the standard for minimum level of serious injury from a blow has long been the ability to break a 1" thick, 1 ft square pine board. That doesn't take all that much of a "pop", if it's administered with enough speed, and if you aren't truly fast, the guy will block or evade your blow, anyway!
however, such boards are very expensive, so some dude came up with a mortize and tenon sort of slip together joint synthetic board, that will demonstrate that it takes the same amount of power (as breaking the pine board) for over 1000 breaks.
One of the Korean black belt requirements is to toss up such a board in such a way as to have the "face" of the board towards you, and break it in midair with a forefist , then do it side ways, with "chop" and with the backfist , Also, simply drop the board, with it facing you, and break it in midair with a ball of the foot (tuck up your toes) barefoot front snapkick. VERY few US black belts can anything LIKE meet this standard of "focus", accuracy and speed. Which is one of the reasons that they are not worthy of the rank.
the first degree of the Black belt rank is SUPPOSED to mean:"untouchable by the untrained man". As my instructor, Moon Hyo Kun worded it:"Supposed to be, this karate, one time hit, one time KILL". For guys at HIS level (5th Dan) that is exactly what they can do.
however, such boards are very expensive, so some dude came up with a mortize and tenon sort of slip together joint synthetic board, that will demonstrate that it takes the same amount of power (as breaking the pine board) for over 1000 breaks.
One of the Korean black belt requirements is to toss up such a board in such a way as to have the "face" of the board towards you, and break it in midair with a forefist , then do it side ways, with "chop" and with the backfist , Also, simply drop the board, with it facing you, and break it in midair with a ball of the foot (tuck up your toes) barefoot front snapkick. VERY few US black belts can anything LIKE meet this standard of "focus", accuracy and speed. Which is one of the reasons that they are not worthy of the rank.
the first degree of the Black belt rank is SUPPOSED to mean:"untouchable by the untrained man". As my instructor, Moon Hyo Kun worded it:"Supposed to be, this karate, one time hit, one time KILL".
For guys at HIS level (5th Dan) that is exactly what they can do.