Carl’s Secret Project Revealed!

Carl and I finished building his project over the weekend. I’ve had a lot of guesses on this that we were building a swing or an exercise apparatus. Here is my initial post on the secret project, when we purchased the materials.
So, what was this project you ask???  It was…………………………………………………..

A Makiwara Board

What is a Makiwara Board???  Here’s what Wikipedia says:

The makiwara is a padded striking post used as a training tool in various styles of traditional karate. It is thought to be uniquely Okinawan in origin. The makiwara is one form of hojo undō, a method of supplementary conditioning used by Okinawan martial artists.

The makiwara is used by karate practitioners to practice strikes in much the same way as a boxer uses a heavy bag. The makiwara develops ones' striking ability by letting them experience resistance to punches, kicks and other strikes. A poor punch will bounce off the makiwara if the body is not in a position to support the energy generated by the strike. It also develops targeting, and focus, which is the ability to penetrate the target (i.e., opponent) to varying degrees of force.

Carl researched how to build the Makiwara Board, and designed his own, using the materials I listed in my previous post. We built it together! YAY!

Here is the progression of the Makiwara board coming to life…