For me, it is pretty cool. I like breaking boards. I remember when I was dreading them in my grading year, but right now? They’re so much fun. I believe I have a blend of technique, power, confidence, and youthful springy-ness to get through boards with a variety of techniques (maybe a little foolishness, too). In fact, of the 13 breaks I did, I only messed up two.
The first technique mess-up I managed to do again on my first re-attempt (albeit with a rebreakable board) a little while later. I came up with a plan, I tried the plan, and it worked. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. The second was a double inside-outside hammer fist (both strikes going in opposite directions at the same time) I messed up while attempting it for a second time. The first time I did it, I nailed it. It was awesome. Then my mom wanted a video and there was all this pressure and I messed up the second one. Oh well. It was still cool.
How have I managed to move from apprehension and anxiety about board breaking towards sheer enjoyment? The short answer would probably be “I grew up”. Not really a great answer, but it does summarize it. As I’ve grown up, several things have changed.
The first is confidence. I’ve broken boards in the past. Lots of boards. Do I know exactly what it feels like? Not really, since I kinda just whabam-shapow-kabloom it once I think everything is where it should be, and I don’t think I register the exact feeling of going through a board. I realize that’s probably not very helpful, but that’s exactly what happens. On this same note, something I have been working on is to not trial run my break combo more than three times. I set up the boards where I want them, run through it once or twice to make sure my heights are roughly where I need them to be, and then I just go. I tried this approach a few times tonight, and I think it worked very well.
Another aspect is my intent. I have reached a point where I believe I have great control over my intent. My VKR (Visualization to Kinetic Reprsentation) is an axe going through a tree. I become the axe, and the tree falls. Mroom, pow, whachaw. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
The last thing I believe worth mentioning is my mindset. Keep in mind, this is different from intent. My mindset during breaks (my breaks, at the very least) is not strict or serious. It’s fun. I’m having SO much fun.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not discarding the learning opportunity’s over having fun. I believe I need to focus on using less brute force and more technique, although this is something I think I am working toward on as a whole in my martial arts. Overall, I believe my fun-having, stress free mindset enables me to absorb more criticism and operate smoother.
Great work to everyone who broke over the last few days, lots of learning opportunities!
The onomatopoeia in this post are fantastic! As are the nuggets of wisdom.
ReplyDeleteWell I just learned a new word today!
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