From Sensei Michael Mackay,Yon-dan,
Midtown Karate Dojo, NYC, New York

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Atemi Waza ("breaking")

The first three principles for successful breaking are:

(1) tighten the striking surface of the hand (or elbow/knee/foot)
(2) strike at the most vulnerable point of the target (in the case of boards and cement blocks the mid-line)
(3) strike through to the empty space behind the target.

Mental preparation is also ki. Hanshi recommends visualizing the target as something extremely fragile or soft (a stack of crackers or block of butter) - as opposed to something impenetrable.

If you convince yourself the target must break, it surely will.

Domo Arigato, Hanshi,

Michael Mackay, Yon-dan, SRKUSA