Brick braking

[Fryia]

hi I have been having trouble braking bricks. I cant seem to get past this mental block, i know i have the power to do it but when it come's to doing it i can't. I know to aim past the brick and not to stop but i cant seem to do it.

 

If there are any tips out there it would be helpfull

[tommarker]

aside from making sure that you are attempting to break a breakable brick (and not some ungodly dense brick) it sounds like you're a little psyched out by the thought of it.

 

no one likes pain, and therefore causing pain to oneself or putting oneself in the position to inflict pain on yourself is difficult to get around.

 

remember the first time you broke a board? before you did it, were you worried that you might hurt yourself? i know i was a little concerned. it is the instructor's job to set the student up to give them a successful attempt: good wood, easy technique, competent holders.. etc. That way, the student suceeds with a minimum amount of pain.

 

so let's approach this with baby steps:

 

1. pick a strong technique: palm strike or hammerfist.

 

2. make a simulation with a stack of targets, kicking shields, etc. practice the technique on them, making especially sure to complete the motion after contact. This is what you want to focus on.

 

3. Practice the same break once or twice with wood.

 

4. visualize yourself successfully finishing the break. do it repeatedly. focus on making contact, and pushing through as the bricks shatter. this may sound cheesy, but a lot of elite athletes use visualization to "see" themselves winning the race, making the foul shot, kicking the field goal, etc. Mental rehearsal, going over the details of the actions at your own speed, is great.

 

5. go break that damn brick!

[spongebob]

I've heard that the bricks are put in a freezer overnight to make them more brittle. Or soaked in water and then put in a freezer. Makes me wonder how much of it is just science, like the bed of nails, or walking over hot coals, or dipping your sweaty hand very quickly into hot lead?

 

How much of it is karate? I don't mean to be ignorant, I have never tried to break a board or a brick. Not sure what it actually proves, as they don't hit back. Please explain why people want to break bricks or boards.

 

Is it a ploy to make you believe that you are soooo strong that you can break a board (like mentioned above, you need good wood ie: something that will break easily, good technique, and competent holders)

[Fryia]

Breaking boards or bricks is for mental groth. it teaches you to go through something and to just to it. if you get in the habit of getting close to your partner in class with your strikes then you get use to it. so if you get into a fight then you will just hit to the person and do little or no damage insted of through them with a blow. So by doing breaks you know that if you had to you could realy cause some one damage.

[VespaGuy]

I practice with a certain amount of layers of drywall (actually it's like drywall, but abit stronger...). 've been studying how to break it, how much force I need, and where my hand should be. I've learned a lot, though.

[Guy_Who_Fights]

HAHAHAHAHA. Okay guys, unfortunately this is the truth about breaking bricks. They are put in an oven to make them more brittle. You know how if you try to break a board and it is soaked all the way through, it is harder to break? Same thing. The worlds top breaking competitions actually have regulations about how long and at what temperature bricks are "baked" for, and they will openly tell you if you just ask what the regulations are so you can practice using their official terms. Brick breaking may have been real looooooong ago when bricks were of much lower quality, but unfortunately it is more science and less training today. I can say "less training" with great confidence because I have actually seen a performance by the Shaolin Monks (renouned for the "amazing feats" performed in their shows) where a monk was going to break a large stack of bricks. He took the top brick and gently hit it on a table to show that it was real; the brick shattered! Not just broke into two pieces, it shattered into about five. Needless to say I was very disappointed to see that it was mainly all gimmicks for even the top martial artists.

 

So anyway, try putting a number of bricks in the oven at 300 F. Every hour take on out (be careful, they will get very hot), let it sit for however long it takes to cool down, then try to break it. Keep doing this until one breaks, then you will know how long to bake them for. Don't just put two bricks in, it may easily take up to 5 or 6 hours to make the "perfect brick".

 

Good luck!

[Jussi Häkkinen]

Why would one want to brake a brick? Are they too fast for you?

 

Oh, you did mean breaking a brick...