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Okay, we need a warning, like check with a doctor before you do this. Or maybe a psychiatrist. Or maybe just make sure you’ve backed up your brains on hard drive.

Back in 1967, I had just start Kenpo Karate, one of the Tracy Brothers offshoot branches, and the head instructor decided to put on a breaking seminar. I don’t know what he was thinking, maybe he had a side business selling insurance or something. At any rate, the potential for disaster was looming.

On a saturday morning a dozen students entered the school and big stacks of freshly cut pine boards were waiting for us. As a group we were taught all the fine points of focusing your energy, of punching through the target, and all that sort of thing, and we were all truly excited. Then we took turns breaking short planks of lumber, one at a time, as the head instructor watched carefully.

One of the attendees, a nice guy by the name of Jeff, asked if it was possible to break a board using just the head. The head instructor’s answer was in the affirmative, but he cautioned that it shouldn’t be attempted until one had trained extensively. We then went into another room to break boards, and no one noticed that Jeff had not come with us.

We were heavily engaged in a group discussion, and suddenly there a tremendous cracking sound came from the room we had just left. It was such a sickly sound that we all turned and stared at the entrance to the other room. The other room, where the sound came from, where Jeff was.

Suddenly, Jeff appeared at the door, he was standing a bit crooked, and the look in his eyes was like little birdies whistling. We all held our breaths as Jeff crossed the room, walking crooked, the birdies whizzing around his head in a neat, little circling pattern. Jeff settled, well, sort of collapsed, into a seated zen position, and the head instructor, with an eye on Jeff, continued his speechifying.

Now, if you’re going to break a board with your head, and I don’t care if you study Goju or Kyokushinkai or Hung Gar or whatever, work up to it. Start with thin boards, even an eighth of an inch, through a quarter, through 3/8s, and so on. Heck, even wear a football helmet the first few times, the potential for injury is that great.

Oh, and at the end of that breaking seminar? Jeff approached the head instructor after it was all over and asked if is it possible to break a board using just your head. Maybe he should have concentrated on developing the hardest punch instead of just a hard head!

Al Case has examined martial arts for over 40 years. If you want to learn how to Matrix your Martial Art, pick up a free ebook at Monster Martial Arts.

Tags: Self Defence