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Board breaking is a long-standing staple of martial arts demonstration. It’s a flashy and dramatic manifestation of focus and precision which gets audience adrenaline pumping. Breaking a single board is not necessarily the most difficult thing, five year olds are fully capable of it, but it is by no means a guaranteed result either. If the focus and precision are not on point the board will not break with results which are both audible and painful.
The key to actually breaking a board is to make sure you are striking it properly, with the correct part of your body in terms of angle and surface, and with the force not only directed at the center of the board but most importantly through it. That is the most crucial part, and the core reason behind the use of board breaking as a training tool. You have to focus past the board, your target needs to be beyond the obstacle.
If you focus on the obstacle that is where your energy will stop and you will impact the obstacle but likely not move or overcome it.
As an example if you are going to punch through a board you need to be facing it properly, to strike it with a firm but not overly clenched…