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WHAT IS BOARD BREAKING?
The breaking of wooden boards or materials such as concrete with only one's bare hands was originally developed by the martial arts as a both a training technique and as a measure of your skills. It is practiced in a variety of martial styles and the student is normally required to have completed either one to three years training and/or achieved the level of black belt before such an undertaking.The board you will be breaking is made of solid pine and is approximately one inch thick and measures one foot square. There is most definitely no trick: the boards are not pre-prepared in anyway, nor are any kind of 'stunt' boards used. We source the boards from regular martial arts suppliers & are identical to those used by martial arts schools.
IN WHAT WAYS CAN AN ORGANISATION BENEFIT FROM A BOARD BREAKING WORKSHOP?
The professionalism and flexibility of our approach coupled with our vast experience enables us to offer our board breaking workshops on multiple templates with each event specifically tailored to your needs. Simply click on a link below that most suits your specific area:
HOW IS IT POSSIBLE WITHOUT YEARS OF TRAINING
Up until now, maybe you thought breaking a solid block of wood in two with the palm of your hand was only possible after years of intense martial arts training and indeed, the teaching of such advanced techniques is routinely restricted to those who have risen to the ranks of black belt and above. In contrast to this generally accepted belief system, we teach the art and science of board breaking in less than two hours and as we stress, absolutely no prior knowledge of martial arts is needed.
While common sense would suggest strength/force is the overriding factor in a successful board break; the fact is, the most important variable is speed (for those interested in the physics, there are two scientific papers available to download at the bottom of the page). Of course, that is not to say force plays no part at all. It does however bear out our own belief; namely, the innate ability of every single healthy human being to safely break a wooden board provided they are taught the necessary skills and a useful and empowering belief system.
The production of speed is as much about belief as it is about skills that can only be acquired after years of dedicated training. Our ability to successfully equip people with the necessary skill set and belief to break a solid wooden board in less than two hours is testament to our skill and expertise. It shows the innate ability of human beings to rapidly redefine one's sense of possibility and belief.
HOW IS BOARD BREAKING TAUGHT AND WHO TEACHES US?
Each participant takes part in the two hour workshop during which the necessary skills and attitude to safely break a board in two are taught. The workshop draws upon the disciplines of motivational psychology, NLP [Neuro Linguistic Programming] and the martial arts itself. As past participants will agree, there is also a great deal of humour and laughter during the workshop!
All the workshops are exclusively run by Cliff Mann, the founder of TIME4CHANGE. In addition to being the most experienced firewalking and glasswalking instructor in the UK, Cliff is a practicing NLP therapist and fully qualified hypnotherapist. Cliff is also a veteran martial arts instructor and has trained in various disciplines for over 35 years.
DOES EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATES GO ON TO BREAK THE BOARD AND DOES IT HURT
It is testament indeed to the powerful training methods Cliff employs that out of the thousands of people who have taken part in one of his workshops over the last twenty three years, every single person has safely gone on to either successfully walk on fire or broken glass or break a board! Occasionally, it can take a couple of attempts to successfully break the board, but given the fact, the aim of the workshop is to break the board, the method you ultimately use is of secondary importance.
As facilitators of firewalks and glass walks, the question of does it hurt? is one that comes up often! Surprisingly, with firewalking for example, people report a whole spectrum of sensations ranging from cold to warm. So it is with board breaking, the feeling of breaking through a wooden board is unique to each individual. Interestingly most people when asked remember nothing of the sensation because of the high energy state they are in. The important thing to bear in mind is the simple fact that we don't teach you to break the board - we teach you to break through the board as any discomfort often results through a failure of momentum.
HOW DO I PERSONALLY BENEFIT FROM TAKING PART IN A BOARDBREAK?
If you have achieved everything you have ever set out to achieve then board breaking is not for you. If however there are still things in your life you have yet to accomplish or there are skills you still wish to learn, then board breaking is most definitely for you!
Aside from the deep satisfaction that comes from the knowledge you have achieved something truly extraordinary, the lessons you take away will benefit you for a lifetime. We use the board as a physical metaphor for the barriers that keep us from realising our own true potential. When we break through the board we tap into our full potential and show to ourselves our innate ability to expand our sense of what is possible. The necessary and rapid acquisition of new belief systems in order to board break can be expanded to all areas of our life. Often, all that is simply lacking in our ability to move forward in life is a lack of the right kind of belief and know how.
Below is a short video taken from The Discovery Health Channel featuring our trainer Cliff Mann taking a member of public through the process of board breaking.
More information on the physics of breaking boards can be found in the T4C Downloads and Support area:
The Physics of Breaking by Chris Oei - pdf
The Physics of Karate Strikes by Jon Chananie - pdf
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