I was a karate practitioner and instructor in my youth. Board breaking is really, really easy. The key is the boards designed for breaking are cut in their weakest orientation. Wood is incredibly strong going with the fibers, even a pine board is very hard to break long ways using a sledge hammer. However, if it's cut on its short axis, it's incredibly easy to break. Most people, even children don't need any guidance beyond, "punch through the board" to be successful. Breaking boards is more mental than physical. If a student is struggling or a novice, the person holding the board can hold their hands a little wider to make it easier to break.
Concrete is more difficult, but there's still a trick to it. The blocks you use for breaking have a bit of flex to them, but are also extremely brittle. So just getting it to flex just a small amount will cause them to break in half. That's also why you place spacers between stacks of bricks or wood. You're leveraging the flex of the material to break it, and stacking them without spacers makes too rigid to break.
I would say, kinda but not entirely. IME as a practitioner in my youth, I would say that breaking the mental barrier to throw a good punch is a thing that needs to be broken as part of the martial arts training. Another thing that a good training gives you and not many people understand is the preparation to receive a punch, not cower in fear and still keep a sound mind to try to recover and react.
Your board holders also have a significant input on your success. If they hold the board, but let their arms flex, then they absorb too much of the energy of the strike. They can make it easier for you as well, by flexing the board inwards towards them.
I've gone through boards with a one inch punch with barely any effort, and also failed several times, and it has always been down to the person or persons holding the board for me.
The only board breaks that are really impressive to me are speed breaks, where the board is either held one-handed (either by the person doing the break or an assistant) or is mid-air when struck.
Totally agree. But a long time ago I saw a take kwon do guy break stones like you find in a river bed with his fist. I remember later on I saw his hands and they were almost crippled. They were huge and didn’t seem to have too much movement left. I think he broke them many times and would grow a lot of bone that way. Same way some muay Thai fighters have super solid shins.
we had a guy at our studio seriously into this. you have to train a lot: hit bags of rice, then beans, then sand, then steel shot. eventually yes it tends to cripple your hands though that can be somewhat mitigated by rigorous mobility exercises and basically PT. still do not advise.
note that almost any fighters knuckles will be more solid as the lattice structure of the bone gradually fills in. that doesn’t cause as many mobility issues, it’s when you get new growth on the outside that problems start.
I did Kyokushin karate to Shodan. The board we broke were solid pine boards. They are definitely not "cut". My technique was a little off, and I wrecked my knuckles for months. They ended up permanently moved.
Not cut as in pre-broken (though I’ve seen that too), but cut as in the original action which turned the log into a board. The boards are formed the “wrong” way if you wanted strength, like for building.
Take one of your boards and hold it with the grain horizontally instead of vertically. Try not to break your hand.
Your hand might not break, but it still really painful.
Breaking a stack of 6 with a knife hand, my wrist would usually be sore and bruised up the next day. It would take a week or so for full mobility.
I still think most people in the world wouldn't be able to break 2 pavers with no spacers. :)
Interesting. I was doing this kind of stuff in high school, never had such problems and I don't know personally anyone that did (and I used to know a few dozen people practicing various styles of karate). In any case wrist pain suggests a very bad strike technique or weak wrist muscles.
It sounds like 90% grit and 10% magic trick, but you were an instructor so I’ll take your word for it.
I still wish to believe that the crème de la crème, or the top 0.1% of the karate world, can muster enough force to break concrete regardless of any tricks.
Breaking a board with some techniques is easier than others. The front-leg hook (also known as "whip") kick I personally found quite hard to break with, particularly when jumping. Two boards, no spacer, palm strike was much easier for me.
Ice is very similar to concrete pavers; it's both rigid (i.e. requires a lot of force to deflect), but brittle (i.e. takes very little deflection to break).
I think that people might be using "trick" in two different senses.
There's a "trick" to legitimate breaking in that the practitioner is choosing materials and techniques that lend themselves to breaking, but that doesn't mean that the actual break is faked.
