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This weekend I overheard a woman describe her karate class and how tough it was. And also how she had to break a conrete block as one her requirements to recieve a black belt.

My question is why do people have to go through breaking wooden and conctrete blocks, etc. in some forms of karate? It's not like your ever going to go against a block as your opponent. I just don't get the point.

I cant really speak for Karate, but in Kung Fu we do a tremendous amount of body conditioning, hands, fist, arms, legs etc. We constantly "bash" our various parts on heavy bags, concrete blocks etc. The end result is that you can break concrete and wooden blocks. not that you will ever break these things in the real world but you are now stronger, your bones density actually increases over the years of conditioning. The more dense your bones are the stronger they are making you a stronger, more effective fighter.
Hope this helps...

only a few styles do Tamishiwara, Shotokan does not and we dont think much of it. I have never seen a board attack someone.

Bone density excersises. A friend of mine who does Wing Cheung breaks coconuts open with a single palm strike.

man I would hate to be a coconut around him!!

I saw in one of the forums where a guy.....Grandmaster Doo Wai I think was his name, broke a coconut with his palm...it was pretty funny actually. Every time he boke the coconut there was no milk that came out of it and it broke perfectly center and in a straight smooth line......

if i can find the video I will post it, purely for the humor of course

here is one that looks real

http://www.ironpalm.com/CreativeBreaks2004.wmv

still looking for the fake one

breaking fruit, nuts, vegitable, glass bottles and wood is not really going to make sure you can fight.

I tried it all...well not a coconut...or bannanna! But I gave it up when I realized I was throwing time away on that when I could be working on fight skills.

great point, ther was a show on TV, Fight Science, there was a guy on there that could drive his shoulder through a 6 foot wall of ice! But like he said, its a great party trick but not real effective against a moving target.

well i dunno know i bout u but if someone cant punch throw a concret block, i dont want him punchin my head. lol

This reminds me of Frank Dux!!! Bloodsport. You guys remember that movie?

It's been on Versus for the past week. It's so corny.

Breaking is for learning techinque , without the proper techinque you will not break it or hurt yourself in the process. That is all. It is not for toughing you up, just to help you learn proper techinque. Doesn't matter how strong are tough you are with the proper techinque you can break a concrete block but without it you will probably just break your hand.

DiceandSlice wrote:Breaking is for learning techinque , without the proper techinque you will not break it or hurt yourself in the process. That is all. It is not for toughing you up, just to help you learn proper techinque. Doesn't matter how strong are tough you are with the proper techinque you can break a concrete block but without it you will probably just break your hand.

My question has always been why would I want perfect technique to break a concreate slab when it is different techniques used in Combat? I think that the modern Tamishiwari has changed ALOT since the days of early breaking.
Most traditional karate schools have dropped it because of the "horse and poney" effect it gets. Some big guy standing their breathing like a Buddha and then BAM he hits a doctored up target and it breaks. Big deal!
I saw a demo by Kanazawa Sensei were he lines up against 8 guys holding wood and then just breaks all of them, some two peices some holding four or five with no spacer. That might have been impressive but it was the way he did it. If you stand their and think about it before striking you are already dead man!
If you have to stand their and focus the whole exercise is a waste of time for combat training and is a waste of time for technical training. Go hit a punching bag!

ok Kensei point taken. But does hitting a punching bag teach you anything. I know people who punch bags all day long does it help them be a better fighter, No not unless the are taught the proper way. Breaking is not a great learning techinque but i dont think it is totally useless either. It was never a major thing we did in training anyway, just a very small part and alot of the demostration breaking and stuff is crap just for showing off or trying to recruit people. But it does also teach you to punch through the target also. Just a matter of opinion, I dont think much emphasis should be put on breaking but being total useless i disagree with. But it is ok to disagree.