With his fist.
It was about 2" thick, 6" wide and about 24" long. Supported on the very edges, he swung with a "hammer fist", basically a fist swung in an arc behind then overhead then down with force.
Took him two tries though... First one he kinda missed and hit it with his forearm. Lots of guys fall apart if they fail, their next attempts will actually slow down as they approach the brick. Not my son, I think it kinda pi$$ed him off. He quickly reset himself and in one smooth motion broke that block in half.
This was all part of his "Cho Dan Bo" testing. Cho Dan Bo is "recommended" or "probationary" black belt. He gets to wear the black belt, but he's not a 1st degree.
He had to perform all forms (Basic, Chong Ji, Dan Gun, Do San, Won Yo, Yul Guk, Jun Gun, Toi Ge, Hwa Rang, Choong Moo), kicking combinations and self defenses. He had to bread a suspended (held by only one hand at the top) board with a spinning heel kick, and of course the concrete block.
Thats 10 Forms with 272 total movements, 7 self defenses with 34 movements, and kicking combinations with 60 separate kicks. And he has to turn in two papers. What being a black belt means to him, and a short history of Taekwondo.
So tonight he should get to wear his black belt. He's been looking forward to it, like all kids who take martial arts. Lots start, fewer finish, and very few continue. I know he's going to press on and try for his first degree in the very next testing. When he gets that he'll get a certificate from the schools main organization (World something something) and we can get his Kukkiwon certification - the big certificate organization that governs Taekwondo.
After that - who knows. He'll stay active I'm sure, but we're looking around for a school that offers more sparring. His current school is more of a forms, and child development type school. He's matured past the kiddie stuff. He could always improve his forms, but honestly, he's one of the top the school has. His true calling is Olympic style sparring and we need to find someplace that can work with him.
Did I mention he's nine?
He wears Red in the first and second, and blue in the last.