On the other hand, it's also possible to fake a break. For example, you can cut a piece of ice in half, put some water on each end of the cut, and stick them back together in the freezer so that the ice appears to be solid but actually has a weak spot.
There can also be an element of showmanship. Even if a martial artist has done a break dozens of times, during a demo they might make a show of having to hype themselves up for the break, tensing their muscles with a dramatic hiss of their breath, etc.
Thank you! I saw that article and i was like "wait, what?? are they not aware that this is mostly a parlor trick???" I thought everyone was aware... No science needed, it's a trick.
I did martial arts for years and often helped out with the classes as an adult. We used to buy the cheapest concrete brick/paver we could get for breaking. Something similar to this:
There is a lot of variance in bricks. And honestly a lot of the cheap ones would break if you dropped them, or loading and loading them in the van...
Not to mention people would accuse us of baking them, or freezing them, leaving them outside for months or years, all kinds of stuff. But honestly we would buy a bunch of them from the home improvement store on the way to the demo at the mall or a school. You'd be surprised at how easily you can break one with the simple tap of a claw hammer.
It's just physics. The longer the brick, the easier it will break. Some demo rocks are much longer. The trick is to hit it fast, use the smallest impact point you can, and follow through. If you don't follow through you won't even be able to break a pine board. Theres some kind of psychological thing prevent most people from punching through a target, whether it's a brick, punching bag, or a board.
Walls generally have studs that are 1.5" wide every 16", so more than 90% of points on a wall are not in front of a stud. You do need to punch a few inches away from the stud to account for the width of your hand and to get enough leverage to break the drywall, so maybe expand the width of the hand-break-zone from 1.5" to 8", and you've got around a 50% chance that punching a random spot on the wall avoids a stud.
One of my friends had the "brilliant" idea of playing "drywall roulette." In a room about to be demoed, run headfirst into somewhere near the center of the wall. First person to hit a stud loses.
I punched a wall while mad and put a hole in the drywall. I didn't plan where I was going to hit it. I'm not proud I did that though. Firstly, for losing my temper, which is not who I strive to be. Secondly, it's obviously weak material. I'm sure a lot of people have.
I used to have a rage problem until about 5 years ago. I broke a number of phones in the few years before that, so I bought a rugged one. In my last ever bout of rage, I threw the phone at the wall. I expected the phone to break, but instead it made a hole in the wall. I spent ages researching how to fix it and in the end ended up using quickfill and painting over it several times. From that point onwards, I've always preferred handstand pushups when I'm feeling agitated.
I assume selection bias is in play: for every post on the internet there are many more who did break their hand and ended up in ER, they were just too ashamed to talk about it.
A kid I went to junior high school with said that he put his head through a wall--he was wrestling, and the other guy threw him. I was a bit skeptical, because I then lived in a house with plaster and lath walls, and had not encountered drywall. But I expect he told the truth
I did years of martial arts training, including the board breaking stuff. Then I made the mistake of stepping into the ring to spar with a boxer half my weight. He wiped the floor with me, using only one hand.
Yes, "martial arts" is a fun way to get some exercise and build a little confidence, but never make the mistake of thinking that you actually know how to fight.
There's an entire universe of difference between someone who takes martial arts classes a few times a week, and an actual trained fighter. I trained in boxing for a few years, and got to the point where I can trivially defeat an untrained fighter who's bigger than me, and easily defeat a less experienced fighter. But even then, against a professional fighter who trains all day every day, I'd never stand a chance. I once watched in disbelief as my coach defeated our star pupil (who was getting too big for his britches) with BOTH hands behind his back (basically just dodged and smashed him with his shoulder until he fell down). You simply could not hit him or even touch him, while he could pick any spot he wanted on you.
Fighting, like any skill, takes a long time to master. And there are no "mystical" routes or special ways or short cuts. Only hard work and regular practice in real combat.
