November 6, 2002
Broken boards, healing lives
Tae Kwon Do board break fund-raiser for House of Hope
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Using hands and heels, feet and elbows, more than 60 area Tae Kwon Do students broke boards by the thousands Saturday afternoon to raise money for the House of Hope.
Sponsored by the ATA Blackbelt Academy, the Board Breaks for Hope at the Grand Traverse Mall netted $1,325 and counting for the group that assists troubled teen girls and their families. Eight teams of students, ages four to adult, broke 13,690 plastic, reusable training boards in one hour during the event.
Chris Pline, owner of the academy, holds a board break fund-raiser annually to help an area charity and give his students a chance to contribute to the community while practicing their sport.
"Breaking boards is just a lot of fun, it teachers them focus and concentration," said Pline, who has studied Tae Kwon Do for 20 years and been a teacher for 16. "We do one big fund-raiser a year and the House of Hope sounded like a good organization and I think it is a very important cause."
Craig O'Connor, director of development for the House of Hope, said his organization appreciates the outpouring of community support since it began in 2000. He said the issue of helping families resonates strongly with people.
"There is something really spiritual about getting a family back together that has been fractured," said O'Connor, noting the House of Hope's residential program began a year ago. "Everybody can relate to the importance and value of this."
"One of the things I'm really touched by is that these girls and their families are willing to step up to the plate and say we have a problem and we want to work with it," O'Connor noted.
Board Break for Hope also featured Pline breaking 100 wooden boards in a whirlwind effort that took just 63 seconds- three more than his goal. Another student, Sam Larsen, demonstrated how to break concrete blocks, breaking three in half with one blow of his bare hand.
The plastic training boards students broke had different lengths of tines holding them together, varying their difficulty. Children broke boards with short tines that came apart easily if struck properly. Pline teaches even his youngest students of pre-school age, the Tiny Tigers, to master the technique necessary to break these boards.
Adults or more experienced youth used longer-tined boards - nearly as strong as two pine boards - that required greater skill to break.
At any age or skill level, breaking boards is an art and a science that requires concentration, training, confidence and precision. Whether a plastic training board or a real wooden one, the Tae Kwon Do student learns to focus and strike the board safely.
"You have to have correct accuracy, know where you want to hit it," said Dana Larsen, a seventh-grade student at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Middle School who has been studying Tae Kwon Do for five years. "You have to have technique."
While board breaking is an integral component of this Korean martial art, Tae Kwon Do students also study a full range of physical and mental skills.
Vickie Galloup of Traverse City said she finds the martial art a complete workout. She began training a few years ago after her two children got involved and she decided to join them.
"It is an excellent fitness program, combining strength, aerobics, stretching and flexibility," Galloup said.
Pline's emphasis on the core principles underlying the sport - respect, self-control and goal setting - are an asset. He rotates themes monthly always guiding the students to apply the theme in both their training and everyday life. An event such as the Board Break for Hope is just a chance to apply their training for a good cause.
"There is a lot of positive reinforcement and positive themes here," he noted "It is a lot of fun."