Speed breaking and power breaking

Setup

1. Two stations on a clear, dry mat with space behind the holders: a power station with two holders side by side and a speed station with one holder or a speed-break stand.
2. Use rebreakable plastic boards. Real wooden boards are only for experienced adult students under the sabeom's direct supervision, with trained holders. Check your federation's grading guidance on breaking.
3. Holders are trained first: feet braced, arms locked, board held firmly at its edges, face turned away from the board's line.
4. Warm up the kicks on shields before anyone breaks. No breaking with the head, ever.

How it runs

1. The sabeom checks every holder before each attempt: arms locked, grip on the edges, fingers clear of the break line, and the board's break line (or wood grain) set parallel to the edge of the striking surface.
2. Power station: the kicker measures distance with a slow touch, then side kicks or back kicks through the board, aiming at a point behind it. The heel is the striking surface.
3. Speed station: the board is held lightly at its top corners or set in a speed-break stand. The kicker snaps a fast roundhouse or hook kick, relying on speed rather than a braced board.
4. Each kicker gets two or three attempts per station, then swaps. Holders rotate so everyone holds as well as kicks.
5. After each attempt, the kicker and holders check feet, hands and wrists. Anyone who is sore stops breaking for the day.

Coaching points

• Aim through the board, not at it; the kick should still be accelerating at the surface.
• Measure, breathe, commit: hesitation is what hurts feet.
• Power break: hip turned fully over, standing foot pivoted, heel leading.
• Speed break: a loose leg and a fast snap; the chamber and retraction matter more than force.
• Holders say 'ready' out loud and do not flinch or pull the board back.

Common mistakes

• Slowing the kick just before contact.
• Striking with the wrong part of the foot, such as the toes.
• Holders bending their elbows so the board gives way.
• Setting the break line or grain the wrong way, so the board will not break and the foot takes the impact.