Why do you see people breaking several boards with a front kick but people are rarely hurt by a front kick?

Question

I see people breaking boards and cement block with TKD kicks and yet people seem to be able to withstand these kicks. Why is that? If someone can break two boards with a kick, you'd think that it would be debilatate whoever it hit but apparently not? Why is that?

Answer 1

I don't know about other dojos, but we never used "fixed boards". There would be green ones mixed in, some with horrible knots in them. A 3/4 in. thick board is the equivalent of an average rib bone. There are different types of kicks and different types of strikes, controlled or power. Many times for breaking, you would use a controlled strike or kick.
The reason that you need to learn both, is that you don't necessarily need to kill someone if they are bothering you. You use force for force, check your local statutes, a martial artist should know the laws.
You also need to have a fairly good knowledge of anatomy. It is not only knowing the strike. but WHERE to put it. A front kick to the stomach probably wouldn't do much damage, maybe knock some of the wind out,use it in combination with other strikes; a front kick to the kneecap would probably break the patella; a front kick to the groin would put most men on their knees. There are many martial artists who skip this part of the training, thinking that learning the anatomy, learning the law, and learning the physics isn't important.

Answer 2

TKD is not about hurting people so we hold back and control our kicks when we are in the ring. When I was fighting I never went out to hurt anyone nor did I purposely cause anyone pain. Boards shows that control, speed and power without breaking bones.
One time I did get into a real fight outside a control area and I did a spinning back kick in the guys chest and in that split instant when I kick him I wanted to hurt him. I only use half my power that day. I now wish to god that I never did it and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about the damage that I did in my anger. There is more power in the kicks then what you think or feel. Just because we control our kick we forget just how powerful the kicks really are.

Answer 3

Breaking Boards and Cement blocks looks impressive. Some people do cheat and some people don't. As far as people aren't hurt by a front kick, I'm not sure where you got that stat.
The front kick is fast, damaging and can set up an opponent to be off balance. Getting kicked in the knee, hip, groin, chest with a front kick can ruin your attack, your day or the body part that gets hit. I've been hit and I've hit pretty hard with the kick, I like it, it works.
If you were referring to the tournaments, the object is to score not to destroy your opponent.
Best of luck.

Answer 4

I think that maybe what you have seen is only competetion where power is strictly controlled and contact is all that's required for the point. Don't forget that a kick is very slow compared to a punch and people have more time to get out of the way or block so that takes even more power away from the kick.

On the other hand, I have seen people knocked to the ground while holding a target bag for someone with a powerful kick, so I know that person would have been seriously hurt if that bag wasn't there.

Answer 5

because breaking board is basically a party trick to try impress the ignorant into enroll into their gym.

In most case (about 95% and of course everyone here will claim their gym use non treated board) the board are often baked or go through other process to make it brittle. If you want to really see how hard they actually hit, sneak in a couple raw and untreated wood board and have fun :-)

To answer the question about why it don't hurt people. It's because the board are treated beforehand so it's brittle (I have seen them break in half from being dropped). The water have been evoporated from the board so it's as dry as bone and lose its flexibility. Then when the person hold the board the board doesn't move backward like as human body. Also the board have only two side being held so it cannot turn to either side. So when someone hit/kick it, the board have no where to go but backward, so it break into two.

So if human body got kick, the human body muscles and fats absorb the damage most of the time and the body either move back or turn. That's why comparing how hard you can hit with board is so stupid.

Well be prepare for a lot of hateful and hissy fits because no one like to be told that they break something that have been "fixed"


Oh and on other note, a front kick (or teep/push kick as it's call in Muay Thai) could end a fight if pulls off properly. However you need to have right timing to caught opponent off guard. but by breaking a board, it doesn't prove anything.

Answer 6

As others have said, breaking boards and bricks/cement blocks does not mean the martial artists can do that kind of damage in real life (some can, but not for the most of the time). When they're breaking things, they concentrate only on generating force and hitting the object at a precise point. But in real life, no one is gonna stand there still while you take your sweet time aiming and gather your energy to strike him.

It's still possible, but very unlikely.

Answer 7

I have not nor ever will "fix" my boards.

When breaking boards you are demonstrating the full power you have in certain situations. If everything is right you know you can cause X amount of damage.

When you spar, it's not the same. Now you are hitting a moving target which diminishes your power.

I teach board breaking for confidence and to test potential power. I teach sparing to develop reaction time, fluid movement, and practical power.

After time you can break bones and knock people out in sparring. When that starts happening you will know you are getting some where.

Answer 8

Breaking boards is a flashy display. The ability to break boards does not show you have the ability to deal some damage.

You can find videos of children breaking boards and blocks, yet they have very little power. Board breaking is a trick, a physics game.

Also in olympic TKD, the force used is very small, because it is a game of tag. The contestants kick very quickly with very little power. The object is to score a point by touching an area with your foot. This in contrast to other combat sports where the objective is to physically defeat your opponent. (clearly more logical in the world of combat)

Answer 9

Because breaking stationary objects require little skill and is just an ego booster for little kids. That's why karate and TKD are the least effective martial arts in a real fight. In a real fight, no one's going to give you time to concentrate your kick. You could break several boards by using a baseball bat, but in real life your opponent isn't just going to stand there and let you hit them with a bat.

Answer 10

Because unlike many people believe, the human body is not that weak. I believe somewhere on google, there is a video of a kyokushin karate fighter breaking two 6 in. slabs of ice with one roundhouse kick. The same guy (Matsui) also completed the 100 man kumite. Did he use full power? Yes. Why? Because he wanted to win. None of the 100 that fought him that day died from his blows.