Breaking (martial arts)
Breaking is a martial arts technique that is used in competition, demonstration and testing. Breaking is an action where a martial artist uses a striking surface to break one or more objects using the skills honed in their art form. The striking surface is usually a hand or a foot, but may also be a fingertip, toe, head, elbow, knuckle, or knee. The most common object is a piece of wood or brick, though it is also common to break cinder blocks, glass, or even a piece of metal such as steel bars. Glass is usually discouraged, since its shards may cause injury when broken.
Breaking can often be seen in karate, taekwondo, Kooksundo (Korean Taoist Qigong), Charyuk/Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu, Taekkyeon, Gyuksul 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. Charyuk/Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu is a power circus, power performance art, power magic show, sidewalk performance art which had Breaking/Tameshiwari before Karate, predating Karate & Karate's Breaking. It is correlated with Chinese Qigong & Korean Kooksundo, Seonsul. Chinese Iron Palm is also known to have shown breaking layers of cinder blocks with a straight palm slap 100 years ago (photographed) as well as driving a car across a human belly lying on the ground (Charyuk shows such feats of strength as well, not just Breaking).
Types
Competitive breaking can be based on artistic impression, number of items broken in a given amount of time, number of items broken with a single strike, or time to break a number of items. There are several certified breaking categories in various journals of world records such as the Guinness Book. In a demonstration, a martial artist exhibits his or her skill by executing an impromptu or choreographed sequence of breaks for an audience. Martial arts schools sometimes demonstrate challenging breaks in order to gain publicity and inspire enrollment or attendance.
During promotion testing, many styles of martial arts require that students demonstrate their skills by executing breaks; the difficulty of a required break depends on the rank for which the student is testing. Failure to execute a required break is often sufficient grounds for failure of a promotion test.
Materials
Wooden boards are the most common breaking item in most martial arts, Individual boards used may range from nominal sizes as small as 6″×12″×1″ (152×305×25 mm) to as large as 12″×12″×1″ (305×305×25 mm; a board with a nominal thickness of 1″ has an actual thickness of ¾″ or 19 mm). The typical adult testing board is approximately 10″×12″×1″ (254×305×25 mm).[1]
The grain of the board must be cut so as to be parallel with the striking hand.
Children may use narrower and thinner boards, with 4- and 5-year-olds sometimes breaking boards as small as 4″×12″×½″ (102×305×13 mm), and there are also plastic boards made of different composites which can vary the difficulty level involved in breaking.
Technique
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In general, breaking is used both as a method of measuring force of strikes for martial artists, as there was no other way to do this and only recently have devices such as accelerometers been used in martial arts, and as a measurement of mental fortitude, the ability of the mind and body to overcome.
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,[2] 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.
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.
This kind of training is called "progressive resistance training"; see Weight training for more information. Often differences in body structure can be seen in the form of calcium deposits between a breaking practitioner and a non-practitioner. Mike Reeves, a champion breaker, advocates in his book the usage of a makiwara and knuckle push-ups. With knuckle push-ups, he recommends starting on softer floor material and working your way up to concrete.[3]
USBA/WBA Founder Drew Serrano, producer of the documentary "Breaking All Records",[4] 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.
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.[5]
Speed vs. Power vs. Impulse vs Soft Break
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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.
Speed breaks are breaks where the striking object is not held in place. The only way to break the object is to strike the surface with sufficient speed at a focused point of impact. Sometimes a board to be broken is held lightly between two fingers by a person; an advanced dan test may involve an attempt to break a board as it falls through the air. Regardless of the strength of the striker, the board will only break if it is struck with sufficient velocity.
Another type of "Speed Break" is that which involves breaking a number of objects over a given amount of time. A common time span is 1 minute, but this can vary depending on the material and venue. In competition it is very common for a speed breaking category to limit the time to 8–10 seconds, enabling more competitors to participate. Records and specifics are kept track of by leading martial arts breaking organizations such as the USBA/WBA (United States and World Breaking Associations) and the ISKA (International Sports Karate Association).
