The present invention relates to the field of the martial arts and, more particularly, to a hand-held device for holding boards for breaking, such as during karate exercises or demonstrations.
Those skilled in the martial arts understand that the exercise of breaking boards helps the martial artist not only hone his or her skills and increase confidence, but also aids in building the strength necessary for delivering effective blows to an opponent or other target. Accordingly, it is common practice in the martial arts for one or two assistants to hold boards for breaking, while a practitioner takes aim and delivers a blow to the boards.
These exercises are also known to be dangerous and prone to causing injuries not only to the practitioner delivering the blow, but also possibly to the assistants holding the breaking boards. These injuries often occur when a blow is misdirected and lands on the fingers of the assistants holding the board, or on support equipment being used to hold the board. Injuries may also occur when the broken board does not readily clear away from the practitioner's fist, foot, or other body part employed in delivering the blow. For example, with certain types of board support equipment it is possible for the broken edges of the board to close back on the practitioner's fist or foot to thereby cause injury. Additionally, the typical assistant is able to hold approximately about three boards, so that when the breaking boards are held by an assistant, the number of boards to be broken by the practitioner is limited by the hand span of the assistant.
With the foregoing in mind, the present invention advantageously provides a martial arts device for holding one or more boards for breaking. The device is primarily intended for hand-held use, preferably by two holding assistants. The device is, thus, easily portable and widely adjustable in holding height and orientation to provide many different angles for board breaking practice. The device additionally allows holding multiple boards, so that the martial arts practitioner is no longer limited to the smaller number of boards which an assistant is capable of holding.
The device advantageously also aids in distributing the force of a board breaking blow over a larger area to help reduce impact damage to the hands of holding assistants. It can be appreciated that when assistants are directly holding boards for breaking, the impact force of a blow directed onto those boards will largely be transferred onto the hands of the holders. This transfer of force is known to cause soft tissue damage such as bruising, as well as bone damage, including fractures. Further, as the boards break the held edges of the boards will be forcefully turned in the hands of the assistants, with the probability of causing further injury to the assistants. The device of the present invention helps prevent such injuries.
A preferred martial arts device for holding at least one breaking board comprises a frame, at least two rabbets along the frame, and a plurality of adjustable fasteners. The frame has at least four frame members connected to form the frame, wherein the frame members comprise generally parallel and oppositely spaced apart first and second lengthwise members, and generally parallel and oppositely spaced apart first and second widthwise members, wherein lateral edges of the frame members form an outside periphery and an inside periphery of the frame, the inside periphery surrounding an inside opening extending through the frame. At least two rabbets are positioned generally spaced apart and opposite each other on the frame members along the inside periphery of the frame for therein receiving edges of a breaking board so as to support the board positioned across the inside opening of the frame. A plurality of adjustable fasteners is positioned on the frame members adjacent the rabbets for fastening the breaking board on the frame. Additional embodiments of the invention are further described below.
Some of the features, advantages, and benefits of the present invention having been stated, others will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, presented for solely for exemplary purposes and not with intent to limit the invention thereto, and in which:
The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. Unless otherwise defined, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, suitable methods and materials are described below. Any publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. In case of conflict, however, the present specification, including any definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods and examples given are illustrative in nature only and not intended to be limiting. Accordingly, this invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the illustrated embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these illustrated embodiments are provided solely for exemplary purposes so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, and from the claims.
The device preferably also comprises a plurality of hand holds 28 for manually supporting the frame. The hand holds 28 may be the frame members themselves or formed thereon, or more preferably comprise handles connected to the frame members, especially along a rear surface of the frame member, as shown in
As seen in
In a most preferred embodiment of the invention, shown in
The device of the invention additionally includes a plurality of adjustable fasteners 18 positioned on the at least four frame members adjacent the at least two supports 16, 32 for fastening the breaking board 12 to the frame. These adjustable fasteners 18 may comprise hook and loop fasteners, such as the type marketed under the trademark of Velcro®. The skilled will readily recognize, however, that the invention is intended to include any other fasteners and closures suitable for fastening the breaking boards in place on the frame of the device. Preferred fasteners include flexible straps, as illustrated in
In one preferred embodiment, as shown in
It is to be further understood that the invention described also includes within its scope a frame 14 wherein a breaking board 12 is supported by the widthwise frame members 22 so that the breaking board extends along the lengthwise dimension of the frame. Additionally, it is intended that the invention include a frame 14 which is adjustable in size in at least one dimension. For example, as shown in
The frame 14 of the device is preferably fabricated of a sturdy, relatively rigid but also somewhat resilient material to help absorb shock. In a mass manufactured model, the frame may best be constructed of a hard plastic material, which is typically very durable and rigid, while also being a bit resilient. The frame could also be made of wood and/or metal, although metal is not favored by martial arts practitioners because of its extreme rigidity and hardness, which tend to increase the chance of injury.
Method aspects of the invention include holding at least one breaking board 12 for martial arts by supporting a frame 14 having at least four frame members connected to form the frame, wherein the frame members comprise generally parallel and oppositely spaced apart first and second lengthwise members 20, and generally parallel and oppositely spaced apart first and second widthwise members 22, wherein lateral edges of the frame members form an outside periphery and an inside periphery of the frame, the inside periphery surrounding an inside opening 24 extending through the frame, wherein at least two rabbets are positioned generally spaced apart and opposite each other on the frame members along the inside periphery of the frame for therein receiving edges of a breaking board 12 so as to support the board positioned across the inside opening of the frame, and wherein a plurality of adjustable fasteners 18 is positioned on the frame members adjacent the at lea two rabbets 32. The method of the invention further comprises assembling and disassembling the frame by connecting and disconnecting the frame members from each other, preferably by using removable fasteners 26. The method further includes fastening the at least one breaking board 12 on the frame 14 by engaging edges of the breaking board with the at least two rabbets 32 and fastening the breaking board to the frame with the adjustable fasteners 18.
Additional aspects of the method of the invention include providing a plurality of hand holds 28 along frame for manually supporting the frame, and preferably forming the plurality of hand holds on the frame members. Alternatively, the method could comprise connecting a plurality of hand holds 28 to the frame members. At least one hand hold 28 may be provided adjacent a lateral periphery of the frame 14 and on a rear surface of a frame member, as shown in
In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed a typical preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, the terms are used in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The invention has been described in considerable detail with specific reference to these illustrated embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that various modifications and changes can be made within the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the foregoing specification and as defined in the appended claims.
This application claims priority from co-pending provisional application Ser. No. 60/343,046, which was filed on Dec. 20, 2001, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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60343046 | Dec 2001 | US |