question: How to people that karate chop or punch a cement block not break their hand?
comment: It's a trick, the blocks are not very strong, and they are being punched or kicked in their weakest points, while also leveraged over air or a block that wedged to cut through. It looks impressive, and that's the point.
passages: The original arm blocks were taught with palm up, wrist bent, to form a trapping motion as well as to block and/or strike with the radius bone.
  
  Beginners in Isshin-ryu are taught to use their forearms to block in order to strengthen their forearms while working toward becoming a black belt. When one attains a black belt in Isshin-ryu they understand the purpose for the block is to use the knuckles on the inside of an attacker's arm where are the soft tissue is emphasizing a hard strike to soft tissue. Therefore, there really are no blocks in Isshin-ryu.
   The third method, "soft breaks", also known as "ki" breaks almost always involve the use of "flat hand" strikes; primarily the palm, as it's easier to accomplish a successful break with forward momentum, but sometimes the back of the hand (in a semi outstretched configuration) it utilized to exhibit the person's prowess, as this alternate method usually entails certain conditioning of the hand to endure the stress of impact (see note on Wolff's Law above) as well as using a less natural arm position when delivering the blow. The material is usually supported, horizontally, on two ends. The breaker raises their hand and lets it fall with no tension or significant flexing of the muscles, instead relying mostly on gravity, in order to palm strike the material. The material is broken by a complete energy transfer all the way through, in a direct line from the palm to the other side of the material. The impact also passes through a wider, more dispersed area and from a martial art perspective therefore causes more damage than other strikes, if delivered to a human adversary. This break is akin to striking a person with a slap, although more energy is transferred into the target than what is typically conveyed by a mere slap. Thus, such a palm strike can cause significant internal damage while leaving few signs of the damage externally (possibly a red mark but not much else), whereas a punch or similar strike, would tend to cause recognizably more external damage, such as bruising, swelling, etc., regardless of how much internal disruption was inflicted. Any person of any age, such as elderly people up to 80 and 90 years of age, can do this break with little injury to themselves. The most serious repercussions may be a palm that tingles afterward, should the break be unsuccessful. This method of break, even if utilizing more than one piece of material and additionally done with no spacers, is easily attainable by people of any age or gender, provided they have sufficiently practiced the technique. There are 2 reference videos at the bottom of the page: one shows Rudy Timmerman Sajanim, of the National Korean Martial Arts Association and the 9th degree Kong Shin Bup grandmaster, doing a multiple brick soft break, and another shows him teaching this unique soft breaking technique at a seminar.
   Section::::Joe Hand Boxing Gym and Computer Lab.
   There are safety concerns with martial arts breaking, so one should seek out an instructor. There are many small bones of the foot and hand which need to be very carefully and slowly conditioned for safety. Repeated damage to the extensor capsules of the knuckles can lead to long term problems with dexterity.
  
  Section::::Technique.:Speed vs. Power vs. Impulse vs Soft Break.
  
  There are generally 3 classifications of breaks: speed breaks, power breaks, and soft breaks. Additionally, there is a 4th, lesser-known, classification known as the impulse break.
   Though fundamentally different, the 4th kind of break — the "impulse break" — is often confused with a speed break (i.e. the first one of the 2 types noted above), because the striking implement often moves at a high velocity, despite the success of the break not depending on such speed. But moving your hand or foot or other body part very quickly, is where the similarity ends. The energy transmission from an impulse break derives not from mass displacement, but from wave transmission (e.g. as an ocean wave hits a beach). The mass of the hand/foot/etc. typically does not travel through the medium, but only goes as far as necessary to deliver the wave—this results in an extremely brief contact with the face of the brick or board and it's the wave itself that causes the striking surface to flex and buckle. The less flexible the striking surface, the more likely it is to break. An advanced aspect of this type of break can be seen where several bricks are placed on supports without spacers, and the person performing the break chooses which brick will break, e.g. breaking ONLY the middle brick of 3 stacked bricks, although the top or bottom brick could just as easily be targeted. This feat was demonstrated in China in the early part of the last century, by well-known qi-gong masters, many who performed it with 5 or 7 bricks or slabs of concrete, and the really talented masters could break two bricks, even if unconnected to one another (e.g. breaking the third and sixth bricks in a stack of 7).
   Section::::Uses.
  
  The Chinese martial arts can utilize a wide variety of open and closed hand strikes. Hardening the hands is also considered by some to supplement speed and strength lost through aging. Iron palm practitioners often demonstrate their abilities by breaking hard objects such as bricks, coconuts, stones and boards with their bare hands or in some cases hitting a steel object rapidly without sustaining injury.
  
  Section::::Techniques.
  
  Iron Palm also called Tie Zhang in Chinese utilizes 5 different striking techniques, they are as follows.
  
