A breaking apparatus (1) with a housing (3), striker pin (4), moveable mass (2) and shock absorber. The striker pin (4) has a driven end and an impact end and a longitudinal axis extending between the two ends. The striker pin (4) is locatable in the housing (3) such that the impact end protrudes from the housing (3). The moveable mass (2) impacts on the driven end of the striker pin (4) and the shock-absorber is coupled to the striker pin (4) by a retainer (8) interposed between a first (7b) and second (7a) shock-absorbing assemblies located internally within the housing (3) along, or parallel to, the striker pin longitudinal axis. The first shock-absorbing assembly (7b) is positioned between the retainer (4) and movable mass (2) and is formed from a plurality of un-bonded layers including at least two elastic layers (12) interleaved by an inelastic layer (13).