In Taekwondo, you
will have to break wooden boards in order to show your power and
accuracy. For each belt test, you will have to break one or more
boards with the kicking and/or punching techniques that you are
being tested on. Here are some tips & information to help you
with your next Taekwondo breaking test. Also watch the
videos below if you need some ideas for
your next creative Taekwondo breaking test.
In order to
break your board, you need to kick/punch THROUGH
the board. Don't stop/slow down when you hit the board (or
it will hurt more and you will not break the board).
Aim for a spot that is PAST the board.
You can use
re-breakable
plastic boards if you want to practice
Taekwondo breaking at home.
Work on your
accuracy as you can injure your hand/foot (and the hand of the
person holding the board) if you miss the center of the
board. Most of the time, you don't need
overwhelming power if you hit the board correctly.
Consider wearing Taekwondo shoes if
your feet are getting injured during breaking. Less spinning
ability but more protection.
If you are a parent holding the
board for a very young Taekwondo student (i.e. 4 or 5 years old)
who needs a little help, you can "cheat". If you bend the board
inwards slightly, it is a little easier to break. Just don't
bend it outwards or your little Taekwondo animal will have a
much harder time. :)
In my Taekwondo
school, we have to break a large number of boards (and
concrete for the adults) with a variety of kicks and punches
for our black belt test.
Kids have to break
1/2 inch wood boards. Children going for their black belt test
and adults have to break 1 inch boards. The adults often use two
or more boards for each Taekwondo break (as they want to show off their
power).
For younger students, everyone does
the same Taekwondo breaking routine
during their black belt test. At our Taekwondo school, it involves about 16 different
kicks and punches (i.e. spinning hook kicks and flying side
kicks).
In contrast (at our school),
the adults have to do "creative" breaking for the black belt
test. They make up their own breaking routine in order to
demonstrate
their skills.
Don't worry about
missing or not being able to break the board. During a test,
most Masters will give you several chances. Just calm down &
focus on doing the kick/punch correctly. You will do great!
If you are looking
for some creative Taekwondo breaking ideas for your black belt test, here are some videos with exciting breaking routines. Wish that I could do some of these moves :)