Power breaks are breaks where the striking object is supported. Either the break will employ human holders for horizontal, angular, or upward vertical strikes, or the break will require that the objects be stacked for downward vertical strikes. For a stacked break the object is placed on sturdy supporting objects, such as concrete blocks, that are placed on the ground. Many color belt (belts before black belt) promotion testing breaks are power breaks—it is substantially easier for an inexperienced person to muster sufficient energy to break a wooden board with a power break (Note, this is not true for all breaks). The vast majority of these employ human board holders. Often a stronger or more powerful striker may substitute some strength for technique and successfully accomplish the break. Most records that are catalogued are for power breaks. It is very common for black belt tests to use bricks, concrete patio blocks, or several boards stacked on top of supporting objects for challenging downward strikes.
Taped boards are sometimes used to lessen the amount of human influence from the holders for a break. It is very difficult to hold a stack of boards more than 4 inches steadily enough for challenging break. Therefore, some strikers will tape a stack of boards together to make a "brick" for their holders to hold. Usually however, test breaks at promotions and events are done without taped boards.
Both the speed and power breaks deliver the energy required to overcome the tensor and flexion forces of the board through mass displacement, where the kinetic energy is given by 1/2 m*v2. That is, either the speed of the striking implement (hand/foot/etc.) has to be high enough, or the striker must be strong enough to increase effective mass brought into the break (i.e. his or her body weight) to exceed the brick/board's threshold. For single boards, it is generally easy (as in the casual person has a sufficient reserve of mass) to reach this threshold through a power break.
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.
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).
Pegged vs. unpegged (spaced vs. unspaced)
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There are two types of multiple stacked board settings: pegged (spaced) and unpegged (unspaced). Unpegged stacks are where multiple items are stacked directly on top of each other.
Pegged stacks are stacks where multiple items are stacked with spacing items (often referred to as spacers) between them, usually wood spacers. "Unpegged" stacking allows a direct transfer of kinetic energy and the striker must maintain peak force much longer than an "pegged" stack as the striker moves down through the pile they are encountering the resistance of each board individually instead of creating enough force to flex and break an entire stack unspaced."
This is due to the way in which the two materials break. Wood, which is a natural fibrous matrix, flexes to a certain degree before it snaps at the target point. When unpegged, this allows for an entire stack of wood to flex upon impact, resulting in the break occurring in the order of furthest board from impact to the closest board (albeit a fraction of a second difference separates each board, making it appear instantaneous). This can be witnessed in many novice demonstrations where the rear board will break, but the remaining top boards are intact. When pegged, the gap between the boards necessitates each individual board to flex and snap before the next board is reached in succession. Bricks, on the other hand, are ceramic, and snap (or shatter) upon impact, with no flex action.
When using a pegged design, the setup and positioning of the pegs is critical. Competitors work extremely close with their team to ensure that each peg is in proper location and will not shift. A peg that shifts from its location can potentially interfere with the overall break of the stack. If careful consideration and measures are not taken, pegs will typically shift during the initial stack and setting of the break.
Concrete patio blocks, used in most major breaking competitions, require the competitor to "shock" the material and drive through from top to bottom.
Spacing of materials in competition is also important to enable a clear winner to be established as the number of stacked items increases. Whereas a limit of five unspaced patio blocks may be a common sticking point from one competitor to another, a stack of spaced patio blocks can provide more variables because of the increased confidence, which will narrow the field of competitors. This use of spacers makes competition more dynamic and exciting for competitors and spectators alike.[citation needed]
Summary of Breaking/Tameshiwari predating Karate
Breaking objects with strikes predates the introduction of karate in the 1920s. William Bankier, the strongman "Apollo", wrote about some Jiujitsu people breaking stone with hand strike his 1905 book "Jiu-Jitsu. What It Really Is". He also described how the heel or the side of hand was developed for this show. [6] Before the time of Karate, Breaking/Tameshiwari already existed, but it was not related to striking martial arts but correlated with Qigong, circus performance art, wrestling. In 1940 the "Japanese American Courier" reported the Tacoma (judo) dojo holding its annual tournament Sunday afternoon at the Buddhist Church auditorium. Masato Tamura's rock breaking demonstration via the ancient Japanese art of "kiai jutsu" was shown. Tamura was a well known judoka in 1938 (third dan during Jigoro Kano's visit to America in 1938).[7]
Japanese Karate's Breaking/Tameshiwari was not invented by Karate but existed before that as Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu. Kiaijutsu is pronounced as Kihapsul (also called Charyuk) in Korean by using the same 3 Chinese letters.[8] Bob Hoffman, the founder of "Strength and Health" magazine, saw Japanese sidewalk performer performing Breaking before the time of Karate during World War 1.[9] Such kind of sidewalk performance art (power circus, power magic show) is the Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu/Charyuk, which was the original Breaking/Tameshiwari predating Karate.
