Competitive Wood Breaking

Wood breaking is a skill practiced in some martial arts traditions, such as karate, taekwondo and certain kung fu styles. The purpose of this type of practice is to both test and demonstrate the power and effectiveness of a martial artist's strike. Some martial artists compete in tournament format to see who has the best skills in wood breaking.

  1. Basics of Breaking

    • Martial artists practice breaking skills to be able to strike objects without holding back as one would normally do in sparring with a training partner. Wood boards are the most common breaking objects, but many other objects have been used, including glass bottles, bricks and roofing tiles. The fist, elbow, palm or foot can all be used to practice breaking. For an attempted break to be successful, the target must be struck with speed and power in the exact center, and the martial artist must aim through the target rather than at its surface.

    Breaking Competitions

    • Competitive breaking tournaments are sanctioned by governing bodies such as the United States Breaking Association and the World Breaking Association. According to an article by Drew Serrano on the United States Breaking Association website, breaking competitions provide a format for martial artists who wish to test the effectiveness of their techniques in a competitive environment without risking harm to their opponents as would be necessary in a sparring competition. The techniques of wood breaking allow martial artists to test what they are capable of when they hold nothing back from the performance of a strike or kick.

    Competitve Rankings

    • Competitive rankings in wood breaking can be earned through participation in tournaments sanctioned by a governing body. In tournaments administered by the World Breaking Association, coming in first place can earn between two-and-a-half and five points, depending on the tournament. Coming in second can earn between two and four points. Coming in third can earn between one-and-a-half and three points. Participating as an official at a competitive event earns the participant between one and two points.

    Breaking Materials

    • Martial artists have worked with a variety of materials for breaking, many of which were not standardized in terms of weight, density or wood grain. However, for competition wood breaking to be fair to all participants, it is necessary for the boards used as breaking materials to be standardized. Breaking competitions overseen by a governing body make use of standard boards in a variety of sizes, so the same boards may be used for both practice and competition.