BREAKING BOARDS & BRICKS
There can be several questions and misconceptions on why at Imperial Combat Arts we routinely break boards and bricks, as well as other demonstrations of ripping and gouging, breaking staves with the shins or legs, kicking through cinder blocks etc. In addition people wonder what type of boards we use, and why we don't space our boards and bricks when we break. To answer these questions we can start with the most primary lessons substance breaking teaches which is striking through a target and combat distance.
“I takes a minimum of 12 years to reach the highest levels of bone toughening and body conditioning as the skeleton has completely replaced itself under the constant harassments of toughening. The average term of U.S. military service is less than 5 years, and most sports fighters retire by 8 years.”
- Mang Taan
- Mang Taan
COMBAT DISTANCE & FOCUS
A lot of untrained people strike at the surface of an opponent and fight from an arms length distance. In a combat system when striking to inflict significant damage or lethal force striking deep into, or through the target is what causes serious damage. One could liken this to kicking a door open, if you aim at the surface you don't generate enough force to actually breach the door. At the other extreme aiming through so far that the door flies open and you fall into the room out of balance could also be bad. So students use the breaking mediums to develop an important second nature ability of hitting with significant force, in such a way to cause significant, damage and yet still be able to quickly strike again or act against their opponents counter attacks.
BOARDS DON'T HIT BACK?
A common criticism of breaking boards and other striking targets is that "they don't hit back". This is true, and neither do punching bags, hand mitts, shooting targets, weapon pells, or any other targets used for learning and developing martial skill. Using targets for practice has been a fundamental part of martial training for thousands of years and is still used today to learn sport fighting, combat martial arts, and in the military.
The military has targets for hand-to-hand, firearms, artilleries, long range missiles etc. If its to be used as an attack, its been practiced first. There is an obvious distinction between training for combat and combat itself.
The military has targets for hand-to-hand, firearms, artilleries, long range missiles etc. If its to be used as an attack, its been practiced first. There is an obvious distinction between training for combat and combat itself.
HAND TOUGHENING
Hand and body toughening is one of the most powerful things developed at Imperial Combat Arts and breaking substance is an excellent and traditional way for students to test the progression of their body toughening. Toughening is a long process that is developed over time and cannot be rushed. When fighting without gloves in a real world environment the hands especially can take a lot of damage. Before the implementation of boxing gloves many fighters could only fight once or twice a year and many suffered from long term damage to their hands. Our ancient methods of hand toughening are a safe way to condition the hands to survive the punishment they are subjected to in fighting. Breaking a set number of boards and then over time seeing increases in that number helps show the progression of toughening. You can read more about our hand toughening systems here >>>
HOW MANY BOARDS?
At Imperial Combat Arts we use several types of material for testing and demonstration. The number of boards or bricks a student strives to break is dependent on the body weapon that's being tested. Even just one board with a single fingertip is a powerful demonstration of an advanced weapon that can deliver a lot of force with a small pointed striking area. With more pounds per square inch used, a heavy palm or blade hand strike may break many boards and be an equal demonstration. So it isn't just a case of how many but also with what body part, and at what distance from the target.
WHAT TYPES & SIZES OF BOARDS & BRICKS?
BOARDS: For our demonstrations we use 1' thick competition pine boards precut and shipped from the same companies that provide boards for the large competitions seen around the United States. These boards are solid wood and should not be confused with the powder filled target boards used in Taekwondo exhibits.
BRICKS: Many bricks used in martial arts demonstrations in China today use old school bricks that are fire kilned by hand in small batches. These clay bricks, which often have a black interior when broken, are fairly weak compared to concrete and American building standards. Our Instructor have broken some of these bricks even by just twisting them apart with bare hands. For bricks we use 8 in. x 2.5 in. x 24 solid concrete bricks, these concrete slabs are exceptionally stronger. We use these bricks because they are easy to obtain and factory made. With American building standards is essentially impossible to buy weaker traditional hand made bricks.
BRICKS: Many bricks used in martial arts demonstrations in China today use old school bricks that are fire kilned by hand in small batches. These clay bricks, which often have a black interior when broken, are fairly weak compared to concrete and American building standards. Our Instructor have broken some of these bricks even by just twisting them apart with bare hands. For bricks we use 8 in. x 2.5 in. x 24 solid concrete bricks, these concrete slabs are exceptionally stronger. We use these bricks because they are easy to obtain and factory made. With American building standards is essentially impossible to buy weaker traditional hand made bricks.
SPACED vs NON-SPACED?
When breaking boards a lot of schools space their boards with chopsticks or coins, and some schools like ours don't space the boards at all. What's the difference? When a stack of spaced boards is broken the top board breaks first, then the next, the next, and so forth. When the boards are not spaced its the bottom board that must break first requiring force to be projected through the entire stack at a much higher level to break the stack. We often demonstrate both spaced and non-spaced.
At Imperial Combat Arts we consider one board to be a stunning blow, two to be a disabling blow, and three to be lethal force, when applied to a vital target. If you've never attempted breaking a stack of non spaced pine boards its much stronger than it may seem in demonstration, and can hold your entire body weight if your standing on it. These boards can easily destroy an un-toughened knuckle. That's why in most demonstrations schools without our level of hand toughening only break with elbows and palms and would only hit with bare knuckles into padding.
At Imperial Combat Arts we consider one board to be a stunning blow, two to be a disabling blow, and three to be lethal force, when applied to a vital target. If you've never attempted breaking a stack of non spaced pine boards its much stronger than it may seem in demonstration, and can hold your entire body weight if your standing on it. These boards can easily destroy an un-toughened knuckle. That's why in most demonstrations schools without our level of hand toughening only break with elbows and palms and would only hit with bare knuckles into padding.
COMPRESSION STRIKES?
One of the routine demonstrations and tests you'll see at imperial Combat Arts is to demonstrate our power of compression strikes. We show this by breaking substance from a very short distance, in some instances just or inch away or in actual contact. This martial ability enables fighters to hit hard without pulling back to generate power.
DYNAMIC BREAKING?
Once a student is breaking with lethal force with a hand weapon, they begin working on dynamic breaking sets and patterns designed to transfer the striking through of force to actual opponents. Some of these strikes are at odd angles and quite challenging like over the shoulder, behind the back, two strikes at once, fast combinations, moving targets, or even free floating boards that have been thrown through the air.
To recap, breaking substance has a long history in martial arts training and plays an important role in developing powerful strikes, accuracy, and timing. Breaking shouldn't be attempted without training and direction from a Master, as it can easily cause injury. And Remember it's not just how many boards you can break, but how, with what part of the body, from what distance etc.
Keep your intent set on the ultimate goal which is to become a dynamic combat fighter.
Keep your intent set on the ultimate goal which is to become a dynamic combat fighter.