GREENFIELD – Students at Greenfield Tae Kwon Do Center took on the formidable challenge of breaking 3,075 boards in the name of charity on Saturday.

Seasoned instructors coached children and adults throughout the annual break-athon fundraiser, working as a team to carve out a studio filled with inch-thick planks with their hands, feet, elbows and their knees. Aside from the goodwill to benefit Greenfield Recorder’s Warm the Children charity by inviting donations and pledges, the participating martial artists seemed to be having fun building a formidable pile of split planks.

Building on a 19-year tradition that has raised a total of $ 95,854 so far, the organization hopes that this year’s donations add up to a total that will eclipse a cumulative goal of $ 100,000.

“Walk forward, use your heel, middle foot, kihap!” Instructor Mikele Deziell said, training a child to break a plank with a tactically positioned strike.

The majority of the participants in the event were “white belts” – newbies in the martial arts. Owner and instructor David Johnson said these martial artists, all regulars at Greenfield Tae Kwon Do Center, had never broken a single board until the Wednesday before the break-athon.

“Tae kwon do is 90% technique and 10% surprise,” said Johnson, relishing the success of his inexperienced students. “I am very proud of them, as you can see.

“This power was wonderful! Deziell exclaimed in response to another child’s kick.

The children maintained their energy throughout the morning. Many were passionate about the voice, uttering a loud cry every time they hit a plank.

“I love the feeling,” Quin Audet, 6, said of the boards breaking. “It makes me want to break more.”

Children weren’t the only martial artists to benefit from break-athon. Quin’s father, Mike Audet, recently took up taekwondo when Quin expressed a desire to give it a try.

“I asked Quin if this was something he would be interested in and we signed up together,” Audet said. “It’s just a really fun thing to do together and a really good chance to hook up.”

Johnson admired the demographic diversity of the people who filled the studio while sharing a common interest. He made a connection between the diversity in the room and the people served by the break-athon.

“Different genders, different ethnicities… these are the same people we are trying to help,” he said.

Johnson also noted that the culture embodied by taekwondo generally aligns with the goals of Warm the Children. He referred to a poster hanging on the wall that highlights the five principles of tae kwon do: courtesy, perseverance, integrity, indomitable spirit and self-control.

“This is where it starts to trickle down,” Johnson said. “These are the philosophical cornerstones to which we adhere. ”

He made it clear that these cornerstones are not lost among his students and peers.

“I tell them all the time,” he said, “that it all depends on what you have in mind, how strong your body is and how good your heart is.”

To send a tax-deductible donation, checks may be made payable to “Warm the Children” c / o The Greenfield Recorder, PO Box 1367, Greenfield, MA 01301. (Donations sent directly to the Recorder will go to Warm the Children, but will not count towards the Greenfield Tae Kwon Do Center fundraising tally. Checks supporting the dojo’s fundraising total, also made payable to “Warm the Children”, are sent to Greenfield Tae Kwon Do Center, 102 Federal St., Greenfield, MA 01301.)

Additionally, pieces of wood broken during the break-athon are packaged and sold for use as kindling in woodstoves at $ 5 a bag. This money also benefits Warm the Children. Kindling bags can be reserved now by calling the studio at 413-774-5395.

Contact Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or [email protected]