Everything you need to know about chopping wooden boards in Karate

Throughout the years, the media has had a fascination with Karateka’s chopping wooden boards. This isn’t new either and dates back to the 70s. Whilst it’s also fair to say that the golden age of Karate has since been and gone, it seems that a lot of people are still intrigued regarding wood chopping when it comes to Karate.

Perhaps the reason behind this is that it looks pretty cool and shows a degree of power. Secondly, from Karate’s perspective, it can be used as a promotional tool to show off. As a result, it’s no surprise that there’s still a lot of intrigue surrounding this phenomenon.

What kind of wood is broken in karate?

In Karate, usually the wood selected to be chopped is naturally softer, such as pine wood or MDF. This means that it’s easier on the hands and won’t break your wrist or knuckles upon contact. In other words, you’re not likely to see a Karate practice chopping a piece of hardwood or timber anytime soon. For obvious reasons, this could seriously damage their wrists so it’s not worth it.

This is why kids will sometimes be seen chopping wood, because usually when this happens – it’s completely safe. Remember, the way in which the wood is structured makes it as weak as possible. Put differently, usually the wood has two weights on either end which makes its center easy to break upon contact. Once the wrist connects with the center of the wood, it means it’s much easier to break due to the pressure.

In fairness, some veteran Karate practitioners can chop harder, thicker forms of wood as well as other objects. This is proof that it’s not just some kind of fraud or trick and there is an element of reality behind the process.

Can you chop a brick?

Whilst breaking soft wood with a chop is one thing, breaking a brick is another feat altogether. Due to the width and structure of a brick, it makes it far harder to chop compared to a piece of wood. However, there have been instances where this has been filmed on camera.

Perhaps this is achieved by a Karateka with incredibly conditioning hands and wrists. These are the kind of wrists you may hear about in a Kung Fu movie or something. Basically, there’s a thing called the ‘iron fist’ which is based on conditioning your wrist until it barely resembles something on your own body.

This process literally takes years to fulfill and isn’t for everyone. Still, the results could be that you could chop a brick. Of course, this would require not just strength but also great technique too. Sometimes, you can see old Goju Ryu practitioners condition their wrists for hours to make them harder and more durable.

Another thing worth noting is that when it comes to chopping wood or other objects, usually the focus is on technique and precision, rather than power. When thought of like this, the possibility of chopping a brick seems easier. For the average person though, it’s not advised and can cause serious injury.

Can a Karate Chop knock you out?

Make no doubts about it, a Karate chop can definitely knock you out. The reason behind this is that a Karate chop is basically a punch, but the side of your wrist lands. Typically, this connects with the neck of the opponent which can result in a quick knock out and render the opponent unconscious.

In MMA and UFC, the legality surrounding the Karate chop is a bit of a grey area. For instance, you’re not allowed to grab the trachea, which it could be interpreted as with a flat fist. So, for the most part in MMA you will see hammer fists being thrown instead. These are very effective and safer on the hands of the person throwing the punch.

To date though, there’s no evidence of anyone successfully landing a Karate chop in MMA and knocking someone out with it. For the most part though, MMA doesn’t have that many Karate specialists which may be the reason for this.

Even in skilled Karate matches though, punches are usually preferred in comparison to using a chop instead. Generally, unless they hit the neck they’re pretty useless, whereas a punch can damage more areas.

Do any other martial arts styles chop wood?

Generally, within the realms of Karate, wood chopping is mostly done by those who practice Kyukoshin. This is notoriously the toughest form of Karate and is hard on the body. Therefore, it makes sense that they would mostly do this ritual, as they’re often the most conditioned and hardcore Karate practitioners.

Having said this, the tradition of chopping wood in Karate is done by all sorts of Karate styles and it isn’t exclusive to Kyukoshin. This begs the question as to whether other martial arts use this as well?

Generally, wood chopping isn’t really seen outside of Karate. This makes sense too, as it’s a form of an open palm strike or chop, which isn’t really done away from Karate. Sometimes though, you may see Taekwondo gyms practice this which isn’t too strange as the pair have many similarities. Aside from singular gyms doing wood chopping for their own reasons though, the practice is typically done in Karate and not seen elsewhere.

Conclusion

Chopping wood in Karate isn’t actually that common and is usually done in a ceremonial setting. Usually, it’s done to show some level of competenance in your chopping skills but doesn’t go far beyond that. In other words, you don’t need to be able to chop bricks to prove yourself as a Karate black belt or anything.

Still, Karate chopping boards certainly make for an entertaining spectacle which is perhaps why the tradition still continues. On a final note, if you are to try chopping wood or other materials then make sure you do so in a safe environment with experienced people. If you try to randomly chop wood on your own with no skills or understanding of the wood then it’s possible you could break your bones which is not what it’s about.

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