Breaking

Breaking

When I first started Tae Kwon Do breaking was a regular activity in class. Back then we had 2 two hour classes in Manchester on Tuesday and Thursday nights. During the first hour we would practice techniques and forms. During the second half of class we would work on One steps, self defense, kicks, sparring, etc. In between the halves we would have a 10 minute break, and during that break many students would work on breaking. Due to smaller class sizes and reduced class time breaking is not something that is done much anymore, which is a shame because of the positive effects breaking can have on a student, as well as the simple fact that breaking is required for Red Belt testing and up.
Whether you’re 6 years old or 66 years old breaking wood is a learning experience. You are able to take most any technique and see, if applied properly, it can do the damage your instructor has been telling you it could. Take a foot stomp for example. Most anyone weighing over 60 pounds could break a single piece of wood with a foot stomp just by standing on it and bouncing up and down. Now add one, two, or three pieces of wood, execute the technique properly, and get a good idea of what that technique could do someone’s foot. The same holds true for a front punch or a side piercing kick or any other correctly executed technique.

Tournament Breaking
Tournament breaking can be a tricky thing due to the many factors.
When choosing a break there are many different things to consider:
-Your rank
-Your size
-Breaking medium (wood, patio stones, or other)
-Number of wood (or stones, etc)

Typically, an 8 year old white belt is not going to break 4 pieces of wood with a round kick (although I have seen some pretty small students successfully break something I didn’t think they could). On the other hand, an adult green belt weighing 200 pounds should not shy away from an elbow strike through one board.

Another thing to consider is the degree of difficulty. These are things that make an ordinary break more difficult. They could be things such as:
-Adding boards
-Front foot kick
-Doing a combination break
-Being blindfolded
-Suspend the break (there are several different ways to suspend a break, we will cover those later)
-Free fall break
-Do an aerial break
-other various techniques

This is where an average break can get interesting. Lets break each level of difficulty down.

Adding boards: In a very simple way, two boards is harder to break than one board. I believe that this is self explanatory.

Kicking off your front foot: Simply changing which foot you break with can make your break slightly more difficult. For example, if you try to break two boards in a L stance with your forward foot instead of your back foot you are trying to build up more speed in a shorter distance with your kick. It’s a simple physics formula (Force =acceleration x force) and Acceleration can be measured by computing speed and distance….so, the more distance you have to build up speed equals more power to break your wood.

Combination break: Combination breaks require concentration and the multiple breaks being executed correctly in fast succession. While most students may be able to break one board with a front snap kick and break one board with a front punch in separate breaks, doing both in rapid succession may prove to be more difficult.

Blindfold: Adding a blindfold add as level of difficultly and concentration that students normally take for granted when they are able to focus with their eyes on the break. A blindfolded break requires the students full attention to detail and confidence in themselves.

Suspended break: A suspended break can be done several different ways. The holder can suspend the break, the breaker can suspend the break, or the break can be perched, unheld, at a certain level.

Free fall break: a break done in mid air require much more power and precision than a held break or a suspended break thus increasing the difficulty even more.

Aerial break: An aerial break requires concentration and accuracy. If not, injury could occur. Many aerial breaks can actually be easier than stationary breaks because the mass of your body in motion makes it easier to break.

Reverse: “reversing” a technique such as a hooking kick makes it more difficult due to the fact that you have to take your eyes off of the target for a moment, then recapture it in your sights before you strike it.

Other: “other” is a wide range of creative techniques that may or may not be described here. For instance, combining an aerial, blindfolded break would increase the difficulty of any break.

Some other examples:
Consider the simple foot stomp again. If I had two similar students doing a foot stomp through two boards where one was blindfolded and the other was not. I would have to give the edge to the blind folded student (although the edge is very slight in this instance) due to the perceived “danger” of breaking blindfolded.

I would like to finish this by saying that if you are choosing a break for a tournament put some thought into doing something just a little bit different. At one tournament I judged at I had 6 students do the exact same break (a downward palm heel through two boards) a couple of breaks didn't go on the first try and it all panned out in the end, but I suggested to all the competitors afterward to always have a different break ready just in case another student or students have the same break as you. Standing out in tournament breaking is just as important as the break actually going