Mas Oyama devised his own Breaking method when he introduced Tameshiawri/Breaking to the modern practice of Karate. Mas Oyama's book "This is Karate" talks about devising his own Breaking method. "After we had devised our own breaking methods we showed them to a very famous Chinese kempo master, who was awe-struck with admiration."[10] In the early 20th century, Kiaijutsu/Kihapsul was popular in Japan. It was a power circus that existed in both Korea & Japan. This power performance art had Breaking as corroborated by Masato Tamura in 1940. Later in the middle 20th century, this Breaking was formally adopted by Karate through Korean Mas Oyama including specific Korean traits like Yongryuk stacking speed, power, mass for strikes & rotating shoulder for hand strike. "Among Mas Oyama’s many accomplishments, he is perhaps best known for introducing tameshiwari or “stone breaking” into the practice of modern karate."[11] It is also corroborated by other sources, "it was the kyokushinkai school under the direction of Masutatsu (Mas) Oyama which did an in-depth study into tameshiwari (the technique in which hard substances are broken with the bare hands)."[12]
Mas Oyama taught a new hand strike which didn't exist in Karate. He introduced rotating shoulder (as opposed to stationary & squared shoulders in Karate after hip rotation) beyond its own waist past squared shoulders. In Mas Oyama's techniques, the striking hand side's shoulder protrudes forward beyond squared shoulders. He also introduced acceleration in strike motion, stacking speed & power in motions from slow to fast (as opposed to traditional Karate's impulse implosion & explosion at the beginning of punch) in hand strike. Such techniques for extra mass in motion & for extra strength were seen in traditional Korean hand strikes. This new hand strike technique spread in Karate by his teaching and by his book "Mas Oyama's Classic Karate" for his Tameshiwari/Breaking diagram. These Korean techniques were observable in 1927's Gitssaum Flag Fight rotating shoulder for punching chest, 300 years old Korean record using Yongryeok (Yong means stacking speed & power in motion) for Breaking/Tameshiwari, 300 years old Korean Gwonbeop picture rotating shoulder for punching front.[13][14][15]
Kokyushin Karate & Mas Oyama (Choi) spread this Korean hand strike into the modern Karate's Tameshiwari/Breaking. (Kyokushin is known as the strongest Karate even today.) In the book "Mas Oyama's Classic Karate" page 157, it shows shoulder rotation for hand strike in Tameshiwari/Breaking.[16] This is different from regular Karate punch which the shoulders do not protrude (the striking side's shoulder does not rotate beyond its waist) but be squared at the termination of punch. According to the Karate textbook "Black Belt Karate" by Jordan Roth (p 100), "It is important also that the shoulders be squared at the termination of this punch. The punching arm should be thrust forward (perhaps only an inch) without breaking this alignment so that the shoulder blade ceases to protrude."[17] Karate punch does not rotate shoulder beyond its own waist after hip rotation; the shoulders end up squared in Karate punch. Also, Karate punch is associated with explosion & implosion at the beginning of the punch in a jerky motion. The hand strike Mas Oyama taught to Karate's Tameshiwari/Breaking is like Korean hand strike historically documented.
According to the book "The fighting spirit of Japan and other studies" by Ernest John Harrison published in 1913, Japan also had had a sport called Kiaijutsu. Kihapsul/Charyuk/Kiaijutsu is not solely a Korean sport but also existed in Japan, including Breaking/Tameshiwari, before the time of Karate and Mas Oyama. Breaking/Tameshiwari concept existed in all China, Korea, Japan. However, Kamesuke Higashioona's Breaking shows hand strike techniques identical to Karate but different from Mas Oyama & Korean hand strike, which rotate shoulder while stacking speed & power without any implosion & explosion. Mas Oyama introduced such Korean strike into Karate's Tameshiwari/Breaking while he introduced Breaking to be a culture & curriculum of modern Karate practice.
Karate was seen Tameshiwari/Breaking in 1933 by Kamesuke Higashioona. Because this was before the time when Mas Oyama taught Korean striking techniques, his shoulders are squared instead of the striking side's shoulder being protruded (pushed, turned, rotated) forward. This was also before the time that Mas Oyama introduced Tameshiwari/Breaking to be a modern Karate's culture and curriculum.