  BULLET::::1. Slapping - utilizes the whole palm
  
  BULLET::::2. Throwing - utilizes the back of the hand
   In Isshin-Ryu it is believed that the vertical punch is faster than the cork-screw punch: three vertical hand punches can be generated in the time of two cork-screw punches.
  
  Isshin-Ryu arm blocks are performed today with the muscle at the intended contact point as opposed to other styles that block with the bone. By using the two bones and the muscle to form a block, less stress is created against the defender's arm, increasing the ability to absorb a strike.
   BULLET::::1. he used his knobby joints to defend himself with the efficiency of a stone wall;
  
  BULLET::::2. if he could not hit an opponent with his gloved fist, he did it with his elbows
   Section::::Sparring & Fighting.:MMA & Grappling.
  
  Many American Tang Soo Do schools have added both MMA training and grappling (BJJ, NOGI, wrestling) to their training programs. This includes everything from live sparring with MMA gloves, and live rolling with submissions; to adding specific self-defense focused techniques to the One-Step Sparring. Some schools have even brought in outside coaches or created affiliations with MMA/Grappling schools such as Grandmaster Joey Escobar in Malibu, CA whose ATSD school in now an official Hayastan MMA (Gokar & Gene Lebell) affiliate.
  
  Section::::Techniques.
  
  Section::::Techniques.:Strikes and blocks.
   Generally, a martial artist engaged in breaking will practice by repeatedly hitting hard surfaces. Masutatsu Oyama, a famous breaker who was known for breaking the horns off bulls, would use trees. In karate, a device called a makiwara is used; this device has found more popular use by practitioners of other martial arts today. In the past, Shaolin and other earlier martial artists would use many different types of devices in order to condition themselves, not always for simply breaking, but using the same concepts used today. For instance, there is Iron Palm, Iron Shin, Iron Shirt, Iron Head, and other types of training which center around conditioning various parts of the body so they could withstand or give blows such as what is seen today in martial arts breaking. Many Chinese systems also are of the school of thought that "internal energy" or Chi is used when breaking, which is not dependent upon muscle strength and body weight.
   Still another form of full contact karate is Bogu kumite, which is most often associated with a few traditional Okinawan styles of karate like Chito-ryu, Isshin-ryu, Shorinji-ryu and Nippon Kempo. This format of continuous competition uses heavy protective padding to avoid injuries. In the beginning, this protective padding was based on the helmet and armor of Japanese kendo with gloves to protect the knuckles from the helmet's steel bars, although in modern days more specific padding has been developed. While allowing knockout as winning criterion, the protective equipment reduces the chances for it, and points are usually scored for clean techniques and techniques knocking the opponent off his feet. Nippon Kempo also allows grappling.
   Breaking wooden boards with punches and kicks is part of the ATSD training as well as mandatory for Intermediate and Advanced belt testing. Some higher level black belts will also break concrete cinder-blocks, bricks, and blocks of ice, as part of their training regimen. To perform this level of breaking takes many years of dedicated training to achieve, and many years of toughening to the skin and bones of the body in order for the skin and bones of the practitioner not to break. This hardening regimen in known as Makiwara training and it can take decades to achieve.
  
  Section::::Belts/Ranks.
   Section::::Mixed martial arts career.:Judo and Jiu Jistu.
  
  In 1997 he began training in Gracie Jiu Jitsu under Steve Maxwell and Phil Migliarese at
  
  Maxercise in Philadelphia. Maxercise was one of the first Gracie Jiu Jitsu academies in the 
  
  united states and was frequently visited by Gracie family members, notably Royce, Rorion, 
  
  Relson, as well as many of their top instructors. Tim was awarded his blue belt in Gracie Jiu 
  
  Jitsu by Royce Gracie after attending a seminar in philadelphia and Royce watching him roll 
   USBA/WBA Founder Drew Serrano, producer of the documentary "Breaking All Records", encourages practitioners to gradually increase the difficulty and amount of a material to avoid injury. He suggests that beginners should start with wood boards and increase the amount as technical prowess increases. Once a level of comfort, both physically and mentally, is reached, harder materials such as concrete can be attempted.
   The general principles used in martial arts breaking training is similar to the same principles used for most athletics. The body adapts to stress. There are generally three areas a martial arts breaker wishes to force their body to adapt to: the bones, the skin (calluses), and muscles (for both mass and speed). The general principle here — for instance, for the bones — is found in Wolff's law, which states that the skeletal system will, after healing, be stronger if injury is put to it. Craig Edmunds demonstrates this theory after breaking hand in seminar measuring bone density then measuring bone density after healing. In this manner the breaking practitioner operates not unlike a bodybuilder who works out with weights, then takes a period of rest to heal and allow the muscles to come back stronger.
   A large amount of power can only be applied if the joints are strong enough to be able to cope with it and transfer it. If a joint is too weak then the power that can be applied by and through that joint is necessarily limited.
   Specialty: brUnlike Da Dong and Ya Se, he uses his powerful fists as weapons and has the fighting count of 8500. Zheng hui left fist is said to have the power of an atomic bomb, while his right fist has ten times the power of his left fist. However, if he uses the right hand, he will become unable to use more power within three hours and might risk losing his own life.
  
