Board breaking martial arts?

What kind of wood, and how thick is the kind you use in martial arts to punch through???





Thanx

Board breaking martial arts?
Its what they call one inch pine which is actually only 5/8 of an inch thick and it comes in several grades but usually a grade one, two or three is what is used. Grade one is more expensive and is what you would use for building something that you would want a good finish on and for the grain of the wood to show through. Grade two has only minor blemishes and no knots while grade three has knots and blemishes. An experienced breaker will not attempt to break a board on a knot since that area becomes very dense and is much harder and will not break. So you see many of the Mcdojos using grade one which is kiln dried and has no cracks and is easier to break since it is very dry and less dense than grades two and three. It is also easier to break a board that is dry as opposed to a green one. You can usually tell how dry a board is by the feel and weight of it. A green one will weigh about twice as much as a dried one of the same size and be two to three times harder to break. I usually buy grade two, cut them in advance and let them sit around getting dried out for several months, That way they break rather than rip and cause fewer cuts and gashes as your hands and feet travel through them. If it is a need on short notice type thing then I buy grade one, already dried, and no knots to worry about.
Reply:i forget what kind of wood it is, but they are usually around an inch thick.
Reply:Board breaking never impressed me because it's always broken with the grain of the wood. Same with cinder blocks. They are always broken where there is the least tensile strength.
Reply:3/4 inch pine. it is a nice, soft, safe wood. Looks tough, but may as well be styrofoam. I am the father of two black-belts in tkd and the board breaking is a rule for advancement. It is mostly aim. If you want practice, buy a breakable practice board. They are plastic and break apart like wood would. You can re-attach them and keep trying.
Reply:Most of the board breaking is done with pine and is usally any where between half an inch to three quaters of an inch. This is for adult breaking children boards are even thinner.
Reply:Plywood for extra challenge. Prolly 3-5 inches.
Reply:My dojo uses 12 x 1 pine planks available at your local hardware store. The adults' are cut to 12" lengths. For the kids, we go down from 3-6".





Board breaking is mostly done for fun and to build confidence. It shows them that with focus and technique, they can actually do some damage. We don't, however, get into concrete blocks or multiple boards.
Reply:In my school I have my students use pine wood with no knots. Each piece of wood is 1" thick and the number used in each break is determined by their belt ranking. I.E my black belts are required to do a 4" break using a hand technique and 4" break using a kicking technique. But like I said.... total thickness is based on belt level.
Reply:First off, whether you or someone you know is a black belt in anything or not, especially TKD. Never mention it to anyone, this is thought of as impolite and bragging to its worst in traditional martial arts.


Board breaking is NOT a traditional practice in martial arts. However, the application can be used to measure your strength (not aim, if you strike correctly you'll break it).


1 Board = Arm, 2 Boards = upper arm, 3 boards = a leg. This is with someone holding them. Not the whole pencil spacer I can punch through twenty boards thing.


It does look cool and you feel great punching through one (Gratifying). Go with 1 Inch Pinewood (12" x 12") . It's cheap and you can break it without injuring yourself, but if you don't strike right you'll feel it.


My buddy tried oak . . . he doesn't want to talk about it . . . and he'll never try it again . . . I suggest not trying it either.
Reply:Typically their pine boards about 1/4" - 1/2" thick. You can use any kind of wood though. I would not use a very hard wood like an oak though if you is just starting out.
Reply:Much depends on the martial style, and the purpose of the break. Typically for testing, training, and normal demonstration purposes the wood is 12"x12" pine that is 3/4" thick. Standard 12"w x 5' or 6' long pine planks are simply cut in 12" squares to create the boards.





Breaking has many purposes. At the beginning levels it helps to focus the student on effective technique, it helps them to focus their mind and believe in themselves, it helps them to concentrate and meet what is a mental challenge for most. Breaking a single pine board is fairly simple for most people, and as others have pointed out, you simply apply enough force to cause shearing of the grain.





Breaking can include other materials which increase the difficulty of the break, and for seniors these continue to develop weapon use, power distribution and effective application, proper concentration and exclusion of distractions, adn a greater understanding of the individuals ability and force potential.





The watchword most instructors always remind students of when breaking is the familiar "It doesn't hurt if you break, it only hurts if you DON'T break." In other words, if you believe in yourself, apply enough force, and hit the board in a reasonable place (not the holders hands) then it will break and you'll be fine. If you lose faith, don't apply enough force, or hit the wrong spot and the board does not break, all the energy you exerted will be returned to you.





You should really only consider breaking with your instructor/s supervision. They can ensure everything is set up properly, the materials to be broken are suitable, and that you have a good idea of how to complete the break without hurting yourself. I have seen people bring hardwood boards, reinforced bricks, and other crazy things to try and break before.





In demonstrations, purely for the entertainment of the crowd, people will break many other materials such as blocks of ice (they are notoriously variable in density - and very messy as they melt), river rocks (very hard to hold on to and requires a solid edge like an anvil to force the shearing point), baseball bats, and roofing tiles.





I include breaking for all adults in my TaeKwon-Do programs from yellow belt on, but we also have a full training and instruction program that teaches students how to select materials, set up the break, protect the holders, and execute the break successfully and respectfully.





Hope this helps





Ken C


9th Dan HapMoosaKi-Do


8th Dan TaeKwon-Do


7th Dan YongChul-Do
Reply:mostly 12x12x1 pine, but we did have 12x12x2 oak and it will break :)