A couple of years back, I was at my place with a friend, chilling and shooting the breeze, when we decided, hey, let's try to break a board. Yes, we were that bored :p
So, we picked up a wooden slat or panel that had been lying around in a corner of the apartment, unused. It was dense wood, not too thick but thick enough to have warranted a bit of uneasiness on how to approach the break as we had no formal experience of martial arts and the technique we'd have to use etc. He was a rugby player though and I was into fitness and sports so we figured it would be a fun little challenge.
So it was decided my friend would hold, and I would attempt the break as he was convinced the wood was too thick.
Standing there, I tried to think about what I've seen related to martial arts (films, demonstrations, friends who talked about it etc) that I could implement, together with my own instincts to try and accomplish the task without possibly spraining my wrist and looking like a total jackass lol.
First things first, as I'm right handed, I decided it was a no brainer to attempt the break with my right. Pretty straightforward enough.
I then remembered to become aware of my breath, and started to breathe in and out more deliberately and in a more controlled manner as a buildup for the attempted break. Having played sports and being into fitness, I knew how important breath was for all things physical and that it also helped to still the mind, as done in meditation etc for better concentration and focus.
Next, there was the consideration on how I'd execute the punch. I rummaged around in my memory and remembered a public karate demonstration I had seen once, where the people were performing kata. I had picked up that stance seemed to be another crucial aspect of the martial world, and stance is important in many sports as well. I also noticed how they were punching, tucking in the non-striking arm, forearm facing the ground, whilst simultaneously shooting out with the other arm in one fluid execution of movement. Correct me if I'm wrong but it looked like this helped with momentum, balance and explosiveness? So I decided I would try mimic it as best I could.
Regarding the stance, I figured for balance and steadiness during the attempt, I would stand with my feet apart, left foot in front of me and right foot behind me to help stabilize my upper body weight during the strike.
I also rememebered seeing a boxing video of a guy wind-milling his striking arm before a punch was thrown, as it supposedly built up a lot of power or energy in the arm and hand for more generation of force during the punch. Reminded me of those old Popeye cartoons lol. It seemed zany at the time and I had no idea if it would work or not but I was willing to give it a go and incorporate it into my strategy, just in case. I figured I needed all the help I could get.
The next thing I considered, was to visualize my fist passing through the board, before and during the actual attempt and to really believe that it would occur no matter what without a doubt in my mind. My friends and I had practised visualization whilst playing soccer and had seen some interesting results with that.
My friend looked doubtful as I prepared for the attempt. He didn't say it but I coud see it in his eyes but I thought what the heck, worth a try anyway.
So long story short, I implemented all of the above and remembered to exhale forcefully druing the actual strike. I didn't shout or kia or anything like that during the exhale though, I kind of just blew my all my breath out, as if I were doing a pull-up or something. I also leaned a bit forward with my hips to try get more momentum into the punch, clenching my fist tightly but not too tight, with my thumb tucked in to prevent injuring it. Correct me if I'm wrong, I basically tried doing what felt right or natural to me in that moment.
Next thing you know, we both hear an audible SNAP and both our jaws dropped as we looked with widened eyes, upon the two halves of wood on the floor.
It worked!
Most likely a very simple task for those reading this and some of you are probably saying, ''That's nothing, I do 100 at a time with my chin!'', but to us, it was a first time thing and we were quite shocked lol.
So my question is; was I doing the whole thing right after all or was I off regarding certain things before and during the actual board break? I'm just interested in the dynamics of it all and what actually goes into a board break or a break of any kind in the martial arts world.
Hope you found the story entertaining at least, from a layman like me with no formal martial arts training. I bet some of you may have even chuckled lol.
After that, I learnt that what you apply your mind to, you can achieve! Well in this case, it seemed to be that way :)
So, we picked up a wooden slat or panel that had been lying around in a corner of the apartment, unused. It was dense wood, not too thick but thick enough to have warranted a bit of uneasiness on how to approach the break as we had no formal experience of martial arts and the technique we'd have to use etc. He was a rugby player though and I was into fitness and sports so we figured it would be a fun little challenge.
So it was decided my friend would hold, and I would attempt the break as he was convinced the wood was too thick.
Standing there, I tried to think about what I've seen related to martial arts (films, demonstrations, friends who talked about it etc) that I could implement, together with my own instincts to try and accomplish the task without possibly spraining my wrist and looking like a total jackass lol.
First things first, as I'm right handed, I decided it was a no brainer to attempt the break with my right. Pretty straightforward enough.
I then remembered to become aware of my breath, and started to breathe in and out more deliberately and in a more controlled manner as a buildup for the attempted break. Having played sports and being into fitness, I knew how important breath was for all things physical and that it also helped to still the mind, as done in meditation etc for better concentration and focus.
Next, there was the consideration on how I'd execute the punch. I rummaged around in my memory and remembered a public karate demonstration I had seen once, where the people were performing kata. I had picked up that stance seemed to be another crucial aspect of the martial world, and stance is important in many sports as well. I also noticed how they were punching, tucking in the non-striking arm, forearm facing the ground, whilst simultaneously shooting out with the other arm in one fluid execution of movement. Correct me if I'm wrong but it looked like this helped with momentum, balance and explosiveness? So I decided I would try mimic it as best I could.
Regarding the stance, I figured for balance and steadiness during the attempt, I would stand with my feet apart, left foot in front of me and right foot behind me to help stabilize my upper body weight during the strike.
I also rememebered seeing a boxing video of a guy wind-milling his striking arm before a punch was thrown, as it supposedly built up a lot of power or energy in the arm and hand for more generation of force during the punch. Reminded me of those old Popeye cartoons lol. It seemed zany at the time and I had no idea if it would work or not but I was willing to give it a go and incorporate it into my strategy, just in case. I figured I needed all the help I could get.
The next thing I considered, was to visualize my fist passing through the board, before and during the actual attempt and to really believe that it would occur no matter what without a doubt in my mind. My friends and I had practised visualization whilst playing soccer and had seen some interesting results with that.
My friend looked doubtful as I prepared for the attempt. He didn't say it but I coud see it in his eyes but I thought what the heck, worth a try anyway.
So long story short, I implemented all of the above and remembered to exhale forcefully druing the actual strike. I didn't shout or kia or anything like that during the exhale though, I kind of just blew my all my breath out, as if I were doing a pull-up or something. I also leaned a bit forward with my hips to try get more momentum into the punch, clenching my fist tightly but not too tight, with my thumb tucked in to prevent injuring it. Correct me if I'm wrong, I basically tried doing what felt right or natural to me in that moment.
Next thing you know, we both hear an audible SNAP and both our jaws dropped as we looked with widened eyes, upon the two halves of wood on the floor.
It worked!
Most likely a very simple task for those reading this and some of you are probably saying, ''That's nothing, I do 100 at a time with my chin!'', but to us, it was a first time thing and we were quite shocked lol.
So my question is; was I doing the whole thing right after all or was I off regarding certain things before and during the actual board break? I'm just interested in the dynamics of it all and what actually goes into a board break or a break of any kind in the martial arts world.
Hope you found the story entertaining at least, from a layman like me with no formal martial arts training. I bet some of you may have even chuckled lol.
After that, I learnt that what you apply your mind to, you can achieve! Well in this case, it seemed to be that way :)
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