In the early 1960s, most people in the US were uneducated in
martial arts (most still are), and many had the wrong impression that breaking boards was the primary function of
karate and
jujutsu
when this is actually a very minor aspect of
martial arts. I think it was Bruce Lee in
Enter the Dragon who said,
"boards don't strike back". Although not totally true, as most
physicists would tell us boards do exert a force on the striking hand. Even so, breaking is a
very minor part of
karate.
I was told by my mother when I was very young that a person needed to develop callus on the side of their hand to develop a
'judo chop' by daily striking sand and gravel. She apparently had no training in
martial arts.
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Shihan-Dai Kyle Gewecke, head instructor of the Gillette Wyoming Seiyo
Shorin-Ryu dojo, prepares to break rock at the University of Wyoming in
Laramie using a classical 'Judo chop' or 'Karate chop' known as "shuto
uchi" in Japanese. |
It wasn't until Bruce Lee in the
Green Hornet TV series in 1966 to 1967 that people began to take note of
martial arts in the US, even though
Mas Oyama had already toured the US taking on any and all fighters to demonstrate the effectiveness of
karate 14 years earlier in 1952. I can still remember hurrying home after
kyokusin kai karate classes at the Black Eagle Federation
dojo next to my junior high school in Sugarhouse (SLC) to watch Kato do his incredible
gung fu. At the time, I was studying Oyama's
karate and knew of his encounters with bulls.
Years later, I watched David Caridine, a dancer, as he introduced us to the
philosophy of martial arts from 1972 to 1975 in the
Kung Fu TV series while I was working on graduate degrees in
geology at the
University of Utah and later at the
University of New Mexico. It didn't matter all of the
martial arts had to be filmed in slow motion for Caridine; this series was about the
'do' of
martial arts - the path, which separates
traditional martial arts from lookalike fighting systems like
MMA that are not
martial 'arts'. I fell in love with
karate and
martial arts as a young kid. I wanted to be one of the best, so I tried to surround myself with the best in the world. First, Mas Oyama's
karate (even though I never met Sosai Oyama), and years later by Dai-Soke Sacharnoski who I see as the best in the world today. I also trained with superstar -
Tadashi Yamashita.
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One of our greatest fears as men is taking one in
the nads. At a halftime martial arts demonstration
at the University of Wyoming, Sensei Donnette
Gillespie kicked me in the groin so hard that if felt
as if she lifted me off the ground - this was done
without any protective athletic cup or any other
protection. |
When most of us think of fearless
martial artists, we think of
martial artists like Sosai
Mas Oyama, Dai-Soke
Sacharnoski, or Hanshi Kirby Roy. These three are incredible and stand alone, above all others in
martial arts in the world today.
Back to
breaking and
karate in Arizona.
Tameshiwara is a very minor part of
karate
and practiced to assist in development of self-confidence. Many
martial arts schools today
use rebreakable boards - these may save some money, but they are nothing like good o' lumber, Spanish roofing tile, bricks and in particular, rocks. Even so, if they assist in self-confidence, they are serving a good purpose.
Rocks are usually cheap and one can typically pick them up most anywhere. .
At the
University of Wyoming from 1977 to 2007, many students and faculty trained in karate and many of them had the opportunity to break stream-worn limestone. There were even some half-time basketball
martial arts demonstrations at the university, where students would break boards and the instructor would break cinder blocks with his fist along with rock slabs with his head! One thing about rocks: it is the
martial artist against Mother Nature - and you just never know who is going to win because each rock is different and some will fight to the end to keep a
martial artist from breaking it.
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University of Wyoming tameshiwara (breaking of rocks), or what I like to
call, Geology 101, or Introduction to Geology for Martial Arts Majors. |
Rocks in the
Phoenix Valley are different from limestones in Laramie. Limestone is Mother Nature's concrete - its what concrete is made from and a very good medium for breaking. In the
Phoenix area, the great majority of rocks are rhyolites, andesites and basalts. Volcanic rocks can be finicky due to their porphyritic texture (rocks with both little and large crystals).
If you have never tried breaking rocks, it is recommended you seek a qualified
instructor of martial arts who has - otherwise, it is likely you will end up in the emergency room to get your hand reset. Any attempt at breaking rocks can (and likely will) result in breaking your hand (or head) if you do not have proper training and instruction. So, get some good
martial arts training and hopefully, you will not break anything other than the rock or a board.
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George Chakmakian, petroleum engineer and shodan, breaks his first rock at the University
of Wyoming. |
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Breaking tile with bare knuckles at New Mexico State University.
|
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Donnette Gillespie, 9th kyu white belt, breaks her first rock in 1977 at the Laramie
Bushido dojo.
|
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| Arizona Martial Arts Instructor and Geologist inducted into two Halls of Fame. The photo shows a folded specimen of gneiss - a rock type that is usually not very good for breaking. |
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| University Professor inducted into National Black Belt Hall of Fame |
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| Hall of Fame induction for Mesa Martial Artist |
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| University Karate Club one of the best martial arts programs! |
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| Karate Professor Inducted into World Karate Union Hall of Fame |