Gichin Funakoshi was also videotaped for performing Tameshiwari as well as rotating hip for hand strikes. However, his shoulder does not rotate beyond squared shoulder after his hip rotation. This is different from Mas Oyama's hand strike technique which rotates shoulder beyond its own waist past squared shoulders. The level of Breaking/Tameshiwari was also inferior. Gichin Funakoshi & Kamesuke Higashioona managed to break only 3 wooden boards or a couple roof tiles. This is far below the level of Karate Breaking/Tameshiwari the world got used to since Oyama's Tameshiwari/Breaking era. Historically, Korean hand strikes were seen rotating shoulder beyond its waist (shoulder protruding beyond its own waist by rotation towards front) as well as stacking (Yong means stacking speed & power) speed in motion. The hand strike technique Mas Oyama taught resembles Korean hand strike technique. As for Karate performing Tameshiwari/Breaking before the time of Mas Oyama, it could be either from how Japan also had had Kiaijutsu (this is not a solely Korean sport) or from Chinese Iron Palm's Breaking/Tameshiwari culture (Iron Palm also has shown Breaking). In Mas Oyama's book "Mas Oyama's Essential Karate", he also testified that Karate only used wooden boards for Tameshiwari at the time but he wishes to change it.
History of breaking in Korea
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In 1934's reputable Korean newspaper, there's a sport called Yuk-ki (역기) breaking soft shingles (roof tiles) with fist strike.[18] There are many reputable & old Korean newspaper records that show the derivations of the name Charyuk (like Yuk-ki) as well as the explicit name Kihapsul together.[19] The names Charyuk (차력), Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu (기합술/氣合術), Kooksundo (국선도) are associated together. In 1692, Korean Ikmyung Yang broke a stone with hand strike using Yongryuk (stacking speed, power, mass in the entire body).[20] 400 years ago, there were many Korean history books all recording the same event of Korean Hand Breaking a large stone as big as a Soban table.[21]
In today's Korea, Breaking/Tameshiwari is often done by Taekwondo, Kooksundo (Korean Taoist Qigong), Charyuk/Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu, Taekkyeon, Gyeoksul, etc. Charyuk/Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu is a power circus, power performance art, power magic show, sidewalk performance art which had Breaking/Tameshiwari before Karate, predating Karate & Karate's Breaking. It is correlated with Chinese Qigong & Korean Kooksundo, Seonsul. Chinese Iron Palm is also known to have shown breaking layers of cinder blocks with a straight palm slap 100 years ago (photographed) as well as driving a car across a human belly lying on the ground (Charyuk shows such feats of strength as well, not just Breaking). Shoulder-push means turning (pushing, rotating) shoulder forward when punching instead of the shoulders being stationary & square. Yong means stacking speed, power, mass in an accelerating manner instead of impulse explosion & implosion at the beginning of punch.
Kooksundo (Seonsul) is also correlated with Kihapsul/Charyuk; Kooksundo's Qigong Yoga has striking motion including hand strikes. However, Charyuk/Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu itself comes from trial & error as feats of strength. Chinese Iron Palm also has been photographed 100 years ago for showing Breaking/Tameshiwari of layers of cinder blocks. Charyuk/Kihapsul's Breaking/Tameshiwari originally had no relation to striking martial art. Strikes were created in the power circus by trial & error trying with common sense strikes from everyday-life to improve, then to teach what's already been created & improved including various hand shapes like Knife Hand. (From common sense hitting, techniques are developed & more variety is added. Charyuk/Kihapsul's Breaking had no relation to striking martial art in concept nor techniques before the time of Karate.) Charyuk/Kihapsul Breaking typically uses everyday-life motions like headbutt, punching, Knife Hand (like massaging), stomping (no special kicking), etc rather than martial art exclusive motions such as roundhouse kick. After striking martial arts adopted Breaking/Tameshiwari from power circus, they added Breaking objects with more various moves which are not done in typical power circus Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu/Charyuk today or before.
