Tamashawari is an exciting area of Martial Arts
training. Once you start to explore this area it can be very addictive.
Breaking of course has its detractors, generally these people have never had
proper instruction in the art. You often hear them use a quote from the
great Bruce Lee .... "Boards and Bricks don't hit back". Let me tell you
boards and bricks do hit back and can hurt and injure when they do. Even
Bruce Lee failed at his first breaking attempt .....
Here is an extract from
"The Dragon & the Tiger –The Birth of Jet Kune-do in Oakland" (2005) by Sid
Campbell & Greglon Lee. It shows how Bruce Lee failed in his first
breaking attempt, and had a fascination with Iron Palm techniques.
Then, with a loud guttural shout, Bruce smashed his palm-heel deep down onto the
top board of the stacked pile of lumber. Not a one of them broke, not even a
crack on the surface of the top one. Bruce let out a suppressed moan of
excruciating pain as his hand bounced back off of the boards. He immediately
shook the hand three or four times and held it like he thought it may be broken.
Greglon could see the grimacing look of anguish on Uncle Bruce’s
face and knew that his hand was in pain from the shock of the blow. As Greglon
got closer, James pushed him back and instantly reached and took Bruce's right
hand into his own grasp while he gently inspected the area around the wrist.
After several minutes careful examination James then said, “Bruce it looks
alright, nothing to worry about, nothing is broken.” Bruce was still
expressionless but he was sweating more than usual from the trauma of the
impact.
Here are a few random tips to help you with your practice and research.
The most important tip I can pass on is to find a really good instructor who is
experienced in this area. I was lucky to be taught by a true Tamashawari
Warrior, Shihan Tim Reilly. I have also had the good fortune to discuss
this practice with Tim's teacher, Shihan John Duncan.
Beware of black magic, hype and shortcuts.
Power Breaking should ONLY be done by adults.
Be patient – don’t rush your conditioning and breaking attempts.
Condition daily – I use a besser block with old carpet on top to prepare
for open palm (cotton hand) strikes.
Use spacers if the break is for a demonstration. Carpenters flat
pencils are ideal for this application.
Make sure that you strike with the grain of the board and all boards’
line up the grain facing the same way.
Visualize the successful break before you attempt it.
Holders must be practiced, skilled and confident. Rehearse before
demos.
Place your centre of gravity directly above the object to be broken (if
it is a set standing break) before you combine knee, hip and upper body in a
vertical drop.
With open palm strikes, keep fingers pointed toward the target, invert
them skyward to expose your palm just prior to making contact.
Never break using your forehead. This tends to be very dangerous
especially its effect on the vertebrae and brain.
Try open palm strikes first to develop technique of whole body rotation
and drop, then move to knife hand, fists, elbows, stomps and kicks etc…
Don’t psyche up …. Set up properly and Just do it!
Use the gym to enhance upper body strength and mass.
Always work with your instructor – this is dangerous stuff!
Further information can be found at the Zen Chi Ryu
website - www.zenchiryu.com
Long Term Effects
I believe that most practitioners of extreme tamashawari
will eventually feel the onset of arthritis and similar joint problems.
However, ego and non congruency may prevent an open discussion of this issue. I
remember reading somewhere (unsure of reference perhaps someone can help here)
that Sosa Mas Oma suffered very painfully with arthritic symptoms in the last
few years of his life. Moderation is probably the key to limit this. Easier said
than done when we are talking about extreme power breaking. I also believe that
slow conditioning and listening to what your body is telling you and taking
appropriate stoppages in your training/conditioning schedule may limit long term
effects.