“There's an entire universe of difference between someone who takes martial arts classes a few times a week, and an actual trained fighter”
To echo this, I have professional competitive experience in Muay Thai (and also in some other combat disciplines). My training schedule during this time was 2 x daily, 6 days a week with a 4km run before each session.
With this consistent routine training alongside other young, hungry and often gifted high level fighters, it takes something special for a hobbyist to join in a Pro session and not look ‘out of place’.
If you are training right, every angle, strike, and position is carefully mapped into muscle memory even for when there is nothing left in the tank.
Non competitive Martial arts are superb for confidence, but be very sure, there is (like you said) a universe of difference between an active professionally training fighter and a talented hobbyist.
Ah jeez, I was hoping for more about the alignment of structure in one's body to apply the greatest precisely-directed force (etc.), but it just focuses on the gimmicky stuff I find the absolute least interesting about martial arts (the showy "breaking objects" stuff)... The post should be titled "why our hands can break wood and bricks but not bones". The physics of karate are pretty fascinating, I would love to read more material that discusses the subtle differences of positioning, momentum/inertia, "spring action"/compression, all that kind of stuff.
Anyone have any suggestions for youtube videos on breaking concrete? My kid has an upcoming TKD black belt test and the master said she can do the concrete if she wants, but doesn't have to (she's 10 and very small for her age). I've watched a few youtube videos about this, but all of the demonstrators are grown men, and the seem to jump and use their body weight as they're coming down.
Suggestion - what about just not doing it? Like the article says - it's all physics. No matter fast and precise she is, a small 10 year old girl will have a harder time generating sufficient power to get the break without some risk. And for what? They'll still have concrete blocks around in 5 or 10 years when she's bigger if she still really wants to do that break.
My 10 year old is a hefty guy, and I'm personally not crazy about him breaking boards too much.
Yeah, we haven't had her practice for this reason. I'm not sure the physics works for a small kid. But the master wants all the kids to try, and he's instructed them on how to hold their hand to avoid injury.
Not sure why they expect a 10 year old to break concrete. It's not even worth trying, it's a completely pointless ability and your daughter can easily injure her hand smashing against a brick. Unless the goal is for her to be a sport/tournament fighter, but I assume the intent is to learn actual life-relevant self-defense abilities.
When I was in martial arts, breaking landscaping blocks with a palm strike was not difficult at all, but did sting like a hard high five. The trick is a stiff hand, but not so stiff as to be inflexible, and hitting mostly with the meat of your hand.
A regular punch or knife hand is much more prone to injury because of the more fragile bits being closer to the action.
I’m disappointed this was all about the stunt of breaking things. I study Okinawan karate and true masters generate tremendous power via the tantien and rooting into the ground. It would be interesting to read a western analysis of that.
Readit News
Concrete is more difficult, but there's still a trick to it. The blocks you use for breaking have a bit of flex to them, but are also extremely brittle. So just getting it to flex just a small amount will cause them to break in half. That's also why you place spacers between stacks of bricks or wood. You're leveraging the flex of the material to break it, and stacking them without spacers makes too rigid to break.
In short, this stuff is 90% magic trick.
I would say, kinda but not entirely. IME as a practitioner in my youth, I would say that breaking the mental barrier to throw a good punch is a thing that needs to be broken as part of the martial arts training. Another thing that a good training gives you and not many people understand is the preparation to receive a punch, not cower in fear and still keep a sound mind to try to recover and react.
I've gone through boards with a one inch punch with barely any effort, and also failed several times, and it has always been down to the person or persons holding the board for me.
That at least takes a measure of skill.
note that almost any fighters knuckles will be more solid as the lattice structure of the bone gradually fills in. that doesn’t cause as many mobility issues, it’s when you get new growth on the outside that problems start.
So maybe all karate isn't equal.
Take one of your boards and hold it with the grain horizontally instead of vertically. Try not to break your hand.
You won't see a piece of plywood being broken this way.
