Gimme a break

On Saturday at Lampe Park, Northwest Martial Arts students and instructors broke 5,102 boards in one hour, with their feet.

This was part of a world-wide effort in which martial artists all over the world participated simultaneously for one hour, from 10-11 a.m.

Northwest joined other martial arts schools throughout the U.S. in an effort to raise funds for Project Action, a national award-winning children's charity whose mission is to prevent juvenile crime by providing disadvantaged and "at-risk" children the opportunity to become involved in physical and cultural arts programs, working with martial arts, dance and gymnastics schools.

Last year the Project Action group broke the world record with a combined 95,501 breaks in one hour. Northwest Martial Arts had run out of boards after 18 minutes, breaking about 1,800 boards. This year they increased the amount by using contest-approved plastic boards that can be put back together over and over again.

"These boards take just as much impact to break," said Northwest Martial Arts instructor Brandi Gibson.

They purchased 2,000 wooden boards and 3,102 plastic boards. The plastic boards can be reused and the broken wooden boards will be used for making crafts or for kindling.

Northwest Martial Arts alone raised $1,804 for Project Action this year, with 43 martial artists participating in all ages. The results for the world record has not been released yet.

For more information visit the Web site: www.projectaction.com or call Brandi Gibson at 782-8858.