Comments on: Why Karate Guys Can Break Bricks (And You Can’t…) http://heavyfists.com/karate-break-brick Punching Power Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:55:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: admin http://heavyfists.com/karate-break-brick/comment-page-1#comment-72 admin Sat, 08 May 2010 01:54:28 +0000 http://heavyfists.com/?p=402#comment-72 A lot of people arrive at this article after using a search engine like Google to find out "how to break bricks". While I never intended this article to be a tutorial on how to crack a brick with your bare hands, I can give you some insight into how it's done. The people who actually break single bricks with a bare-handed punch are using several tricks to accomplish the trick: <ol> <li>First, they use soft bricks known as <i>salmon brick</i>. These are low-quality bricks often used for walls <i>inside</i> a building that are never exposed to the elements or to view. Salmon brick is softer and easier to crack than other types of brick. <li>Second, they <i>score</i> the brick on the bottom so it cracks evenly without any jagged edges to hurt the hand. <li>Finally, they rest the brick on another brick and <i>tip</i> it slightly so the bottom brick acts as a <i>fulcrum</i>. I drew a crude diagram to show how this is done. </ol> <img src="http://heavyfists.com/wp-content/uploads/break-brick.jpg"> So basically, when you break a soft, scored salmon brick, you are using the edge of the bottom brick to crack the top brick. As long as you have tough knuckles (or use a palm-heel strike), it might just work. Note: don't actually do this. I don't do it and either should you. A lot of people arrive at this article after using a search engine like Google to find out “how to break bricks”. While I never intended this article to be a tutorial on how to crack a brick with your bare hands, I can give you some insight into how it’s done.

The people who actually break single bricks with a bare-handed punch are using several tricks to accomplish the trick:

  1. First, they use soft bricks known as salmon brick. These are low-quality bricks often used for walls inside a building that are never exposed to the elements or to view. Salmon brick is softer and easier to crack than other types of brick.
  2. Second, they score the brick on the bottom so it cracks evenly without any jagged edges to hurt the hand.
  3. Finally, they rest the brick on another brick and tip it slightly so the bottom brick acts as a fulcrum. I drew a crude diagram to show how this is done.

So basically, when you break a soft, scored salmon brick, you are using the edge of the bottom brick to crack the top brick. As long as you have tough knuckles (or use a palm-heel strike), it might just work.

Note: don’t actually do this. I don’t do it and either should you.

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