Things You'll Need:
- Seasoned pine boards
- Several weeks of practice
-
Step 1
Experts can break more than a few at a timeBefore You Go Chopping
My first piece of advice is to seek out professional karate instruction. Tae Kwon Do Korean karate is one form and there are many others. The Korean style tends to be light in the air and is well suited to my lean physique and long limbs. Japanese style stresses lower to the ground movements and judo, which is better for someone shorter and stockier.
The traditional karate chop is an actual and important strike. It is used against the throat, neck or to block a blow by the opponent.
The intent here is to show you the technique that you will eventually learn to chop a 1/2" board in half. Without proper training, you can break some bones instead of the board. -
Step 2
The strike zoneTraining
The key to proper technique is to strike with the tough pad on the edge of your hand as shown in the illustration. But before you ever set out to chop a board, you will need to establish muscle memory with the proper motion that will allow you to perform the chop and resulting break properly.
Hold the hand flat and rigid. Your hand should run straight out from the wrist and not be angled in the least. Tighten your fingertips to create even more rigidity. Don't bend your fingers but pull in on your fingertips to tighten the entire hand. Now practice chopping into the other hand, but not too hard, to get the correct motion. That fleshy pad on the side of your hand is the strike zone. DO NOT use the fingers or corner of palm where the bone is to strike an object. -
Step 3
Makiwara boardStriking Practice
Over time, strike objects with the edge of your hand karate chop style to get used to making contact and toughen up this pad. An advanced training technique is to strike a specially designed padded board which absorbs some impact but also gets you used to striking. This is called a Makiwara board and can be used for kicking, punching and chopping practice. -
Step 4
Select the right boardSelect the Board
The selection of the proper wood is important. Pine is typically used that is approximately 12" measured diagonally and 1/2" thick. It is properly seasoned or aged and not fresh cut.
The two keys to the strike are these. 1. Break the board with the grain and 2. Aim through the board, visualize your hand breaking though it to the other side. -
Step 5
Punching works, tooOther Methods of Breaking Wood
There are several ways to break boards as there are several ways to strike in karate. The karate chop is just one way, and perhaps the most familiar. But, with proper training, boards can be broken with punches, kicks and elbow strikes as well.
