Is this a good break?
3 bricks on the ground, no spacers:
This guy also does granite, too. (but look how far apart the supports are: leverage advantage???)
How strong is granite? I know everyone loves it for their counter tops in their kitchen. Is it hard to break?
I used two different colored bricks to show a contrast of the top and bottom brick, as I thought it would be easier to see the bottom brick and what happens.
I cannot do that all the time, and to be honest it happens about 6 times out of every ten breaks.
Not easy to do.
The bricks that are flat on the ground and harder to break and my intention is turned up to 11 when I break them.
I have never tried to break while lying on my back and I have no idea if its possible.
will have to see if it can be done.
[QUOTE=IronFist;1119579]Is this a good break?
3 bricks on the ground, no spacers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndA32x3Xg9Q&feature=related[/QUOTE]
I have seen that kind of concrete. It is used in Europe a lot, and its light weight and very easy to break.
the blocks I break are pebble aggregate that are heavy and dense.
Also if you watch there is way too much dust flying when he hits them and that usually hints at baking them or they are extremely dry and crumble to dust easily.
The granite is rather long compared to other bricks which might make it easier for him to break.
He also seems to be wearing some kind of gloves.
I do use a thin towel and sometimes a dish towel to keep my hands from being cut. A towel and gloves are two different things IMO.
[QUOTE=IronFist;1119579]Is this a good break?
3 bricks on the ground, no spacers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndA32x3Xg9Q&feature=related[/QUOTE]
look at his martial arts “skill”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TacnBn1u-Hc&NR=1
:rolleyes:
The Truth Behind Breaking the Bottom Brick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPnD1fl-f-4&NR=1
A guy with no training and no conditioning does it using a hammer. He says it’s just physics, no “chi.”
Discuss.
[QUOTE=lkfmdc;1119585]look at his martial arts “skill”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TacnBn1u-Hc&NR=1
:rolleyes:[/QUOTE]
I was asking about the break, tho.
breaking != fighting
fighting != breaking
[QUOTE=Dale Dugas;1119583]I have seen that kind of concrete. It is used in Europe a lot, and its light weight and very easy to break.
the blocks I break are pebble aggregate that are heavy and dense.
Also if you watch there is way too much dust flying when he hits them and that usually hints at baking them or they are extremely dry and crumble to dust easily.
The granite is rather long compared to other bricks which might make it easier for him to break.
He also seems to be wearing some kind of gloves.
I do use a thin towel and sometimes a dish towel to keep my hands from being cut. A towel and gloves are two different things IMO.[/QUOTE]
Ok, yeah I didn’t know anything about those bricks.
I have no problem with putting a towel down over the bricks. Better than cutting your hand.
The granite pieces get smaller as the video goes on. I don’t know anything about granite, though. I know some materials are super brittle and will break even under their own weight (glass is like this).
Once again, so people don’t misunderstand my point:
I’m not trying to downplay the amount of conditioning needed to break bricks. I haven’t done hand conditioning in years and probably cannot do the breaks myself. I don’t think you can take an untrained guy and have him breaking bricks in 5 minutes. Conditioning takes time, effort, skill, and dedication; truly the definition of “kung fu.”
Now, the kicks that the monks were doing in the first vid to break the concrete bricks, I do think you could teach an untrained guy to do that in 5 minutes. Why?
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Most people can kick pretty hard without training, especially is they use their heel.
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Those concrete slabs broke because of how they were set up. It was physics, not qi.
My issue is when people try to pass off parlor tricks as being the result of mystical power. It’s quackery, it’s BS, and it makes martial arts look bad.
Throwing the needle through the glass? Physics, not qi.
Legit breaking bricks with your hand? Conditioning, not qi.
Cheap breaking bricks with your hand (such as doing it on the edge of a step and lifting it up 1mm before your hand strikes it)? Parlor tricks and conditioning, not qi.
Breaking stuff with your head? Conditioning, not qi.
Breaking the bottom brick? Physics, not qi.
Hanging by your neck in one of those straps? Conditioning, not qi.
404 qi not found.
I’ve even seen people hit out the bottom of a glass bottle and say it was qi. lol, I’ve seen drunk frat guys do the same thing. I don’t think they were practitioners of qigong.
I saw another thing on TV where they said the one inch punch was because of qi. Nope! Physics, again. You can teach someone to do a one inch punch in 5 minutes. Of course, they will be more successful if they have good hand conditioning, but short power generation is physics, not qi.
If thinking of using qi helps the martial artist focus, that’s one thing. If they believe qi manipulation improves their health or whatever, that’s fine. But when they’re trying to say that the breaks are a result of qi, when in fact they are some combination of conditioning and/or physics, that is BS. The martial arts community should work on distancing itself from these charlatans, not embracing their lies as being legitimate.
[QUOTE=Dale Dugas;1119582]I used two different colored bricks to show a contrast of the top and bottom brick, as I thought it would be easier to see the bottom brick and what happens.
