by Phillip Starr
I
think it was in 1962 that I witnessed my first board-breaking
demonstration. I watched in awe as the black belt instructor
cut through three one-inch boards with his knife-hand. That was
really incredible! In a single blow he split those boards as
easily as if they were papier-mache. Such demonstrations were
typical of most karate exhibitions at that time and they remained so
until fairly recently. It would seem that many contemporary
martial arts practitioners feel that such displays of strength are
beneath them. The
Japanese word for this art is tameshiwari,
which refers to testing one’s strength and technique by attempting
to break various things like boards, bricks, and even stones.
Masutatsu Oyama, founder of the legendary Kyokushin style of Japanese
karate, once remarked that karate without the breaking techniques is
like a nut with no meat…and to some degree, I’m inclined to agree
with him. There’s more to tameshiwari than meets the eye -
more than most people suspect.
Many
karate, taekwondo, and kung-fu novices begin practicing tameshiwari
by testing their techniques against wooden boards. I still
remember breaking my first inch-thick board. I thought I was
Superman! I quickly fell in love with the breaking techniques
and I’ve practiced them regularly throughout my martial arts
career. At first it was all just a huge adrenaline rush…but as I
got older and more experienced – and being the philosophical sort
that I am – I started to really think about tameshiwari and what it
meant.
The
mechanical aspects can be daunting. For instance, wood doesn’t
really “break.” It tears. Bricks, concrete slabs, and
stones break. This can be an important piece of information for
those who are seriously interested in mastering the breaking
techniques. The intended target must be struck in the center
and the distancing must be exactly right. Otherwise, you’ll
just end up “pushing” against your target instead of delivering a
sharp blow.
The standard board
should be about an inch thick and measure 12”x12”. This
used to be the standard size for board breaking. The idea was
that if you could cut an inch-thick board, you could just as easily
break a human clavicle (which requires about 16 lbs. of pressure to
fracture). If you could split two inch-thick boards, you could
shatter a human arm or rib. And if you could break three
inch-thick boards, you could kill a man in a single blow. At
least that’s what the Kyokushin school taught back in the day.
Mind you, these boards were placed flat atop each other – spacers
were never
used and if anyone had attempted to use them I’m sure he would have
been laughed out of the building. Spacers allows you to break a
single board several times…you see, if one board has the resistance
of 1x, then two boards (placed flatly together) are 2x, three boards
are 3x and so on. However, if the boards are separated, they
all retain their single 1x resistance…so you are breaking a 1x,
then another 1x, and another 1x…which is not nearly as difficult as
breaking them if they're placed flatly on top of each other. The
same is true for any other material (brick or concrete).
Additionally,
some people have been known to bake their boards, bricks, or
concrete, making them extremely brittle and easy to break. I
once saw a so-called “master” inadvertently drop a couple of
boards prior to a demonstration and they broke cleanly!!!
In
time, I moved to breaking inch-thick bricks and then to full-sized
red bricks. I would split them with my knife-hand or with a
punch. This is no mean feat and requires a great deal of
practice. Eventually, I was able to cut a paver brick (about 1
½” thick, these are used to pave patios and the like) with my
spear-hand. Moving through these stages of breaking boosted my
confidence considerably and I began to realize that there was more to
me than I had ever considered.
And
let me tell you, if you really
want to feel like a superhero – take up breaking stones!
There’s nothing like it! It’s a super confidence-booster
but you absolutely must
learn how to do from a qualified instructor. My best break was
a large stone that weighed nearly 25 lbs. My right hand shook
uncontrollably for three days afterwards…and that worried me (I
never tried such a stunt again) but it did wonders for my confidence
and spirit.
I
reasoned that if martial arts masters of old could do it, I could
also do it – which is a pretty dangerous assumption, but God was
with me – and I’d try almost anything. I think my favorite
was the arrow-catch, which involves having an (highly skilled) archer
fire an arrow from a recurved bow at your chest from a distance of
about 60 paces... and as you turn out of the line of fire, you catch
the arrow in mid-flight. This isn’t something that I
recommend you try and it’s a technique for which you must train
regularly for a considerable time…but I was finally able to do it
and used to demonstrate it at special exhibitions. I mention it
only because it is actually considered a form of tameshiwari (even
though it doesn’t involve breaking anything).
