Brick Breakers Competition a Smash at Troy Martial Arts

Kevin "Big K" Taylor is looking for something to break.

"It's hard to get in the Guinness World Records book," Taylor, of said during a brick-breaking seminar and competition Saturday at . "Anybody can't get in the book. You got to do something really crazy."

On Sept. 19, Taylor's name will be added to Guinness World Records for his uncanny ability to punch his fist through nearly anything placed before him. Specifically, it was the 584 bricks he smashed in 57.5 seconds that earned the Clinton Township resident a spot in the records.

Now looking for new materials to destroy, Taylor plans to take a shot at another title.

"My team and I, next year, we are going to go to Rome, Italy, and see how much we can break," said Taylor, a third dan black belt in Tang Soo Do, a Korean discipline of martial arts, and first dan in Tae Kwon Do. "Anything they want us to break, we are going to break."

Focusing on his brick-breaking abilities, Taylor founded the World Speed Brick Breaking Association, headquartered in St. Clair Shores.

Mark Trudeau, co-owner of Troy Martial Arts, 1881 South Blvd., said brick breaking is growing in popularity. He and his partner, Tammy Walker, said Taylor and his team will return to the dojo in September to celebrate the release of the latest Guinness World Records book.

Tom Grace of Bloomfield Township entered his first speed brick-breaking competition during Saturday's event. He credited his friend and competitor, Marcus Sihorski, 12, of St. Clair Shores for teaching him how to crack bricks quickly and safely.

"They usually don't believe me until I show them my Facebook page and they see my videos," Marcus said of some of the people he tells about his sport.