How do martial artists break the pile of bricks?

[Barnabas]

Is it the speed of their hit? the strength? something else?
What is the trick?

[joncha]

With their hands.

[Datajack Franit]

Martial Arts= Artists

[OzzyKP]

Their fists turn to iron.

[Ecthy]

It's Chi. Also works in other situations. A friend of me just told me how a Chinese middle aged woman astonished him by pushing him through a large room (from one end to the other) with just one push to his torso and he had no chance of resisting.

The way you perceive your body is, partly, culturally trained. Do Asian martial arts and you will learn this.

[Victor Galis]

Meh... no, I'm pretty sure it's in technique. I once broke a black key on a piano with a horizontal stroke. Snapped the portion that was above the white keys off clean. Not that I was intending to, but that's a fairly solid thing to break with one's hand, accidentally.

[Ecthy]

Technique is what I was talking about. You just wouldn't understand how to do it without grasping Chi.

[Bosh]

Originally posted by Ecthy
Technique is what I was talking about. You just wouldn't understand how to do it without grasping Chi.

[Cort Haus]

The trick is to weaken the bricks somehow prior to hitting them.

[Ecthy]

The trick is to concentrate on the aim and trust that your body will follow, rather than stressing singular muscles. If you have sufficient understanding of your body the relevant muscles will do their work.

The Chinese lady I was talking about was doing exactly that. She just pushed him with all the force of her body, not just with her arms as a Chi illiterate would.

[Eli]

Mysticism.

[mrmitchell]

Practice and training in the proper technique with which to hit a brick.

As a kid in Taekwondo classes we would break little plastic boards that could be put back together. There wasn't really much instruction other than the motion to hit it (some retards probably tried headbutting it). The instructor remembered the strength of the board we could do, and gradually gave us stronger boards. The crowning achievement was to break a wood block, though, instead of a brick one, at least for the youth class I was in.

So, to answer your question, some of the brick breakers have probably been practicing it all their life. Sooner or later one gets the techniques (and focus, chi, etc.) down.

[Ecthy]

Focus

Thanks that's the word I was looking for.

[Ecthy]

Mysticism

Come on guys it's not like I was talking about spiritual energy or some bull****, just that it would be very hard to achieve with the average western understanding of body motion.

[Grandpa Troll]

As a student and then later teacher in Martial Arts, one learns from day one technique,focus,discipline and eventually power.

You hit the heavy bag so you know what happens when a fairly solid object is hit.

The board breaking techniques allow you to focus on technique then power.

You "focus" on the rear of the target your hitting to release your energy.

A turning kick (similiar to a roundhouse kick) uses the ball, where the Hook kick or even the Axe Kick or wheel kick uses the heel, all focus where they want the impact to be felt.

If you breaak 4-One inch thick boards with a step behind side kick or even a reverse punch, you simply line up so that the full extension of you technique releases well within the boards.

Bricks and blocks work on same theory and application.

The most difficult that i have attempted or seen are the speed break where limited holding of the target takes place. In breaking boards often humans hold them or even sometimes a vice of sorts. Speed breaking is when someone simply holds the board out and doesnt really hold firm in place.

Someone once said a board doesnt hit back. This is correct. But breaking boards help one understand what kind of force needs to be focused and then released to impart destruction.

One doesnt need to be the biggest and the baddest to break. Practice and then these techniques will become second nature. Ceertain Ryu's practice specific breaking while some styles dont. I know from personal history Japanese (Oakinawan),Korean and Chinese styles do.


This was my 1st Gup certificate, which is Red Belt double Black tip, right before 1st Dan or Black Belt test.

Bruce K. Cronkite a.k.a. Gramps "Breaking Bread and chicken wings now"Troll