Board Breaking Tips

One of the things I love most about Taekwon-Do practitioners is their unique openness to trying new things despite potential failures. Not the least of which is our exposure when demonstrating a board break at a test.

Everyone wants to break on the first attempt (including the holders!) All eyes are upon you as you stand there staring at those boards knowing you just have to hit it hard in the center, but knowing there is the risk for failure. Missing on the first attempt can be embarrassing and even physically painful. Then, one begins to feel disappointed in oneself, especially if the board holders were injured in the process.

Having had more than my fair share of failures in Taekwon-Do, board breaking and otherwise, I decided to share some words of encouragement and also explain how to use your mistakes and failures to become a better practitioner.

At our last test, I decided to give a demonstration and failed to break the boards on the first (and second) attempt. The poor gentlemen holding boards for me claimed dislocated thumbs and other serious injuries as a result. I’m very grateful for their trust and support and it is in honor of their spirit and sacrifice that I decided I must “go to the video tape” to make sure it doesn’t happen again. (This idea was inspired by Master Paul Hoppe’s book, “Way of the Poker Warrior”)  As the images below indicate, I made several physical mistakes. My technique was off. But I made a big mistake before I even took my first step. I failed to commit my mind to my success.

The last time I did a board break, it was 5 boards and I had never broken 5 boards before. But when I stepped up to do the break that day, I heard myself say out loud and in my head “I’m gonna smash these boards right now”. I felt it in my heart. I felt in my stomach. I didn’t just THINK it, I KNEW it. The result was success and I can’t lose the look of Ken’s face after I broke through. It was utter bewilderment as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened.
Contrast that with the things that went through my mind this time: “I SHOULD be able to break 4 boards. I’ve done it before. It would be really embarrassing to fail in front of all these people. I’ll be fine. I’m sure I can do it.

Now, having a good attitude and confidence is a very significant part of successful board breaking, but no amount of confidence will overcome bad technique. After my second attempt, I knew that I was missing the proper extension. I hadn’t “stretched the rubber band” far enough to create the elastic snap needed to generate the speed and subsequent power. At this time, I also heard the enthusiastic and electric words of my teacher, Grandmaster Kim: “Just pick your knee up and KICK IT!”

At that point, I got a little mad and I decided there was no way I was going to miss a third time. I decided I would intentionally make my first motion stronger and faster and pick my knee up toward the target.

So, what can you take away from all of this? What does this teach us about mistakes? First and foremost, mistakes can and should be corrected whenever possible.

In order to correct the mistakes, you have to go backwards in time.
What was the mistake? I didn’t break the board.
Why didn’t I break the board? I didn’t hit the center.
Why didn’t I hit center? My knee wasn’t high enough.
Why wasn’t my knee high enough? I didn’t have enough speed.
Why didn’t I have enough speed? I didn’t elongate my leg and torsoe enough at the proper angle in order to cause the proper snap.
Why didn’t I elongate properly? I didn’t think to do it.
Why didn’t I think to do it? Because I didn’t commit to my success and I lacked confidence.
Why did I lack confidence? Because I hadn’t warmed up sufficiently or practiced diligently enough.

I think this method of thinking can be applied to all kinds of mistakes in our lives. Usually, we see only the last consequence, the unbroken boards and feel the pain. Sometimes, we see the prior event that led to the failure directly. Only by continuing to ask “and why did that happen?” can we trace back to the initial mistake and the subsequent mistakes made further on the journey.

Why did I lose my temper at work? I was upset.
Why was I upset? My boss took credit for my hard work.
Why did my boss take credit for my hard work? Because I didn’t sign my name to it…….

I urge you to take a look at something that happened to you recently which felt like a failure and ask yourself the “why” question 10 times. See if it provides any answers. I humbly offer my gratitude to Tom and Brian for agreeing to hold the boards for me and promise to be better prepared next time!

Congratulations to our new Black Belts!

After training long and hard Kristian Frye, John Buck and Priscilla McCabe have earned their first Dan.

Master Kelly, a friend of Mr. Mannion’s was supposed to attend and administer the test, but due to vehicular issues was sadly, unable to attend.

The black belt test was long and tested their strength. The test started at 3:30 pm yesterday with a 2 mile run that all three completed under 18 minutes. Afterwards, the three took a written exam to test their knowledge of Taekwon-Do. At the promotion test that evening, the three demonstrated four different three kick combinations followed by four different forms that the three had learned in their training. The four patterns that John, Priscilla and Kristian showed were Choong-Moo, Hwa-Rang, Joong-Gun, and Won-Hyo.

The three showed the outcome of their hard work, with strong and percise forms. After multiple rounds of free fighting amongst the participants, They each had to perform three different breaks, as can be seen in the embedded video(s).

The three performed excellently and we are very proud to welcome Mr. Buck, Mrs. McCabe and Mr. Frye as black belts.

John Buck, Priscilla McCabe, Ray Mannion, Kristian Frye

Oneonta Taekwon-Do School picture July 2010

John Buck, Priscilla McCabe, and Kristian Frye earned their black belts on July 22, 2010

Thanks to everyone who came for practice in the park!

It was great to have everyone together. This was my first time bringing students to the park and I learned a great deal to make the next time even more fun.

We began with a simple stretch in the dojang with 25 students and then took a light run to Neawha park where we were promptly kicked off the soccer field. We lined up for some extended basics including “6 skipping side kicks”.

Our yellow belt and white belt students got to practice front turning kicks while our higher belts enjoyed the freedom of space to do sparring.

