How to do Karate Breaking with Your Head Really Good!

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

Back in 1968, I had just started Kenpo Karate, one of the Ed Parker offshoot branches, and the chief instructor decided to put on a Martial Arts Breaking Seminar. I don’t know what he was thinking, I don’t think he had a side business selling insurance. At any rate, the potential for mayhem was lurking.

We entered the kenpo dojo and stacks of karate breaking boards were waiting for us. As a group we were taught the theory of focusing, of punching through, and so on, and we were all excited. Then we started breaking the boards, one at a time, as the  instructor watched.

One of the kenpo students, a fellow named Jeff, asked if it was possible to break a board with your head. The answer was yes, but it shouldn’t be attempted until one was well trained. We then went into another part of the dojo to use our karate breaking tricks, and none noticed that Jeff wasn’t with us.

We were in group discussion, and suddenly there was a tremendous thocking sound. It was such a unique sound that we all stopped what we were doing and stared at the door. The room, where the sound came from, where our friend had remained behind.

Suddenly, Jeff appeared at the door, he was standing aslant, and the look in his eyes was like little birdies singing. We all held our breaths as he crossed the mat, walking aslant, the birdies circling his head in a neat, little circling pattern. He settled, well, sort of plonked, into a zen seated position, and the  instructor, with an eye on the dazed student, continued his speechifying.

Now, if you’re going to break a board with your noggin, 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 kenpo seminar that I was at? Jeff came up to the chief instructor after it was all over and asked, ‘is it possible to Break Boards with your head?’ Maybe he should have worked on having the hardest punch instead of just a hard brain!

This page has been about karate breaking skills.