Here's the thing: You have to have ONE thought and ONE thought only when board breaking. And that is, the board is already broken. If you were to have fifty thoughts in your head, your focus is split to like 2% on each thought. Not a lot of focus at all. But if you were to file the thoughts out of your head and organize them one by one, like in a filing cabinet, you can then take one thought at a time and put 100% focus on it. Then you move on to the next one quicker and get more things done, hence the secret to being productive. Life moves forward doing one thing at a time (Jack Canfield reference).
BUT, if one little itsy bisty thought enters your mind with that one thought, no matter how big the thought is, your focus is split 50%! I half! That's HUGE! So you can think "I'm gonna break it! I'm gonna break it! It's broken!" But that one thought in the back says "But will I get hurt?" You won't break the board.
Board breaking is about follow through, just going right through the board. No stopping! And like anything, the more you do it, the better you are, the better you feel, and less doubt and fear. When I apprenticed under my old master, I didn't get to do a lot of board breaking because I was the one holding for everyone else, I didn't get to practice it a lot, and I would go long periods of time not breaking boards. It was the ONE and only thing I lacked in my training.
HOWEVER! Training with my master long enough, he got me to understand that all our training is interconnected. When I was practicing basic components of one area like self-defense, it was also improving my forms in some way, which was improving my sparring in some way, which is why the way I was trained and the way I train others is SOOO effective. I could have students doing one thing, but they are actually working a number of things simultaneously! It was beyond effective! I think Randy Pausch called that a "head fake".
I understood this very young! When I trained my students in basements and backyards, we couldn't do board breaking. The first time they did board breaking was on my first Black Belt test I conducted, and it would be the first time in a year since they broke. I KNEW they would be fine, but they couldn't understand how they were really prepared, based on the drills in the other curriculum things I would do with them. I asked them to just trust me.
A lot of parents couldn't understand it either. "How could they break if they don't practice breaking! It's not fair!" But they're not martial artists, and don't understand what I know. When the test came, they did fantastic!
I now run into the same thing. I have not done breaking since my 3rd Degree test three years ago. Oh yes I have trained extensively, but not actually done the board breaking. And I set three goals for myself with the breaking. Tuesday night, I had one of my Black Belts hold for me, and I chose to do, for the first time in years a few very challenging breaks. I was expecting very little from myself, to be honest, and was expecting some bruises and ouchies.
The first thing I did was a three board SPEED turning back hook kick, where I spin around kicking three one inch sized boards where it's being held only at the top. I haven't done this break in over four years. Tuesday night, I did it in ONE shot, and guess what? I didn't feel a thing! I couldn't believe how easy it was for me. I thought something was wrong at first. How could that not have hurt me? Well let's try something else! I did a three board sliding side kick where I slide and use my heel. the boards were again one inch thick but wider than before, like a 10 inches vs eight, which adds up. Three of those boards is equivalent to five one inch boards of 8 inches wide, which is my goal #I'veDoneItInThePast.
I broke THOSE boards with absolute ease. I couldn't believe how I was surprising myself. Then I was going to do something I NEVER done before. Four board speed ridgehand, with the side of my hand. NOW I am expecting big bruises and bumps from something like this. After all, my lower body is MUCH better than my upper body. And I've NEVER done this, nor practiced it, why should I be able to break this!?
Well lo and behold I did it, with the exception of one board because I held back. And NO bruises! If I had enough boards I would have done it again. I amazed myself. It gave me some confidence in myself and it reminded me all the OTHER work trickled into this type of work and paid off. Now to increase the level of difficulty....it's time!
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| My final break on my 3rd Degree Black Belt Test |
ANDREW TRENTO
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