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  Most bricks broken in a single strike-world record set by Dan Netherland

[Sep 24] NORTH TONAWANDA, US--Dr. Dan Netherland broke at least 14 bricks, and as many as 16, in his display inside the former Lowry Middle School on Payne Avenue and has set a new world record for breaking the most brickes in a single strike.

  "That was a good break — not a lot of people can do that — but it wasn’t good enough. I was shooting for 20.”  Netherland’s previous record was 15 broken bricks in one single strike.

   In July, using a single strike with his hand, he crushed 30 slabs of poured concrete that weighed a ton. His record for brick breaking is 15.

   Dr. Dan Netherland is known as the “King of Breaking.” He is a master of breaking objects with his bare hands, and in doing so, he breaks his own world records.
 
   “I’ll break just about anything you put in front of me,” Netherland said. Netherland, from Cosby, Tenn., is now 60 years old. As a child with polio, he found the martial arts, which he has now studied for 53 years, piling up multiple black belts along the way. His polio led him to concentrate on breaking, he said. “That was really the only thing I could do because of my lack of mobility,” Netherland said. “I developed a ‘can-do’ attitude.” He now suffers from other chronic health problems, including diabetes and cardiopulmonary disease.

   Crushing bricks and concrete with the heel of his palm, he said, is “like an an act of rebellion” against such problems.

   His rock breaking exploits are fitting, because at 5-feet, 6-inches and more than 300 pounds, Netherland is a boulder of a man. He is a member of the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame and holds numerous official world records for breaking bricks and concrete.

    Motivational speaking is as much a part of Netherland’s program as his breaking of objects. A great deal of his speaking involves overcoming adversity. “So many people are aimless today,” Netherland said. “They have no objectives.”

  Netherland hopes that by demonstrating the power within himself, others can find that same power inside themselves, he said. “You can’t just give in to circumstances,” Netherland said. “You’ve got to do, you’ve got to live. The power’s resident within you.”

   Asked if he’s ever broken his hand on a stunt, Netherland said he probably has had many small fractures and the bones “come back harder and stronger.” “I’ve had people ask me, ‘Well, does it hurt?’ ” he said. “If it breaks, it doesn’t hurt, if it doesn’t break, it hurts.”

  Dan Netherland’s world records
  Dan Netherland holds multiple world records in breaking.
  • Most concrete broken by hand in a single strike: 30 blocks
  • Most concrete blocks broken by hand in 60 seconds: 55 blocks
  • Most concrete broken in a single strike: 1 ton
  • Most bricks broken in a single strike: 15 bricks (previous)
  • Most bricks broken in 60 seconds: 76 bricks

             
   
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