 

I'd suggest buying extras (you can get them pretty cheaply) and do the break at least once ahead of time- and try just one first, then add on. Definitely use spacers of some kind if you're planning on doing multiples- piling cinder blocks on w/out spacers makes the break exponentially more difficult. Also, make sure your base is solid- breaking on top of a soft, giving, or uneven surface isn't advisable.

 

I usually use a modified palm heel stike, incorporating the knife edge of my hand in addition to the palm heel. I find it gives me more power in a straight line than a swinging strike like a standard knife hand or hammer fist.

 

The mistakes most newcomers make to breaking cinder blocks, in my experience:

 

1. stopping when they make contact. The blocks MIGHT break if you use enough force, but you'll hurt yourself if they don't. Put your hand THROUGH the blocks, all the way to the ground if you have to. Don't worry about pain. you'll have a stinging in your hand if the break, but it will go away. If you worry about how much it's going to hurt, that's when you hurt yourself.

 

2. You may hit them TOO hard. Not really a big issue- they'll break, but there are some issues with this. They won't break cleanly in half- they actually explode into fragments. The first time I ever broke 3 blocks in a demo I'd never done it before, and didn't know how hard to hit the stack, so I hit it as hard as i could, and a fragment actually flew up and hit me in the face, and gave me a nice gash- not the worst that could happen, but i'm glad it dodn't hit me in the eye...it's just something to be aware of.

 

hope that helps...

[RJRKihap]

Thank you so much for the info. I'm going shopping this evening for some blocks.

 

Ron

[IAMA_chick]

just what tangsooguy said. go straight through it and don't let it scare ya.

[mskickerusa]

thanks, i have trouble breaking bmultiple boards becsue i always freak out. these techniques will help me even though i anm not doing cinder blocks.......yet

[tommarker]

ask your instructor where they get bricks for demos and what kind. man, trust me... picking the wrong kind of brick HURTS.