Abstract:
An apparatus for holding martial arts boards includes a first grip including a curved section for grasping the first grip in varying positions and a slot for holding a first end of the martial arts board. The slot is perpendicular to and distal from the curved section where when the martial arts board is inserted in the slot the martial arts board is perpendicular to the curved section and in front of a user&#39;s hand grasping the curved section such that the user&#39;s hand is protected from striking blows to the martial arts board. Means for accommodating martial arts boards of varying thickness and gripping means for holding the martial arts board in the slot are included. Various means for improving a grasp of the user&#39;s hand are also included.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present Utility patent application claims priority benefit of the U.S. provisional application for patent Ser. No. 60/975,438 filed on Sep. 26, 2007 under 35 U.S.C. 119(e). The contents of this related provisional application are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. 
     
    
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER LISTING APPENDIX 
       [0003]    Not applicable. 
       COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
       [0004]    A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office, patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present invention relates generally to martial arts. More particularly, the invention relates to a martial arts board holder. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    Breaking boards is a common practice among martial artists worldwide and is customary for training and testing and is also done for recreation. Breaking boards, like many martial arts activities, can cause injury if not performed carefully and accurately. A common injury when breaking boards is injuring the fingers of the person or persons holding the board(s). Generally one or two people hold a board for the practitioner who is striking the board with his hand or foot using various techniques. If the person striking the board does not hit the board accurately, he may strike or kick the board holder&#39;s fingers causing injury. 
         [0007]    There have been remedies for this by creating devices that eliminate a person holding the boards in their hands by installing a mechanism to hold the boards against a wall, against bodies or against heavy bags; however these devices can be very large, heavy, expensive, and encumbering. These devices cannot be held in one&#39;s hands but instead are held against a person&#39;s body, held against a big bag, sit on the floor, or are mounted to a wall. Furthermore, these contraptions primarily hold wood boards, and do not accommodate rebreakable boards, which are growing in number and popularity. 
         [0008]    In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved techniques for holding a board or boards for striking and breaking in martial arts that protects the person holding the board, is convenient to use and accommodates wood boards and rebreakable boards. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0009]    The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which: 
           [0010]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrate perspective views of an exemplary grip for a martial arts board holder, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 1A  shows the grip without rubber discs, and  FIG. 1B  shows the grip with rubber discs. 
       
    
    
