Breaking
Using martial art techniques to break an object
試割り
- Classified as
- 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 and pencak silat, 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 (試し割り), while the similar practice of Tameshigiri or 'test cutting' is used in sword arts.
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q992067 (CC0); text quoted from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
Last posts
- Choosing the Right Bo Staff Diameter for Smaller Hands
- Bo Staffs for Tall Adults Buying for Height and Reach
- Are LED Bo Staffs Good for Practice or Just for Shows
- Best Oils for Wooden Staff Maintenance and Longevity
- Best Bo Staff Instructional DVDs for Serious Martial Artists
- Best Bo Staff Books for Home Study and How to Choose Them
- Using Hardware Store Dowels for Bo Staff Training
- Are Flexible Wushu Staffs Better Than Rigid Ones for Beginners
- Best Bo Staff Wall Racks for Secure Equipment Storage
- Choosing an Eyebrow-Height Staff for Southern Kung Fu