  Xiao Yu can also produce healing factor to speed up the healing process of his injuries.
   To execute, one brings their palms together (slightly off-centre), locks the fingers downward, then swings at an opponent as if they were holding a club-weapon (like a bat). When performed properly, the strong muscle on the side of the hands can cause a great deal of damage especially against bony protrusions on the face. When grappling, the hammerblow can be performed directly upwards (like an uppercut) and will likely shatter the chin.
   All types of sparring allow the martial artist to develop both control and experience in delivering powerful strikes against an opponent. In full contact karate, punches are often "pulled" to some slight extent in training, to minimize the occurrence of injuries that would interrupt practice. However, some karate schools use protective gear in free sparring, so that strikes can be delivered closer to their full power. Most karate clubs and most styles of karate combine some controlled full-contact sparring and some sparring with protective gear (from gloves to feet pads and up to full head and even chest guards such as in Tae Kwon Do). 
   Breaking can often be seen in karate, taekwondo and pencak silat. Spetsnaz are also known for board and brick breaking, but not all styles of martial arts place equal emphasis on it or use it. In styles where striking and kicking are less important and there is an emphasis on grappling or weaponry, breaking is less prominent. Traditional Japanese martial art schools place little, if any, emphasis on board-breaking, although the art of breaking objects was known as "tameshiwari", while the similar practice of Tameshigiri or 'test cutting' is used in sword arts.
  
  Section::::Types.
   BULLET::::- Eagle strike - In this strike, the fingers all touch together, and the hand is pointed down, exposing the top of the wrist,which is then swung upward to strike the underside of the jaw. If done properly, this strike can easily fracture the jawbone, and is usually banned from competitions due to the extreme danger. If done improperly, however, the practitioner may break his wrist.
   Starting with coloured belts Taekwondo students must learn breaking. As they progress through the ranks, the breaks they perform increase in difficulty as do the number of boards. As time goes on, the Taekwondo student's hands and bones become accustomed to breaking boards - repeated practice hardens bones, skin and tendons. Wolff's law states that the human skeleton will adapt to the stress it is put under, therefore the bones actually become stronger as a Taekwondo student advances in his martial arts career.
  
  ReferencesEdit
  
  Taekwondo Forms
  
  http://www.wtf.org/wtf_eng/site/about_taekwondo/poomsae.html
  
  http://www.kukkiwon.or.kr/viewfront/eng/data/technique_trunk2.jsp
  
  Self Defense Pressure Points
  
  Further readingEdit
   Hand strikes can be delivered with an extended knuckle, rather than the classic fist configuration used for a traditional punch. One of the fingers is moved forwards so that the impact is made with the knuckle, concentrating force onto a smaller area. This kind of strike is optimized for attacks to pressure points.
  
  Deriving from traditional and ancient Kung Fu, such striking was considered high level technique for advanced students/inheritors of the art. The accuracy required alongside the conditioning requirements (similar to the knuckles for traditional punching) put it as a circumstantial technique and not as a standard one.
   Various surfaces of the hand may be engaged as the striking surface depending on which area of the opponents body which is being targeted. This leads to a large array of hand positions.
  
  BULLET::::- Forefist - A closed fist may be jabbed out directly to strike with the forefist knuckles. This is a suitable position for general punches to soft areas of the body. Without protection, it is inadvisable to strike the bony face as fingers are likely to get broken on the hard temple and jaw bones.
   2005 Arnold World Gracie Jiu Jitsu Champion Brown Belt
  
  2005 Gracie Worlds Submission wrestling Champion
  
  Multiple Time Grapplers Quest Champion 
  
  NAGA Champion
  
  2007 Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling world Championship Invitee and semi finalist
  
  After years of competing in and winning some of the top Jiu Jitsu and Grappling competitions on the planet Tim was awarded his black belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu from Phil Migliarese and Relson Gracie.
  
  Section::::Mixed martial arts career.:Early MMA career.
  
presuppositions: A cement block is strong all the way through. People can karate chop or punch cement blocks should break their hands.
corrections: A cement block has weak points that can be karate chopped through or punched. The cement blocks are not very strong, and are being kicked or punched in their weakest points.
raw_presuppositions: A cement block is strong all the way through. People can karate chop or punch cement blocks should break their hands.
raw_corrections: A cement block has weak points that can be karate chopped through or punched. The cement blocks are not very strong, and are being kicked or punched in their weakest points.