My
point is this- training in tameshiwari will build spirit and an inner
strength that simply cannot be developed through any other means.
All martial arts
practitioners want to test their techniques and themselves.
They want to know if their techniques will really work but they also
know that it is unethical and immoral to go out looking for a
fight. Tameshiwari gives us the opportunity to test ourselves
without having to resort to physical violence; they act as a sort of
barometer by which the power of our blows may be measured. Having
said that, I must say that some of the most effective self-defense
techniques are not suited for tameshiwari.
From the outset,
the student learns that in order for the break to be successful, he
or she must aim at a point past the surface of the target.
This is often a student’s first exposure to the principle we call
“extend”; where the yi
(intention) goes, the qi/jin
(power) follows.
Unfortunately,
most of them never realize the implications of this seemingly basic
principle. WHERE YOUR MIND/INTENTION GOES, SO ALSO GOES YOUR
STRENGTH! Or…”As a man thinketh, so he is.” Think
about it.
If you want to succeed at anything, you must first
have the intention and commitment to do it. Your mind must DO
IT first. Your body will follow along naturally. Thus,
the mind “does the thing” in the unseen world…and that brings
it into the physical world. From unreality to reality (as we
perceive it)…
Here
is an addendum to the aforementioned principle…if you really
want to be sure of your success in a given break, you must first
actually see yourself
doing it successfully! Then strike without delay. You’ll
succeed. If you want to fail, see yourself failing or just
worry that you won’t succeed. Your failure will be pretty
much guaranteed. This applies not only to breaking bricks and
boards, but to life as well…and that’s
the lesson that must be learned! You’ll see (and acquire
firsthand experience) of how this principle works for tameshiwari –
and it’s easy to take it to the next level and apply it to life.
What you see, what you visualize, is exactly
what will happen!
Why?
Because it’s already taken place! At
least your mind thinks it has.
The old adage, “You can do anything if you just set
your mind to it…” is very true but lacks instruction. Just
how do
you set your mind to do whatever it is that you want to do?
Tameshiwari teaches you the “how.”
*When you determine
that the time is right, you must strike without the slightest
hesitation. If your spirit is in disorder, your strength will
be scattered. Focus your mind and fully gather your spirit,
then COMMIT yourself 100% to the task at hand, giving no thought to
anything else. There is no
possibility of failure!!!
*Then realize that
in many cases, the break you performed is not physically possible.
A brick is much harder than a human hand, which is made mostly of
water. How could you possibly shatter this object with your
bare hand? You could not do it - not just with your hand
alone. There is more to you than you can see. What does
this mean? Consider it.
*Through continued
practice you develop a strong spirit, an indomitable will, and a
courageous heart. The weak-willed, those whose resolve is
flagging, and those who are timid or withdrawn, are doomed to
failure. They can become stronger but only if they determine
that they will put forth the required effort.
* Through
extended practice you will overcome a fundamental human fear; that
of getting hit or of hitting something forcefully (they’re
basically the same thing). Whereas breakfalls help you
overcome a different basic fear (the fear of falling down and
hurting yourself), tameshiwari helps you overcome the fear of
striking something with your full strength. Many modern
martial arts practitioners disdain the breaking techniques, saying
that they’re not really martial arts or that they have little to
do with real technique but I think you can see how very wrong they
are!
They’re fine, so long as they punch and kick the
air or maybe a cushy heavy bag…but place a couple of boards or a
brick in front of them and they freeze up. They experience FEAR
and they hate to admit that they fear anything. Sometimes the
truth hurts. Literally.
Martial arts should help us SEE
our fears (and other weaknesses), ADMIT
them to ourselves (and sometimes,
others), and then OVERCOME
them. If we fail to do this – and many martial arts
practitioners fail because they’re afraid to face or admit their
own fears - we’re just “playing” at martial arts like young
children “play” at being soldiers. It isn’t real.
So next time you set up a single board and chamber
your fist, remember that this is where it starts. You’re not
training your fist. You’re training your mind and spirit.