I cannot do that all the time, and to be honest it happens about 6 times out of every ten breaks.
Not easy to do.
The bricks that are flat on the ground and harder to break and my intention is turned up to 11 when I break them.
I have never tried to break while lying on my back and I have no idea if its possible.
will have to see if it can be done.[/QUOTE]
i would love to see a bottom break with your bricks flat on the ground…
also, if indeed a break was from qi, then it shouldnt matter what position your body is or where the brick lays, doncha think? on the flipside, if its all physics, those factors become very important…
of all the cats who posted their breaks on this forum, i mos def like yours the best… that teetsao cat isnt bad either…
im so tired of watching big dudes smash things and claim special powers and sh1t tho. nice to see you guys do it proper. its so anoying to have somebody talk up their breaks saying its all qi then watch them jump up and slam into the bricks at full tilt… especially when there are spacers, thats the worst…
has anyone here done a “middle” break??? you know what i mean, right? at least three bricks, bottom and top are fine, middle is broken… ofcourse i dont expect some van damm brick to dust bullsh1t. just a simple crack would be impressive enough…
personally, i can break the small red bricks with my palm on a ledge… but i never thought of that as anything special… but i dont see cats break them small ones very often… i wanna see cats do it like in that chinese shaolin doc where the guy goes down the line…
anyone here able to toss a needle very well? ive never actually seen that in person and you can never see it very well on cheap youtube vids… not enough frames per second to really get a good look at the damage on the glass, let alone seeing the needle fly thru at super slow speed…
also, i would love to see w break of a small red brick that is suspended by a string… much better than simply standing up the 12 inchers on thier side… not that that is easy, just sayin… anyone???
[QUOTE=IronFist;1119575]Whoa, I didn’t even notice that before, probably because I watched the vid at like 3am. lol.
Possible explanations:
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camera artifacts from Youtube’s compression method
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suspicious bottom brick that was flexible or somehow bendy (it did sort of appear to go from a little convex to a little concave when he pressed on them… but this was likely camera artificats)
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there was a gap between them, and his qi actually went through the top brick, through the space, and into the bottom brick to break it. Short-distance no-touch KO!
But if you’ll notice, the black gap didn’t appear until after he was pulling his weight off of it, which leads me to believe it was a camera artifact. Watch when his hand is in front of the bricks. There are other black gaps that appear and redraw.
Serious question: why was the bottom brick red rather than concrete color?
Suggestion: next time show each brick independently, show that it is real, then put them on the stand, then break them. I only say this because you pressed on the edges of the bricks and they supported your weight. Nay-sayers will say maybe the middle of the bricks were modified somehow.
Or, set up the bricks and start stacking some weights on them, like weight plates or dumbbells or whatever, to show that they are real.
Not hating, I thought your breaks were good. Just giving some suggestions for next time.[/QUOTE]
mos def not an artifact… doesnt fit…
i think it prolly just snapped when he put his weight on it… but i dont think it was intentional and im sure he can still do it… i would like to see the same one done with the same kind of bricks… same color too…
[QUOTE=Darthlawyer;1119535]Not to use the Bruce Lee “boards don’t hit back” quote, but well…
If these “breaking skills” had any combat effectiveness, wouldn’t there be some MMA fighters who would just break their opponents’ outstretched arms, post-punch? I understand that the skills are dramatic… some are probably faked, but I mean, why would someone want to break a board in two inch increments, unless they were a carpenter?[/QUOTE]
I guess it has no real application except that I can still stick holes in a persons face with my finger tips. Actually, it was simply a show of technique. Besides, most MMA fighters do not have the concentration for this, and I am sure that there would be some sort of rule against breaking arms intentionally. And of course not everyone, in fact, few people can do such things. I have never seen it duplicated by anyone, no matter how good they were at breaking stuff.
[QUOTE=Syn7;1119599]also, i would love to see w break of a small red brick that is suspended by a string… much better than simply standing up the 12 inchers on thier side… not that that is easy, just sayin… anyone???[/QUOTE]
The problem I see with that is that a piece of cotton sewing thread will never suspend a large brick like that. You would have to use a stronger string, and that would not mean the same thing. When breaking a piece of wood, even something easy and linear with the grain, you can still not break it without breaking the thread. I can. But have not seen anyone else that could. With a brick the strength of the thread would have to be of such that any mug could bust the brick most likely. I do not doubt that there are those that could easily break a suspended brick of that size. In my day I think I could have done so easily, but not suspended from a piece of thread.
Easiest way to fake a break:
- Drop one side of the block while hitting it.
- Score the block before breaking.
- Tap the block several times to cause small internal fractures before breaking the block.
Of the breaks that I have seen on YouTube, the Shaolin Monks seem to be the biggest cheaters.
Though these methods are legitimate, the easiest ways to break are:
- Extra long blocks or blocks that are only 4" wide.
- Blocks supported at the very ends.