Thanks also to Karl (Kent’s dad) for keeping everyone safe by blocking traffic as we crossed the streets.

Special thanks to Mr. Davis and his wife Betty for the photos. Click on the photos to see a larger version.

Students enjoy some pizza to celebrate their accomplishments

Back row: Mr. Frye, Mrs. McCabe, Guaire, Alex, Jake, Finn, Mr. McCabe, Mr. Mannion Front row: Addison, Andrew, Sadie, John, Christina

Congratulations to our students who tested for Yellow belt this past Monday. Children were required to demonstrate basic techniques, self-defense, 3 step sparring and perform Chon-Ji. Finally, they performed cross-behind side-kicks to break a board and were given an oral quiz on Taekwon-Do.

Congratulations to Jake, Jaden, Alex, Christina, Addison, Andrew, and Guaire!

Below are some videos from our YouTube channel.

I stumbled upon this page and thought the man in the pictures looked awfully familiar.
In fact, it is Grandmaster Kim demonstrating the pattern Hwa-Rang.  I’m sure the pictures are taken from one of the editions of General Choi’s Encyclopedia.

Give it a look and bookmark it!

We’re very proud of our children.  All 10 of them have worked very hard and are progressing well.

We look forward to the promotion test on May 10th! The test BEGINS at 4pm so please allow the kids to arrive early enough to change and stretch.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Congratulations to all those who tested. This was a pretty large test. Thanks to Theo and Finn for their help in “producing” the videos. Thanks also to Terri for being the videographer.

Finn and Dylan

Theo

The Hills

The Cael

Red belt patterns, sparring, and board breaking

By the way, did you know that students have sort of a “home page” on this website?
You can type in http://oneontatkd.com/wordpress/tag/ followed by the student’s first name and last name separated by a hyphen in lower case. This url will bring up all archived articles “tagged” with the student’s name. For example, Dylan Winsor’s page would be:
http://oneontatkd.com/wordpress/tag/dylan-winsor/

The following was submitted to the Hometown Advantage for the October release.

Owen McCabe of Worcester earns 1st Degree Black belt

On September 24, 2009, Taekwon-Do International recognized 14 year old Worcester resident Owen McCabe as a certified black belt. Having trained diligently since March of 2006, Owen was invited to test by Oneonta Taekwon-Do instructor Ray Mannion. In addition to his training in Oneonta, he attended camps and seminars under Grandmaster Suk Jun Kim, a 9th degree black belt and founder of Taekwon-Do International.

For promotion to black belt, Owen was required to run 2 miles, demonstrate complex kicking combinations, perform several patterns, compete in 2 rounds of contact sparring, demonstrate 3 board breaking techniques, and complete a written and oral examination. In addition to physical requirements, students are required to explain historical and philosophical concepts related to their training. These include the tenets of Taekwon-Do which are Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-control, and Indomitable spirit.

For his board breaking requirement, Owen chose to break 3 boards with a spinning back kick, 2 boards with a reverse punch, and a jumping front kick to break one board suspended 7 feet off the floor.

“Taekwon-Do training develops a great deal of power in the practitioner and this manifests itself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. You can’t break 3 boards just because you have big muscles. It requires accuracy, speed, and knowledge that only come through disciplined training”, said Mr. Mannion. “Promotion tests are a unique experience. Our students share a special bond. We train together, we support each other, and we earn a great deal of respect from our classmates. It’s something nobody can take away from us. Seeing a fellow student earn a new belt is almost as fun as earning one yourself.”

Owen owes a great deal of gratitude to the support of his brothers Guaire and Cael and especially his parents Tom and Priscilla. Travelling to Oneonta 3 times per week consumes a large amount of gas and limits time for other commitments.

As a registered black belt in Taekwon-Do International, Owen carries an identification card and certificate with worldwide recognition. Wherever life may take him, there will surely be a Taekwon-Do school close by that will honor his achievement and welcome him among their ranks.

“Black belt is just the beginning actually,” said Mr. Mannion, a 3rd degree black belt. “It means he has developed the skills he needs to begin learning mastery. I’m sure Owen will be happy to start the next phase of his training and I hope it remains a lifelong pursuit.”
Pictures and video available at http://oneontatkd.com

There is a video clip which plays on the digital picture frame in our DoJang of Grandmaster SJ Kim performing a front turning kick to break 5 boards. After catching glimpses of the various frames in the video, I decided to do some clipping to highlight what I believe are the critical components. To see the video in full motion, please visit the page at SJKimTKD.com

Master Kim begins with his body facing away from the boards and the holders position the boards at a 45 degree angle from the impact of his eventual kick. Note that a healthy distance is between them.

Next, we see Master Kim’s rear leg extended fully. This reminds me of how a pitcher’s arm is extended prior to throwing. It also reminds me of a rubber-band stretched back to its fullest extent.

At this point, weight transfers to the front foot and the knee is brought up and pointed toward the target.

By the moment of impact, we see Grandmaster Kim’s rear foot turned all the way around. His leg is fully extended and the ball of the foot has made contact in the center of the boards.  Note the position of the arms which indicate that all momentum and energy is being transferred into the point of impact.

It would be short sighted to neglect the following detail. Upon follow through, Grandmaster Kim’s kicking foot has crossed the plane of his original line up. His foot comes down in a “modified L stance”.

Despite the pain of possible broken bones in his foot. The Grandmaster stands smiling!

The next time you are practicing your front turning kick in class, I hope you keep these images in your mind and make each kick as focused and powerful as if you were breaking boards.