Is the Wood Boards Used Fir Martial Arts Thinner
Last calendar week I talked about why some schools break a lot of boards, why some schools don't break boards at all, and why we're somewhere in between. This week I'd like to talk a bit about breaking itself. There are a lot of myths out there about breaking. Many of them are perpetuated by martial artists – sometimes nefariously, but near of the time out of ignorance.
While you can theoretically pick up anything you'd like for a breaking sit-in (information technology doesn't even have to be forest!) most schools utilise small variations on the same basic concept. Schools that do serious breaking by and large use some variation of a 12 inch by 12 inch white pine board, effectually 1 inch thick. That's an approximation because most martial artists will just go to the hardware store and past standard lumber (it's what I do). Standard lumber doesn't come up in perfect one inch increments considering it shrinks after it'south cut.
What I ordinarily do is purchase a long 12×1 lath, in whatever length is virtually economical on the day I'yard at the store. Then I'll get them to cutting it into 12 inch sections. However, a 12×one board is commonly actually 11.75 inches by 0.75 inches, or very close to that. As well, having information technology cut into 12 inch lengths ordinarily means that the final one is closer to eleven inches.
I buy white pino. Equally I mentioned last week, some schools use even softer forest such as balsa (thankfully this isn't very common these days, equally it'south besides like shooting fish in a barrel to have it embarrassingly pointed out during a demo). Don't buy hardwood similar oak, cherry or ash. It'll break your hands. Merely as importantly, do not buy pressure treated lumber (more on that in a infinitesimal).
A standard 12 by 12 white pine board takes about 1100 newtons (roughly 250lbs) of force to break. Because forest is a natural fabric, that varies a fleck from board to board. A rule of thumb generally taught to martial artists is that breaking 1 board is equivalent to break 1 rib. This is, sadly, one of those incorrect myths taught to most martial artists by their instructors and never questioned. Safety studies washed by the Society of Automotive Engineers show that it takes about 400lbs of force to break a rib. That varies a bit depending upon which rib (the smaller ones at the lesser of the rib muzzle pause easier than the thicker ones at the top of the rib cage). 250lbs might crack one, simply it'due south unlikely to suspension i.
250lbs isn't that bad. The average developed male in the US ways just shy of 200lbs. It doesn't have super great technique to come up up with another 50lbs of strength – but it does take good technique to properly protect your hands, feet, or whatsoever else you might exist hit with. That'south why I don't take brand new students doing board breaks, whatever marketing advantages might come from information technology. I don't allow students to do breaks until I'm comfortable that their form is sufficient to prevent injuries.
For simple breaks the board is placed or held between two supports. The first intermission I have nearly students do is with a down hammer blow, so the board is usually placed on two cinder blocks. The blocks are situated in such a mode equally to hold the board steady just with the maximum altitude betwixt the two blocks. For breaks that use techniques such as a punch or a kick the board is normally held past one or two people, but in a similar manner. The arms are posted strong on either side of the board, with the minimal amount of hand coverage necessary for grip. Either fashion, this represents the "width" of the board.
The wider the board is the easier it is to pause. If you've e'er snapped a stick over your knee in the woods then y'all've likely discovered this for yourself. Going wider than 12″ results in boards that are ridiculously easy to break. Going less than 12″ broad can consequence in boards that are very hard to break.
The last dimension is the height of the board. For adults, I use standard 12″ height boards. For children we go smaller – 10″ or 8″. Some schools get as depression as 6″ or even four″ boards. My personal stance is that if the child is immature enough to demand a board that small he probably shouldn't be breaking anyhow because his basic are nevertheless in development. Even with the older children, I do less breaking than I practise with adults – and I don't do all that much with adults.
One final play tricks that some schools play is to bake their boards or bricks before they pause them. Yes, bake in the oven like a cake. Baking the wood or brick removes wet which makes it much easier to pause. This trick is washed with bricks far more often than with wood. From a distance you lot tin can't tell that the brick has been baked – unless you see a giant puff of powder when it'southward broken.
On the flip side, never intermission a lath or a brick that is wet! That reinforces the textile and will very likely break your hand or human foot – particularly if it'southward a brick! Get breaking materials that have been kept dry and exist certain to continue them dry out before your breaking session! For the same reason, avoid pressure treated lumber and go only the untreated variety. The chemicals they treat it with will retain a lot of fluids (not water but chemicals) in the wood and make it much harder to intermission. I once witnessed a belt examination where the student had been assigned to purchase his own boards and he absolutely could not intermission the board. The instructor later pointed out that it was pressure treated, and that was why.
Higher up all, if you're going to do any breaking have somebody effectually who knows what they're doing – and fifty-fifty and then, exist careful. Information technology can be fun. It can bee a good fashion to prove to yourself, and others, that you're capable of generating a lot of ability in your blows. But if yous're not careful it can be a brusk road to a serious injury.
Source: https://spiritmadesteel.com/the-basics-of-board-breaking/
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