Breaking of boards, and later concrete tiles, is a requirement of Chang Hon Kwan Taekwon-Do for rank promotion. The requirements for each individual rank are found in the links below.
Breaking is an extremely valuable training tool for improving the effectiveness of a student's techniques. Breaking practice focuses on the development of correct technical movement, exact tool application, power improvement, coordination of body movement and timing, speed, and balance. Breaking may be practiced with breaking material (e.g., using boards or tiles - either supported, lightly supported, unsupported, or suspended), on heavy bags, on held targets, or combined with the execution of patterns. This training is combined with the other individual components of Taekwon-Do practice - Patterns, Kicking, Ho-Sin-Sul, Step-Sparring, and Sparring. Constant practice in all of these areas will result in the student becoming proficient and effective in Taekwon-Do as an art. It will also result in a dramatically improved capability for effective self-defense in serious situations encountered on the street. However, for the purposes of breaking practice discussed here, only the application of these techniques to objects such as boards or tiles (targets) will be considered, rather than against opponents.
Most Taekwon-Do techniques can be performed in a variety of ways to produce different results. Two specific classifications of techniques used to determine their effectiveness are power breaks, and technique breaks. The required breaks for promotion at each individual rank consist of a combination of both power and technique breaks, which are determined by the test board.
Required breaking techniques will consist of the punches, blocks, thrusts, strikes and kicks learned for the student’s last rank promotion, as well as all previous rank level promotions. Breaks selected by the test board will come from those suggested by the student prior to testing and from all breaking requirements for previous ranks. The breaking material will be adjusted by the test board according to the student’s age, size, ability, and how long they have been practicing the technique. As the student prepares for each rank promotion testing, it may be beneficial to ask the instructor for guidance on what aspects of the specific techniques listed in their requirements will represent either a power break or a technical break.
Below are links to individual web pages for the breaking requirements for belt rank promotion by Chang Hon Kwan Taekwon-Do. To view a list of the requirements for promotion to a particular belt rank, click on that rank as indicated below.