       [0011]    Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    To achieve the forgoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, an apparatus for holding martial arts boards is presented. 
         [0013]    In one embodiment an apparatus for holding martial arts boards includes a first grip including a curved section for grasping the first grip in varying positions and a slot for holding a first end of the martial arts board. The slot is perpendicular to and distal from the curved section where when the martial arts board is inserted in the slot the martial arts board is perpendicular to the curved section and in front of a user&#39;s hand grasping the curved section such that the user&#39;s hand is protected from striking blows to the martial arts board. Other embodiments further include means for accommodating martial arts boards of varying thickness and gripping means for holding the martial arts board in the slot. Various other embodiments include means for improving a grasp of the user&#39;s hand. In yet another embodiment a curved lip meeting the slot mitigates injuries from striking the martial arts board incorrectly. Another embodiment further includes a second grip including a curved section for grasping the second grip in varying positions and a slot for holding a second end of the martial arts board. The slot is perpendicular to and distal from the curved section where when the martial arts board is inserted in the slot the martial arts board is perpendicular to the curved section and in front of a user&#39;s hand grasping the curved section such that the user&#39;s hand is protected from striking blows to the martial arts board. 
         [0014]    In another embodiment an apparatus for holding martial arts boards includes two grips including a curved sections for grasping the grips in varying positions. The curved sections include means for improving grasps of a user&#39;s hands. Slots hold ends of the martial arts board. The slots are perpendicular to and distal from the curved sections where when the martial arts board is inserted in the slots the martial arts board is perpendicular to the curved sections and in front of the user&#39;s hands grasping the curved sections such that the user&#39;s hands are protected from striking blows to the martial arts board. Curved lips meet the slots where the curved lips mitigate injuries from striking the martial arts board incorrectly. Means for accommodating martial arts boards of varying thickness are provided. 
         [0015]    In another embodiment an apparatus for holding martial arts boards includes first gripping means for holding the martial arts board. Other embodiments further include means for accommodating martial arts boards of varying thickness and second gripping means for holding the martial arts board. 
         [0016]    Other features, advantages, and object of the present invention will become more apparent and be more readily understood from the following detailed description, which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]    The present invention is best understood by reference to the detailed figures and description set forth herein. 
         [0018]    Embodiments of the invention are discussed below with reference to the Figures. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limited embodiments. For example, it should be appreciated that those skilled in the art will, in light of the teachings of the present invention, recognize a multiplicity of alternate and suitable approaches, depending upon the needs of the particular application, to implement the functionality of any given detail described herein, beyond the particular implementation choices in the following embodiments described and shown. That is, there are numerous modifications and variations of the invention that are too numerous to be listed but that all fit within the scope of the invention. Also, singular words should be read as plural and vice versa and masculine as feminine and vice versa, where appropriate, and alternative embodiments do not necessarily imply that the two are mutually exclusive. 
         [0019]    The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
         [0020]    A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a martial arts board holder that enables martial arts practitioners to hold both wood and rebreakable boards for persons striking the boards in various positions and locations while protecting the fingers of the person holding the board from injury. Preferred embodiments are not heavy and do not have to be mounted against something such as, but not limited to, a wall, a body, a large bag, etc. to be used. 
         [0021]    Martial arts board holders according to preferred embodiments of the present invention satisfy the needs of board breaking practitioners in that they protect the fingers of the person holding the boards and they give confidence to the striker because they generally eliminate fear and apprehension of kicking the fingers of the person holding the board Preferred embodiments are versatile because they are not mounted to a wall or a bag, can be used in any location, and can hold various breaking boards in many positions. Preferred embodiments can accommodate both wood boards and the various rebreakable boards on the market. 
         [0022]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrate perspective views of an exemplary grip  100  for a martial arts board holder, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 1A  shows grip  100  without rubber discs  105 , and  FIG. 1B  shows grip  100  with rubber discs  105 . In the present embodiment, the martial arts board holder is designed to hold both 1″ and ½″ wood boards as well as various rebreakable boards available in the marketplace. However, alternate embodiments may be designed to hold boards of different sizes or multiple boards. The martial arts board holder comprises two identical grips  100  with channels  110  into which the breaking boards slide. In the present embodiment, grip  100  comprises an 80 mm section that has a straight edge  115  and curved sections  120  on the outer sections so the person holding grip  100  can adjust positions of the board depending on the type of striking technique being used. For example, without limitation, a person can position the board at head level or higher and at an angle for an ax kick or the person may position the board low with no angle for a front kick. Alternate embodiments may be longer than or shorter than 80 mm depending on factors such as, but not limited to, the size of the board being broken and the type of striking technique being used. In the present embodiment, grip  100  also comprises finger grooves  125  as well as a textured surface  130  to improve the grasp of the person holding grip  100 . Those skilled in the art, in light of the present teachings, will readily recognize that a multiplicity of suitable means may be used to create textured surface  130  such as, but not limited to, stamping or carving a texture into the material of grip  100  or attaching a textured pad made of a high friction material such as, but not limited to rubber to grip  100 . This helps support the board holder in the person&#39;s hands and helps to generally eliminate slipping. However, alternate embodiments may be implemented without finger grooves or a textured surface 
         [0023]    In the present embodiment, grip  100  is designed to accommodate a single person holding the board holder or two persons holding the board holder. There are rebreakable boards that are difficult to break and require two people holding the board to increase support of the board being broken. The outer area of channel  110  that faces the striker has a curved lip  135  that converges into the board as opposed to a sharp ridge that could cause more injury to the striker if hit incorrectly. In an alternate embodiment this curved lip may also include padding to further protect the striker from injury. In the present embodiment, grip  100  is made of 70% nylon and 30% glass fiber and each grip  100  weighs approximately 13.5 ounces. The material and the design of grip  100  in the present embodiment is durable and can accommodate the toughest boards on the market without breaking, for example, without limitation, the UMAB black board, which is equivalent to 2.25 wood pine boards. Those skilled in the art, in light of the present teachings, will readily recognize that grips for martial arts board holders may be made of a multiplicity of suitable materials in alternate embodiments such as, but not limited to, various plastics, rubber, metal, etc. 
         [0024]    In typical use of the present embodiment, a user affixes two rubber discs  105  to the inside of channel  110  of each grip  100  to accommodate either wood boards or rebreakable boards. Because the widths of the wood boards and rebreakable boards vary, the martial arts board holder comprises rubber discs  105  of various thicknesses to accommodate various thicknesses of boards. For example, without limitation, the board holder may come with both 4 mm and 5 mm rubber discs where the user would affix the 4 mm rubber discs to the grips when breaking wood boards and the 5 mm rubber discs when breaking rebreakable boards. In some applications, grips  100  may require two single rubber discs  105  per channel  110  or multiple rubber discs  105  stacked upon one another for thinner breaking boards. In another alternate application four rubber discs  105  may be applied to grips  100  with two rubber discs  105  on the top of channel  110  and two more rubber discs  105  on the bottom of channel  110 . Rubber discs  105  also function as gripping means to hold the breaking board in channel  110 . Generally, a breaking board is inserted into channels  110  of a set of two grips  100  after rubber discs  105  have been applied to properly secure the board being broken within grips  100 . In an alternate use, a breaking board can be held by one grip  100  for exercises such as, but not limited to, hand and foot speed techniques performed by some martial artists. 
         [0025]    In the present embodiment, the martial arts board holder is designed to protect the fingers of the person holding the board from injury by the striker&#39;s foot or hand when breaking boards. The martial arts board holder puts the hands and fingers of the person holding the board being struck behind the board by placing the breaking board in channels  110  that are positioned in the front section of grips  100  that are held by the person holding the board. This benefits both the person holding the board and the striker. The person holding the board no longer fears getting his fingers injured by the striker and the striker no longer fears injuring the fingers of the person holding the board thereby giving the striker more confidence in training. The martial arts board holder does not have to be mounted against a wall or in a contraption but can be held by a practitioner anywhere and in various positions while protecting his fingers from injury. Martial Artists around the world will have more confidence in and have fewer reservations about holding breaking boards for expert and novice board breaking practitioners using the present embodiment because they no longer have to fear injury to fingers. 
         [0026]    Having fully described at least one embodiment of the present invention, other equivalent or alternative methods of providing martial arts board holders according to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The invention has been described above by way of illustration, and the specific embodiments disclosed are not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed. For example, the particular implementation of the channel may vary depending upon the particular type of board used. The channels described in the foregoing were directed to implementations for holding          1″ and ½″ wood boards and various rebreakable boards; however, similar techniques are to make the channels narrower or wider to accommodate thinner or thicker boards or multiple boards. Implementations of the present invention that have channels of different sizes are contemplated as within the scope of the present invention. The invention is thus to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the following claims.