Breaking Boards is Breaking Bad

As a former Tae Kwon Do instructor I not only broke boards, I also broke bricks, cinder blocks, ice, glass, baseball bats and an iron pump handle. I was taught by  Korean so-called "Masters" that it was needed to practice focus and to demonstrate power. Sounded good to me, after all they were the "Masters" and they knew better than me. I followed along because I was temporarily blinded by their mystical authenticity based on their heritage and ethnicity. I broke boards at tournaments, belt tests, and demonstrations. People were impressed with my board breaking abilities and I loved the attention and applause. I realized that the attention and applause was the real reason I was breaking boards. The attention and applause was also the reason I was deliberately hurting my hands and feet....the very weapons that I was supposed to use to defend myself.

Board breaking only proves that you can break a board. Many people start martial arts training to learn self defense and then derail into the other aspects of martial arts training like forms or kata's, ancient weapons, and board breaking. They become "Specialists" in those areas while avoiding one to one contact and the practice of real-world training. Boards don't hit you back. Forms or kata's are merely simulated combat that forces the practitioner to perform "traditional" movements that do not work, have never worked, and never will work. Watch a local Tae Kwon Do class and see if the movements they practice during forms are used when they (if they) actually engage in sparring. You won't see any. So why practice them. According to the "Masters" they teach focus, balance, and power. I thought that was what board breaking was supposed to do. 

Special note to parents: I challenge any parent to find an orthopedic surgeon to advocate allowing your children to break boards with their hands or feet. You are damaging the very weapons you need to defend yourself with...so people will clap for you. Would a police office use his gun to hammer in some nails? No because it is a service weapon that needs to function in a time of need. As an instructor of Sil Jun Do (The first Korean based mixed martial art) I do not teach my students to break any boards or bricks or practice kata's or forms. I did it. It was a mistake and I have an obligation to not pass on a stupid tradition at the expense of my students limbs.

I'm sure I will get some negative feedback from the traditional Tae Kwon Do community. I welcome an open minded debate with anyone on the subject or you may visit my academy at 165 Morristown Rd. in Bernardsville and see first-hand what Sil Jun Do is all about.