- Spacers between blocks and let weight do the work after breaking the top block.
Toughest methods for breaking blocks:
- No spacers
- Blocks lying on a flat, smooth surface.
- Blocks held against a flat, smooth wall.
I must admit that when it comes to Qi, I am an agnostic. Though I received the qigong training that is considered necessary for breaking, I have doubts concerning its efficacy.
However, I am by no means an iron palm master. My skills definitely pale in comparison to Dale Dugas and Rodney Morgan. I have personally seen Rod and other members of the Iron Lotus Society do amazing breaks (three blocks no spacers and a block broken while lying on a smooth, flat concrete floor). I checked out the blocks ahead of time without their knowledge and they passed inspection. When I see their videos, I have no doubt that their breaks are real.
Whether Qi plays a factor in the breaks, I don’t honestly know. However, their skills far exceed my own. Perhaps my lack of belief is the difference, perhaps not.
There is so much Id like to say in this thread but at the end of the day its just not worth the time. I dont know if Im getting more lazy with age, or I just dont care to talk about it anymore.
But what I do want to mention, something I feel very strongly about, is that qigong is NOT…absolutely NOT necessary to condition or legitimately perform difficult breaks (via iron palm or some other system) successfully. Qigong is a mental facet of training, it can help with relaxation and healing, and I teach it to my students so they have the whole system. But it is NOT necessary. You should be able to walk up to a block (or 2) and break it without any warmup, any jow, or any mental pattycake. Or else what you are doing is worthless. Hope thats not insulting to anyone, its just a fact.
What is important is that you condition properly and safely, and what is important is that you realize that iron palm is JUST the conditioning. Iron palm has F*** all to do with fighting. Iron palm is like taking free throws in basketball; you cant use iron palm unless youve first learned how to deal with the intensity and pressure of a serious opponent. And even then most people wont be able to use it. Fact is, most peoples time is much better spemt training other facets and skillsets. You learn and take part in iron palm because its something you enjoy or are intrigued by.
But if youre anything like me, then you like martial arts…and you also just so happen to like the break s**t! 
[QUOTE=IronFist;1119579]Is this a good break?
3 bricks on the ground, no spacers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndA32x3Xg9Q&feature=related[/QUOTE]
LOL, no.this is a substance called “y-tong” it floats.it is “airated concrete” mostly air not much concrete. it is used in europe. 6 year olds break it.
i actually have been working on setting up a video.
fuji film makes a substance called “tactile pressure film” it is 4 mil. thick and sandwiches micro beads that burst under different ranges of pressure and turn the film different colors depending upon the force exerted.i contacted a supplier and he sent me some samples and i am going to demo the pressure exerted to break a 4inch block which home depot and lowes rates at 2000psi to break. we are not sure how much force we are exerting and this will be a good measure. i also have other vids of me breaking a coconut laying on my back,i may redo it. i would post them on here but i do not have time to explain them to some of the people on here,as they seem to have no grasp of what they are seeing when things are demonstrated before them.so i will prob just post them on youtube. my answer to this is,if you doubt something go set it up yourself and try it. dont use a hammer,however i do know the kid from autralia that set those up and he conceded to me he couldnt even think about doing it with his hand,(comparing my hand to a hammer is quit a compliment to me)and also the brick on top was much shorter than the rest of the bricks on the bottom,so it was just a shape charge effect,not the same,
then report back with your findings. use bricks from lowes or home depot ONLY,no crap,this is what we use. try it all different ways,flat on the ground,against a wall,throw it in the air,1-2-3-4 stacks,a 4 inch ,a 4inch plus 2inch on top of it,and we have it all on video.
prob. is most people doing “iron palm” do not have all the training.they have ,“apply jow hit bag,reapply jow"and think this is iron palm. no way. much more to it. and if you think it is just the prior and not the latter, fine by me.if you think it wont help you in combat,also fine by me.
this subject as been debated waaay to much,it is no debate,either you beleive it is beneficial or you dont and prob. no one will convince the other,however i have made beleivers locally once they saw me demo in person. not bragging,just saying it is different in person. most look at videos and say"thats b.s. ,i can do that” but they dont,cause they cant.
didnt mean to get off subject
qi is not the effectig force. vibration is.
the chinese have an axiom “qi does not effect the man made of wood,stone or glass”
sorry just had to come and put in my 2 cent
qi = energy
you need energy to break the bricks…as you need energy to do a lot of stuff…so yes qi is involved in breaking the bricks…even if they did lift up the bricks and cheat…still need energy… (yeah i know MOST people probably do not think of it thats way…but thats fine…) (i have a weird way of thinking)
a lot of the qi qong acts are physics though i do agree…some are jus retarded…eatting/biting/chewing glass?? LOL who would even think of that!
using a towel over the brick…i do not understand how is that iron palm? isnt iron palm when you condition skin/hand does not get damage? or hurt? so if you cut ur self, that mean you do not have iron palm…