Conditioning the Hands Part I (Introduction)

[IronFist]

I have decided to split this post into three parts, Part I that gives you an introduction to Iron hand and Part II how to condition the hand. The information presented here as been collated from personal experience, training seminars and bits & pieces from the web. I am hoping that anyone who follows these methods can enhance complement their own style, combat system.

There are several methods for conditioning the hands and developing 'iron hand'. I have heard of Karate guys pounding a maki wara for years on end developing a powerful hand yet later on in life suffering pains in the hands.

I am not saying this is the case for everyone who practises this hard method but its from what I have heard from some people.

My personal experience has been through the chinese soft method which ensures that the hand is preserved at all times. I have been practising it for years and have suffered no ill effects. The course I attended many years ago to learn this method had people from all walks of background including surgeons, musicians (who rely most of all on their fingers for thier work)etc. They still continue to practice iron hand together with thier own professions and have not suffered ill effects.

Though the iron hand/palm has been seen as more of an exibition thing thing when it comes to breaking solid objects such as breaking bricks. It does have its uses in combat situations.

Iron hand does however falls short only when it comes to breaking flexible objects (wood, baseball bats) and objects with spacers. Since cement/concrete objects cannot flex they will break ! whilst wood whilst can be broken can be harder because it is flexible thus when it flexes there is less chance of it breaking. Personally I have seen demos of guys breaking coconuts with palm strikes, side hands etc,up to this day I have failed miserably. Still working on it though !.


So Why Condition the Hand ?

The one who strikes with the greatest power without injury is the one who will win. Iron hand enhances both striking power and minimises the possibility of injury to the hand.


Well enough said, I have given you a basic grounding in iron hand. In part II I shall run through training & conditioning methods.

[BulletProofMonk]

This is a cool post but I really want to learn how to punch hard. A friend told me his uncle is a karate dan grade and can punch holes through caraven doors. Can you do this ?.

Can you wrestle and kill bulls like Oyama ? I think he was must be the greatest martial artist in the world. People nicknamed him the hand of god. Do you have iron grip too ?

[IronFist]

> his uncle is a karate dan grade and can punch holes through caraven doors. Can you do this ?.

I have never tried


> Can you wrestle and kill bulls like Oyama ? I think he was must be the greatest martial artist in the world.

NO I CANNOT wrestle and kill bulls I dont believe in taking life to prove a point. In my view he is not a martial artist just a street fighter.

This is a cool post but I really want to learn how to punch hard. A friend told me his uncle is a karate dan grade and can punch holes through caraven doors. Can you do this ?.

Can you wrestle and kill bulls like Oyama ? I think he was must be the greatest martial artist in the world. People nicknamed him the hand of god. Do you have iron grip too ?

[Thai Bri]

I could kill a bull with a caravan. Does that count?

[BulletProofMonk]

When are u going to write Part II how to train in iron hand kungfu

[Tameo]

Anyone know the iron palm medicine recipe by any chance? I was thinking of starting iron palm training, but the medicine my sifu has is really expensive.

[Smart Fighter]

There are several Jow recipes floating around out there, with a little digging you can find one.

[IronFist]

Sorry folks part II is coming soon..been working late over the last few weeks o havent had time write the second part.

Anyone know the iron palm medicine recipe by any chance? I was thinking of starting iron palm training, but the medicine my sifu has is really expensive.

[IronFist]

1 pint of rice wine, vodka, or brandy. Then add a half ounce of the following:
Arnica Blossoms(anti-inflamatory)
Comfrey(pain relief)
Blessed Thistle(blood purifier)
Goldenseal Root(antibiotic)
Ginger Root(circulation, wound healing)
Myrrh(antiseptic)
Sasparilla Root(blood purifier)
Witch Hazel(anti-inflamatory, pain relief)
Grind the herbs or chop them as much as you can then add them to whatever alcohol you choose. Avoid using pure alcohol as it will dry the skin. Rice wine is the best I think. Let the solution sit for two weeks out of the sun and away from heat(in your pantry); swirl the mixture twice a day. After two weeks filter the herbs out of the mixture and rub it on.

Anyone know the iron palm medicine recipe by any chance? I was thinking of starting iron palm training, but the medicine my sifu has is really expensive.

[Tameo]

Thanks

[guy incognito]

Anyone know the iron palm medicine recipe by any chance? I was thinking of starting iron palm training, but the medicine my sifu has is really expensive.

You should be able to get the Dit Dar Jow medicine ingredients and recipe from your local chinese food store if thats any help.Just dont apply to broken or cut skin as its poisonous.

[chris davis 200]

hi all,

I think that Iron palm can be useful in some instances, mainly when you miss hit, catching an elbow etc but can be a bit pointless otherwise.

Mas oyama used to punch rocks and trees, breaking the bones of his hands so they would grow back stronger, he even told one of his students to break their hands with a hammer in order to toughen themselves up!! Kinda excessive in my opinion.

Hitting hard without hurting your hand bones is not that difficult really.

The biggest risk to you is damaging the wrist, not damaging the knuckles. building the tendons of the wrist and the forearms will give you massive hitting power.

The vast majority of target areas that you want to hit on the human body are reletively soft. the torso and even the face are quite soft targets really.

People injure their hands when they catch the forehead, back of the head, elbows etc.

But ... If your wrist elbow and fist are aligned correctly this still wont really matter. If you think about the amount of bone behind a correctly aligned strike we are talking a good amount from tip of the knuckles to the elbow.

Oyama went to study Taiki ken (basically japanese Hsing I) due to their huge hitting abilities. They never conditioned their fists etc but could hit harder than most external Karate stylists in Japan. this was due to alignment and connection.

Iron Palm training has its place - but i believe causes undesirable results just as much as it does disirable ones.

Regards
Chris

[Broadsword2004]

Hey Chris David 200, your quote is good, always be alert even for simple stuff, I was showing my sister how to defend herself in case ever grabbed, and she was just like, "If I was grabbed, first I'd hit him like this (swings arms) and hit 'em like that!" and POW! right into my face, and then people ask why I always get so jittery when they pretend to punch at me.

As for breaking the bones to make them stronger, yes, that will make them stronger, but only in the small area in which you break them. In order to break the bones in such as way as actually strengthen up the whole bone, you'd have to break the bone every tenth of an inch (yes, every tenth of an inch). Which is impossible.

As for Oyama's killing bulls, I think that's a little overrated; for years humans have had the martial arts skills/knowledge on how to punch through and break very thick and hard objects. Training to do so and then walking up to a bull and killing it like that I think is rather lammo, more just to kill the thing and be a show-off. It's not like no one else, as long as they focused and trained hard, could not train to do the same.

[guy incognito]

I dont think hand conditioning is useless.Firstly you can hit people fast and not try to put much strength into it to do the same damage.Imagine dropping a 1kg bag of flour on your foot.Now drop a 1kg brick from the same height and imagine what would happen!

[verc]

> his uncle is a karate dan grade and can punch holes through caraven doors. Can you do this ?.

I have never tried


> Can you wrestle and kill bulls like Oyama ? I think he was must be the greatest martial artist in the world.

NO I CANNOT wrestle and kill bulls I dont believe in taking life to prove a point. In my view he is not a martial artist just a street fighter.

Mas Oyama is one of the 'saints' of Karate. Do not disrespect him.

Oyama also staged his bullfights for show, for the record. This does not discredit him as a martial arist. Many Japanese masters resorted to showboat techniques to popularize asian fighting arts in the Americas and Europe. Do not believe everything you read at first glance