2026 ITF World Cup Powerbreaking Preview – Kevin Jansen Looks Ahead to Benidorm
Meet Kevin Jansen – ITF World Cup Powerbreaking Champion
Hi everyone! My name is Kevin Jansen, a IV-degree black belt from the Netherlands, current I.T.F. (Spain / GM Weiler Group) World Cup Champion in Powerbreaking and proud PNP Breaker Boards sponsored athlete.
The 2026 ITF World Cup is now here, and after months of preparation, it’s almost time to compete in Benidorm and defend my title.
Throughout my preparation campaign, I’ve used this PNP blog to share different aspects of my journey, including my training routine, training equipment, competition analysis, general powerbreaking technique and mental preparation.
You can also follow me on Instagram at @ironfistETN, where I regularly post informative videos about my preparation.
Now the training is almost done. The competition schedule has been released, so it’s time to take a closer look at the Senior Male Powerbreaking category and what I think we might see when competition gets underway.
2026 ITF World Cup Powerbreaking Preview & Predictions
Building Up to Competition Day
I will be arriving in Benidorm on Sunday, September 27th. The World Cup competition days run from Tuesday, September 29th until Saturday, October 3rd, and after months of preparation, the 2026 ITF World Cup Powerbreaking competition is finally within touching distance.
My category, Senior Male Powerbreaking, competes on Wednesday, September 30th at 09:00 in the morning. There are 53 competitors in my category, and I’m scheduled as number 16.
As far as the schedule goes, I couldn’t have chosen a better one.
As the tournament starts on Tuesday, I will have time to take in the atmosphere and really get into the tournament flow mentally. By Wednesday, everything still feels fresh and the energy reserves are still full.
Competing in the morning is preferable for me, as the mind is at its sharpest in the early hours of the day!
On competition days, I prefer to have a light breakfast, so hunger won’t have set in by the time I’m up to compete.
Being 16th in a field of 53 isn’t a bad position either. Even though numerical position doesn’t matter too much in powerbreaking, having my turn early means I don’t have to hold peak focus for too long after the category starts.
Whether you like it or not, as soon as the category begins your mind automatically flips a switch.
When the first round is over, the tension flows away for a while. Having my turn early therefore means I have some time to wind down before it’s time to charge up again for the tiebreaker rounds – which I predict will be necessary to determine the medal placings.
Mental preparation has been an important part of my World Cup campaign too, something I explored in my recent blog on neurofeedback training and competition preparation.
Senior Male Powerbreaking: Who’s in the Field?
The Senior Male category is stacked.
Besides myself as the defending World Cup champion, we have the current World Champion Ervin Balasz from Hungary, the current European Champion Darren Rigney from Ireland, and six-time European Champion Kalle Kivoja from Finland, to name just a few prominent names in this competitive field.
After a quick scan through the list of competitors, my estimation is that at least 25 competitors will succeed in achieving a perfect score in the first round.
A big contributing factor is the fact that athletes are able to choose their best hand technique for the three-board break and their best kick for the four-board break.
Although, in practice, I think we will see very few athletes opting for any kicking technique other than the sidekick.
Could the Medals Come Down to a Tiebreak?
For the tiebreaker rounds, the drawing will only determine whether a hand or foot technique must be performed. Athletes are still free to select their preferred technique within this criterion.
Usually, a single white board will be added to the starting number of boards, although the judges might choose differently if they want to speed things up.
If a foot technique gets drawn, I don’t think a five-board yop chagi will be enough to determine the medal positions immediately.
My estimation is that at least 10 athletes will be able to do this.
Even a six-board yop chagi might still not cut it. During the World Championships, the top five male athletes – including myself – were able to perform such a sidekick.
Now, if a hand technique gets drawn, things could go very differently.
I have only ever seen two male athletes successfully perform a four-board hand technique break: current World Champion Ervin Balasz and six-time European Champion Kalle Kivoja.
Kalle is also the only athlete I’ve seen score a single point for a 4.5-board break. That being said, it was a punch, and I know his preferred hand technique is a knifehand strike.
I’ve seen him score four points on a five-board knifehand in a training video!
That gives you some idea of the level we could be dealing with if the competition goes deep into the tiebreak rounds.
My Preparation for the Challenge
I’ve been visualising a four-board break for myself throughout my entire preparation campaign.
That four-board target has been a major focus throughout the later stages of my powerbreaking training.
And I’m happy to say that during my last heavy breaking session on Saturday, September 19th, I managed to perform a successful 3.5-board break in a single attempt.
Knowing that competitions give you a certain energy and focus that simply cannot be replicated in training, I have full confidence and belief that a four-board hand technique break is possible for me.
Once there are between three and five athletes left, I foresee a long tiebreak session.
We could end up seeing the limit of what is physically possible for a human to break.
And I’m looking forward to finding out.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Kevin Jansen competing at the 2026 ITF World Cup?
I’m scheduled to compete in the Senior Male Powerbreaking category on Wednesday, September 30th at 09:00 in Benidorm. I’m competitor number 16 in a field of 53 competitors.
What event am I competing in at the World Cup?
I’m competing in Senior Male Powerbreaking, where I will be defending the World Cup title I currently hold.
How do the powerbreaking tiebreaker rounds work?
In the tiebreaker rounds, the draw determines whether athletes must perform a hand or foot technique. Athletes are then free to select their preferred technique within that category.
Who are some of the leading competitors in Senior Male Powerbreaking?
This is a very competitive field. Alongside myself are athletes including current World Champion Ervin Balasz, current European Champion Darren Rigney and six-time European Champion Kalle Kivoja.
How have I prepared for the 2026 ITF World Cup?
My preparation campaign has covered many different areas, including powerbreaking technique, strength and conditioning, training equipment, competition analysis and mental preparation.
Follow Kevin's World Cup Journey
After months of preparation, it’s almost time to put all that work to the test in Benidorm.
Follow me at @ironfistETN and @pnpbreakerboards on Instagram for updates from the 2026 ITF World Cup, and keep following the PNP Breaker Boards blog for the next chapter in my World Cup journey.
Train with the boards Kevin uses throughout his World Cup preparation:
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