World Record Smashed....Literally!

Last weekend was the UK Martial Arts Show at Doncaster Dome with Martial Artists and self defence experts from around the world gathering to train and network together. Celebrity guests included Scott Adkins from the Undisputed and Green Street 3 films, Michael Jai White from The Dark Knight and Universal Soldier, along with his instructor Bill `Superfoot` Wallace who has appeared in films with Jackie Chan, Chuck Norris and was Elvis Presley’s Karate teacher. At the end of the first day, Chris Byrd, a karate practitioner, attempted the world record for smashing the most roof tiles in less than one minute. We spoke to Chris about the record attempt, his training and how he felt in the run up to the attempt. Hi Chris, thanks for talking to us, could you tell us what the record you are going to be attempting is? The record I will be attempting to break is the fastest time to break 1000 roof tiles by hand, I had held this record for nearly 13 years until 2013. I broke the record by 31 seconds at 54.25 seconds on my first attempt in 2001 it now stands at 51.8 seconds. What is your martial arts background and what made you decide to do the challenge? My background is Karate based Wado ryu under Paul Barnett Karate Schools which I have been a student of for around 26 years and am currently 3rd Dan. I decided to attempt the record for a second time because I believe there is enough in the tank for one more try at anything you put your heart into, plus raising money for charity such as Cancer Research and Sarac which are both charities that need as much support as possible. What training have you done in preparation, what risk or injuries could occur, and what measures have you taken to prevent them in terms of hand wrapping? Training consists of punching lots of different materials and moving on to structures such as brick walls, concrete blocks and even steel uprights. This helps to build up bone structure and calcium over your knuckles which adds some small protection however nothing guarantees bones won’t break or dislocate. Every break whether it is bricks, wood, tiles or concrete there is a chance you could end up with a bad injury. Advice for anyone using their fists to punch through all the aforementioned would be to use wrist supports hand wraps and tape, gloves maybe a more protective option however this does detract from understanding how much force is needed to break the material. I will be wrapping my wrists for support a small amount over my knuckles and tape to hold it firm. If successful will you look to attempt more world record attempts? If my attempt is successful there are a few different records I would like to try next but let’s see if I still have what it takes, it’s been a while.   Where can people donate to support you and your chosen charity? I have a just giving page for the Cancer Research https://www.justgiving.com/Chris-Byrd/ or on the day of the event there will be people collecting for both charities. Why that specific charity? Cancer Research because I have lost friends and family to Cancer. Sarac due to being abused as a child and they were there to help me when I needed it most as they are for many others, they have no government funding and rely on donations solely. Are you planning on sticking around for the rest of the Martial Arts Show and training/seeing what martial arts are on offer? I will be there for the full day on Saturday as my instructor is one of the event organisers and out of respect for him, all martial arts attending, and the fact the show will be awesome I want to see the whole thing however Sunday maybe a little different as my hands may need to recover. All martial arts teach discipline, control and respect all good basics which can transfer into day to day life it's not about being able to destroy another person it's about learning what you can do and how far you are willing to push yourself be safe, keep yourself safe, teach others to do the same. That interview was taken the day before the world record attempt and we were lucky enough to be able to watch Chris smash his way through 1000 roof tiles in under 47.2 seconds to become the new world record holder! We caught up with Chris after the event and asked how he thought he did and his plans for the future. He said: Overall I think it was not too bad. Having looked at the footage I see many things I need to put right for the next time. I had to hit a few stacks twice as my left was a little weak, though setting up for 7 hrs before may have been a contributing factor. Now as always I'm feeling like I want to do it again and I also want to look at breaking other world records. There are so many people to thank for the support and donations here's just a few; Paul Barnett my instructor and Bob Sykes, all the awesome people at Webasto, Paul Davies conservation roofing, David Wilson Homes East Midlands, Contact Transport, and my inspirations Sarah and Billy-Jax. All I do is break tiles, without these people supporting and donating it’s just a demolition job with them we can help so many people and fight for good causes. Everyone at Firstaid4sport wants to congratulate Chris on his fantastic performance breaking the new world record by smashing 1000 roof tiles in 47.2 seconds at the UK Martial Arts Show 2015. Well done Chris!