[Plane]

The OP was about Strikers (which use Brawling) but you raise a good question about adapting Break Free as a technique for weapons, very interesting!

Let's see what precedents exist...

B370 once someone has grabbed ahold of your weapon it's a Regular Contest of ST v ST to see who lets go, doesn't seem like skill even comes into it.

MA68 when trying to break free of "Bind Weapon" is a quick contest of the target's weapon skill vs the attacker's Bind Weapon skill, so skill with the weapon is really helpful in breaking the weapon free of a grapple in that contest (grappled by a binding weapon, not generic weapon grapples).

MA78 allows ST-based Retain Weapon rolls in place of ST when rolling the regular contest B370 refers to, as well as against B401's more instantaneous disarms.

This says it defaults to the weapon skill however, meaning anyone with DX+1 in their weapon skill is basically ST+1 to resist that Regular Contest.

I'm pretty sure that would include polearms, so they should be as good as any other at breaking free of grapples on the weapon itself...

As for breaking OTHER grapples though, you might apply that -4 per yard of length (Long Weapons in Close Combat) to make them less useful for escaping grapples of your own limbs rather than grapples on your weapon.

Cole's notes actually specify (TG34 expansion to "Armed Grapple" from MA67)

You may perform techniques based on unarmed grappling skills only if you have spent points in those skills;
base the technique on the lower of your Melee Weapon skill or your unarmed grappling skill.


So even someone without Technique Adaptation (Break Free uses Weapon) should be able to do them IF the set up an armed grapple first.

It's of course better to have technique adaptation since then you don't need to successfully initiate a grapple first to begin using Break Free, you could just use it right away.