History Main / BrickBreak

* Happens in ''Film/{{Bloodsport}}'', where Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme character Frank Dux hits a pile of bricks and smashes the ''lowest'' one. The villain Chong Li uses the "Boards don't hit back." line. His sidekick Ray Jackson breaks one brick in two with a simple punch, then another one on his forehead.

* This same line was used by the bad guy in Van Damme's ''Film/{{Bloodsport}}'', when Dux was able to shatter a single brick on the bottom of a stack.

* Happens in at ''Film/{{Bloodsport}}'', where Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme hits a pile of bricks and smashes the ''lowest'' one. His sidekick breaks one brick in two with a simple punch, then another one on his forehead.

* During the TrainingMontage in ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'', they did this with their heads. Then during a fight later on, you see the same guy doing it to an enemy soldier's ''back''.

** Countless Mario immitators from the VideoGame/GianaSisters to ''VideoGame/DistortedTravesty 3'' share this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylm3TNzYDOs odd superpower]].

* Goku of ''Manga/DragonBall'' did it [[FingerpokeOfDoom with a single finger]] when Oolong challenged him to. In the first episode, he chopped firewood with his bare hands after throwing the logs into the air.
** In a filler episode, Gohan tried this trick, but a little girl named Lime who was unaware of his powers asked him what he thought he was doing, which distracted him and made the logs fall on his head. He then chops them with an ax, slicing through them with no effort.

* With the release of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'''s Asian-themed ''Mists of Pandaria'' expansion and its monk class, this inevitably pops up a few times, including vanity items the players can buy and then break whenever and wherever they feel like. The most impressive example is probably the quest chain of [[http://www.wowhead.com/npc=56714 Master Bruised Paw]], who trains the player in pandaren kung fu, including the use of three successively-tougher BrickBreak challenges (bamboo, then wood, and finally stone) and two {{Training Montage}}s.

** In a filler episode, Gohan tried this trick, but a little girl named Lime who was unaware of his powers asked him what he thought he was doing, which distracted him and made the logs fall on his head. He then chops them with a ax, slicing through them with no effort.

Has nothing to do with {{LEGO}} bricks or ''VideoGame/{{Arkanoid}}''. ''Definitely'' not to be confused with BowelBreakingBricks. A FlyingBrick presents somewhat more of a challenge.

** Breaking bricks is the possible logic behind why Fighting is [[ElementalRockPaperScissors super effective]] against Rock, Ice, and Steel.

** Countless Mario immitators from the VideoGame/GianaSisters to VideoGame/DistortedTravesty 3 share this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylm3TNzYDOs odd superpower]]

%%* [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]], of course.

* Local chem-addled burnout Fred Allen of VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}} attempted this while high on Buffout. As his terminal details, he managed to shatter ten at once...then he tried breaking a ''steel'' board. The last bit of the Buffout trial is typed with his left hand.

* In WesternAnimation/TheCritic, "The Benedictine Monk Variety Hour" shows The Pope successfully breaking a large block of ice with his forehead.

* One episode of ''Series/ThePrisoner'' featured Number Two doing this in his office.

* In ''Film/{{Sidekicks}}'', Mr. Lee breaks 10 bricks in the tournament. Barry then breaks nine bricks, which are on fire, for the tiebreaker. Also gave us this immortal quote from Creator/{{Mako}}:
-->No need gi for brick breaking!

** The same film features this with several (6 to 10) sheets of ice. Of course, only Daniel can do it. In a CallBack to the previously-mentioned scene, Mr. Miyagi does break a log in half with his hands at one point, [[spoiler:to save the life of the man trapped underneath it, who happens to be his old enemy [[SaveTheVillain Sato]].
* In ''Film/{{Sidekicks}}'', Mr. Lee breaks 10 bricks in the tournament. Barry then breaks nine bricks, which are on fire, for the tiebreaker.

** In the original ''Film/TheKarateKid1984'', Daniel sees a movie poster centred on a man kicking a log in half.
-->Master, can you breaks a log like that?

** ''Film/TheKarateKidPartII'' features this with several (6 to 10) sheets of ice. Of course, only Daniel can do it. Perhaps as a CallBack to the scene in the first movie, Mr. Miyagi does break a log in half with his hands at one point, [[spoiler:to save the life of the man trapped underneath it]].

* Danica in the RASalvatore series could do this to chunks of rock, being a TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons monk. Eventually she also tried to do it with her [[HardHead head]], which was considered suicidal until she succeeded.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', Marco trains for a martial arts tournament and chops through a wooden board with ease. He then tries it with a stack of three boards and breaks his hand.

Has nothing to do with {{LEGO}} bricks or ''{{Arkanoid}}''. ''Definitely'' not to be confused with BowelBreakingBricks. A FlyingBrick presents somewhat more of a challenge.

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Gilotina, one of the Female Furies from ''ComicBook/NewGods'', combines this with AbsurdlySharpBlade, as her karate chops slice through anything like hot butter.
[[/folder]]

* {{Parodied}} in Animation/InvestigationHeldByKolobki, where one of the protagonists, Colleague, uses a karate chop to break a pack of maccaroni in half.

* Mario doesn't even need to use his hands, when powered up with a mushroom, he famously breaks bricks with his head.

* Parodied in an episode of ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir''; Will goes to a karate instructor for lessons but finds nothing in the dojo but a board on two cinderblocks. He stomps the board and makes martial arts noises, but a moment later the sensei (played by [[TheKarateKid Pat Morita]]) comes in, looks down, and asks "What happened to my coffee table?"