Korean had martial arts (or Fight Game, pseudo-martial arts) like Subak which had frontal slap & punch like Taekkyeon (including Yetbub), Gwonbeop, Gitssaum (Flag Fight), Pyunssaum, Sibak. However, Breaking's strikes were created in the power circus Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu by trial & error trying with common sense strikes from everyday-life. The strikes improved; they started teaching what's already been created & improved (from common sense hitting, techniques are developed & more variety is added) including various hand shapes like Knife Hand. They teach the power circus (including Breaking's strikes) already created & improved without starting over the creation process at each generation. Strikes are learned by learning power circus including Breaking; martial arts were not involved. This is how Charyuk/Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu has worked in Korean society. Regardless of how Breaking's system and structure were for China & Japan (Iron Palm's Breaking culture or feats of strength like Charyuk/Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu), it was that way for Korea. This power performance art had Breaking as corroborated by Masato Tamura in 1940. Strikes were practiced by practicing Breaking. Not by practicing martial arts then doing Breaking. This is the nature of Charyuk/Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu. After the techniques are created, they have been passed down by teaching power circus including Breaking/Tameshiwari.
For hundreds of years, Korean has had a power circus (power magic show, power performance art) called Charyuk/Kihapsul which is pronounced Kiai-jutsu in Japanese for reading the same 3 Chinese letters in a different dialect. Breaking Game already existed before Karate in the category of power circus performance art, not a part of striking martial art but correlating with wrestling, circus, Qigong (also called Kooksundo, Seonsul).[22] Korean had Taoist Qigong Kooksundo/Seonsul already in 1922 as historically recorded by newspaper. Kooksundo has many Yoga motions which include hand strikes.[23]
As for the difficulty of this creation process which some people object (they claim Breaking must have gotten its strikes from martial arts), the difficulty level is about the same whether people invent powerful strikes in martial arts then adopt them in Breaking or whether people invent powerful strikes in Breaking/Tameshiwari power circus. The process & the difficulty of creating powerful strikes are the same whether it's done for martial arts or for circus. Mas Oyama is also famous for using dogs & cows as a target of Breaking/Tameshiwari, which doesn't necessarily involve Karate for hitting or fighting animals.
Charyuk/Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu does not train callus specifically. Instead, it strikes with the body parts with muscle pads such as the heel or edge of hand. Muscle pads are hard enough to break stone but bendy enough to protect the skin from being squashed even without callus. Typical Charyuk/Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu does not hit with boney body part but delivers collision impacts with muscle fiber pads. Also, callus develops naturally if practicing Breaking/Tameshiwari often enough.
References
- ^ "United States and World Breaking Association". USBA llc. Retrieved July 15, 2008.
- ^ Kyokushin Canada. "Mas Oyama." http://www.kyokushincanada.com/sosaioyama.htm
- ^ Reeves, Mike, and Robert G. Yetman. Power Breaking: How to Develop and Use Breaking Skills for Self-Defense.
- ^ Serrano, Drew, and Christopher Vallone. Breaking All Records. 2007. http://www.eastcoasttrainingsystems.com/BAR%20Page.htm
- ^ Hibbard, John. Karate Breaking Techniques: With Practical Applications to Self-Defense.
- ^ "Mas Oyama in America, by Graham Noble".
- ^ "Mas Oyama in America, by Graham Noble".
- ^ "Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu looked up in Korean old news database".
- ^ "Mas Oyama in America, by Graham Noble".
- ^ "Mas Oyama's book "This is Karate" talks about devising his own Breaking method".
- ^ "Sosai Masutatsu Oyama, The Founder of Kyokushin Karate".
- ^ "Black Belt magazine July 1987".
- ^ "300 years old Korean Gwonbub picture pushing shoulder in punch for mass & strength".
- ^ "1692's Korean Ikmyung Yang breaking a stone with hand strike & Yongryuk (stacking speed & power)".
- ^ "1927's Korean Flag Fight, Gitssaum, a street fighting game with no-spin horizontal fist punching & shoulder-push for frontal punch".
- ^ ""Mas Oyama's Classic Karate" page 157, shows shoulder rotation for hand strike in Tameshiwari/Breaking".
- ^ "Karate textbook "Black Belt Karate" by Jordan Roth (p 100)".
- ^ "1934's Korean Kihapsul/Charyuk/Kiaijutsu hand breaking soft roof tiles".
- ^ "Kihapsul/Kiaijutsu, Yuk-ki, Yuk-ye are the names to the same power circus of 70 games in 1935".
- ^ "1692's Korean Ikmyung Yang breaking a stone with hand strike & Yongryuk (stacking speed & power)".
- ^ "many Korean history books on Korean Hand Breaking a large stone as big as a Soban table".
- ^ "Taoist Seonsul performing Kihapsul in 1922".
- ^ "Kooksundo/Seonsul Qigong Yoga has hand strikes".
