Well its my 1st time breaking boards in karate today. I was the 3rd person up. I had assumed the high belts would be breaking boards 1st to show the lower belts how its done. No such luck. It was low belts to high belts. A black belt had gone 1st to show us how its done. Then another yellow belt, then me!
We start off with a hammer fist. I check out the board before I had it to sensei. This might not be a board I’d want to build my house with, but its real wood. Not something that is just going to break by itself. I’d have to really hit it to make it break. I’ve broken a number of bones on my body already, so I’m thinking whats one more 
I take my 2 warm up swings and I go for it. I could have probably broke 3 boards as hard as I swung. It was exhilarating. My 1st broken boards!!! They will be mounted on the wall just like Mark Jr.’s.
The next strike is an elbow. Its not really an elbow its more a forearm. This one should be easy I’m thinking. I’m just hoping I don’t crack sensei in the face. I take my 2 warm up swings and CRACK the board breaks.
Our next strike is a palm strike. I go up with all the confidence in the world. I take my 2 warm up swings, I pull back and yell KIA!!! Right as I smash sensei in the fingers. OOPS!!! He jumps back and shakes his hand in pain. Honestly I didn’t even feel his fingers but he says I hit him so I must have. After he gets feelings back in his fingers he holds the board again for me to swing. I take my 2 warm up swings and CRACK the board breaks. Phew!!!
Next is a knee strike. This one cannot possibly go wrong in any way. I take my 2 warm up swings and go for it. CRACK the board breaks. When you do this, you don’t realize but your foot that is planted on the floor almost comes off the floor when you kick with your knee so hard. Seeing pictures of all this afterwards really shows alot.
Next is a front kick. I fell I have a pretty strong front kick. At least its not bad. I’m thinking this board is history. I take my 2 warm up kicks and WHAM right into sensei’s fingers. This time I felt it. Not as bad as he did though. This time it was really bad. I could see big pain in his face. He said, “the next one that hits me is holding a board for me!” Talk about pressure. I know that one must have really hurt bad. So I take my 2 practice kicks again and smash the board. Barry who went after me kicked sensei in the fingers also so at least I wasn’t alone. Sensei had another black belt hold the board for a few attempts since he was a little sore at this point.
Next is a side kick. Having had a problem with the front kick I was just hoping this one went smooth. Sensei wasn’t holding the boards at this point so he could give his fingers a break (figuratively speaking of course). I take my 2 warm up kicks and CRACK the boards break. Phew…
Now for the test. Sensei is having us break 2 boards at a time. We are to break 2 boards with a palm strike, at the same time, held by 2 cement blocks. Miss this time and I will be coming down on cement. So needless to say the boards wouldn’t break, the cement blocks wouldn’t break and maybe my hand would instead. I concentrate, take my 2 warm up swings and KIA, I smash the boards. They break!!!
A nice day of board breaking. Really exciting.