So you're saying it's all for show, like some 10 kilo barbell weights being ridiculously oversized just to soothe the ego?
Ego develops at higher mass.
It's meant to develop confidence.
I still think most people in the world wouldn't be able to break 2 pavers with no spacers. :)
I still wish to believe that the crème de la crème, or the top 0.1% of the karate world, can muster enough force to break concrete regardless of any tricks.
There's a "trick" to legitimate breaking in that the practitioner is choosing materials and techniques that lend themselves to breaking, but that doesn't mean that the actual break is faked.
On the other hand, it's also possible to fake a break. For example, you can cut a piece of ice in half, put some water on each end of the cut, and stick them back together in the freezer so that the ice appears to be solid but actually has a weak spot.
There can also be an element of showmanship. Even if a martial artist has done a break dozens of times, during a demo they might make a show of having to hype themselves up for the break, tensing their muscles with a dramatic hiss of their breath, etc.
Sometimes wooden boards are baked to make them weaker.
Only sometimes though.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/16-in-x-8-in-x-1-75-in-Pewter-Co...
There is a lot of variance in bricks. And honestly a lot of the cheap ones would break if you dropped them, or loading and loading them in the van...
Not to mention people would accuse us of baking them, or freezing them, leaving them outside for months or years, all kinds of stuff. But honestly we would buy a bunch of them from the home improvement store on the way to the demo at the mall or a school. You'd be surprised at how easily you can break one with the simple tap of a claw hammer.
It's just physics. The longer the brick, the easier it will break. Some demo rocks are much longer. The trick is to hit it fast, use the smallest impact point you can, and follow through. If you don't follow through you won't even be able to break a pine board. Theres some kind of psychological thing prevent most people from punching through a target, whether it's a brick, punching bag, or a board.
Drywall, however, is an exception to this rule.
Don't ever believe anyone claiming they "got so mad they punched a hole in the wall"; they would not have punched a wall if it was solid.
Notable exception is a friend of mine who punched a wall in a rage and broke his hand, lol.
Just felt like doing the math on that one.
Yeah that's not true man. You can get lucky and not hit a 2x4, it's not like it's impossible to punch a hole in drywall without advance prep.
Yes, "martial arts" is a fun way to get some exercise and build a little confidence, but never make the mistake of thinking that you actually know how to fight.
There's an entire universe of difference between someone who takes martial arts classes a few times a week, and an actual trained fighter. I trained in boxing for a few years, and got to the point where I can trivially defeat an untrained fighter who's bigger than me, and easily defeat a less experienced fighter. But even then, against a professional fighter who trains all day every day, I'd never stand a chance. I once watched in disbelief as my coach defeated our star pupil (who was getting too big for his britches) with BOTH hands behind his back (basically just dodged and smashed him with his shoulder until he fell down). You simply could not hit him or even touch him, while he could pick any spot he wanted on you.
Fighting, like any skill, takes a long time to master. And there are no "mystical" routes or special ways or short cuts. Only hard work and regular practice in real combat.
To echo this, I have professional competitive experience in Muay Thai (and also in some other combat disciplines). My training schedule during this time was 2 x daily, 6 days a week with a 4km run before each session.
With this consistent routine training alongside other young, hungry and often gifted high level fighters, it takes something special for a hobbyist to join in a Pro session and not look ‘out of place’.
If you are training right, every angle, strike, and position is carefully mapped into muscle memory even for when there is nothing left in the tank.
Non competitive Martial arts are superb for confidence, but be very sure, there is (like you said) a universe of difference between an active professionally training fighter and a talented hobbyist.
Edit: Grammar
My 10 year old is a hefty guy, and I'm personally not crazy about him breaking boards too much.
The examiner is just watching to make sure you hit with the correct technique and to hit hard.
She should just focus on that, and not be disappointed if she doesn't break.
Dead Comment
A regular punch or knife hand is much more prone to injury because of the more fragile bits being closer to the action.