Breaking?

trackercasey76

I've done a lot of board breaking both for fun and in competition. I'd like to break some bricks but I've never even seen it done live. What are the precautions and prep work that go into this? I've done some research on the web and it sounds like there a lot of cheater type breaks going on at demos.

Out_of_Bubblegum

I've done some brick breaks (though I probably won't be doing any more in this lifetime.) - and agreed on the demo breaks... Spacers and over-baked bricks pretty much rule the day, and because of this, they are generally seen as a parlor trick more than breaking prowess.

1 - Choose a material that is consistent in size and strength. Concrete is a bad choice, as it hardens over time. Clay tiles are good, as long as you get the same type each time you buy. You don't want to end up thinking 2 bricks is doable, just to find out your latest purchase is 3x stronger than your previous. Clay

2 - Spacers: bit of controversy here.. if you want to break more than a 2 stack, they are pretty much required for most mortals as they greatly reduce the amount of extra force needed for breaking past the first in a stack...

3 - My main advice is to start easy and work your way up gradually... Bricks can be VERY unforgiving if you take on too much.

trackercasey76

I saw a video of a high school classmate (female, 40ish, 130 pounds on a good day) breaking 7 bricks with an axe kick for her Green belt test. I have to think these are some kind of prop brick.

Out_of_Bubblegum

Axe kick can be pretty powerful, and speed counts for a lot of the power, so that helps negate differences in body mass for power.... but... 7 as a green belt? On a belt test? (As an instructor I would never have compulsory brick breaks on a test.. if it's a legitimate break, they risk injury... and if not, then it's a confidence stunt.)

Yeah, that fish is a bit stinky.

Soy_K

dang and I thought this thread was going to be about breakdancing