skill or "trick" in martial arts?

Question

Do you consider breaking wood, brick, whatever to be more a martial skill that takes years to learn or a set or series of "tricks" that make it possible for anyone, to learn rather fast.
when I say "tricks' I mean, using spacers, heating the item, using set up boards etc.

Answer 1

I never saw the usefulness in learning how to break. As Bruce Lee said: "boards don't hit back"

Answer 2

I can teach some people how to break a single, solitary board in 20 minutes that does not mean every person or that they will break it every time or break it without hurting themselves. Also they usually take a lot of time to set it up and posturing before they actually perform their break.

The idea behind using spacers and breaking several boards is to demonstrate that a person can keep their joints from twisting or bending and their technique from losing it's power as it travels through the boards and continue to make direct contact. That is harder than just breaking a single solitary board just for the above reasons. A good, experienced breaker can usually break 3-4 boards back to back without any spacers with their stronger techniques on a power break. They can usually do speed breaks also where there is no resistance and with the board moving like being thrown in the air or just being suspended.

As for heating boards it is to get some of the sapp out and dry them out. They do become more brittle the dryer they are but don't rip like green boards. Green boards give and flex more and the ripping causes gashes and cuts when breaking them as your hand or foot passes through and yes-they are harder to break. They also are harder for the holder to hold firmly enough since they give and flex as contact is being made. Thats why dry pine is the best to use because of the grain not oak, beach, maple or something like plywood! Bricks and concrete also come in varying degrees of hardness and not all are appropriate for breaking.

Breaking is an exhibition of the power, speed, and skill with which a person can excute a technique. An experienced breaker can usually do some fairly remarkable things far and above what the average martial arts student or untrained individual can do.

Answer 3

I've never used any "tricks" to assist in breaking. It ruins credibility when discovered. Yes, the techniques can be learned quickly and be done by anyone, but it takes conditioning and repetative training to get to the level of seriously heaving breaking (more than just one or two boards/tiles/blocks, etc.).

The reason for breaking different materials is that it prevents injuries to others. Have you ever heard someone say they could break someone's arm with a single blow, then actually break their are in a demo? Its a lot more impressive (and safe) to properly demonstrate such power using other materials.

Answer 4

Both are employed by different people. There is skill involved in breaking. Speed and angle are important. I am not a fan of breaking. I don't see any reason to do it, but a lot of people are impressed by it.

I have seen our instructor "cut" an unopened coke can in half with his hand. Speed and angle were important, but so was the holder. He had to hold it firm and expose most of the can.

Different types of wood are harder to break than others. There are different grades of concrete blocks as well. Heavier, more dense is harder to break.

Some of the "tricks" people employ include drying materials - wood or concrete. This makes them less flexible and easier to break. Concrete is actually easier to break than wood due to less flex.

Ice breakers will sometimes put a hair or a thread in the water before it is frozen to make a small fissure in the ice.

And some people will use "sleight of hand" to break. In other words, they may make it look like a finger tip break, but actually curl their fingers in before the impact and straighten them as soon as they are through.

There are a lot of legitimate breakers out there, but there are more phonies I think.

Answer 5

Trick? that's an interesting theory you've got. It's not that hard to break one board. anyone really CAN break it, just through your arm or leg through it really fast. Breaking 3-5 does however take dedication to the Art. Training and determination. If that's considered a "Skill"

Answer 6

Breaking is a demonstration "trick". It can be learned quickly, and yes, there are also preparation tricks like you mentioned. A 6 year old can break a series of boards or tiles. It is just bait to get kids to join schools. It is not representative of what the arts are about.

Answer 7

Tamashiwari, if it's done correctly is a test of your focus and skill. It has no value to the bystander except as entertainment.

Unfortunately, at most demos I've seen there has been fraud: boards baked to the point that they break at a mere touch or jeweler's saws taken to bricks to make them break easily. Fooling the public seems to be the order of the day.

Answer 8

Skill, in our school we don't have gaps between the concrete tiles so 6 tiles means 6 inches and had to be broken with palm-heel this was the minimum requirement for black also we had to break 2 tiles directly on the concrete ground or wall with a open hand slap and another we also had to do was hold one with the left-hand and break it with the right hand. 3 totally different breaks that required 3 different focus points also years of conditioning,iron palm bags/training etc , i know in my earlier training if i wasn't prepared/focus it wasn't going to happen right, so for me the verdict is its real NO tricks.

Answer 9

It doesnt take years to do a break, depending on what ofcource, when breaking wood, especially more than one piece you need to know "how" to break it, dont know about spacers because we break them on top of eachother

I guess some people cheat, but breaking should be anything more than a test for yourself, ofcource those who need to build up an audience probably cut a few corners here and tehre to make it more impressive, but thats not the true way

Answer 10

boards are nothing to break with at least a couple month's training, but bricks and concrete slabs are harder to learn. it is a skill. all those "tricks" are for the movies, and doubting that is a very demeaning stereotype.

Answer 11

good question. I've seen schools where they throw the boards in the oven to make them more brittle.. so I've seen the tricks that make it so you can break more boards than you should be able to. But, I think there is a place for breaking withint a dojo. It's just not central.