Conditioning Legs

[Chad W. Getz]

Conditioning legs? What's the best way? 1 year limit.

[aseepish]

leg conditioning

My old kenpo instructor suggested we try two things.
-Roll a glass coke bottle on our shins.
- lightly tap our shins with an eskrima stick or bamboo cane when we're sitting around watching tv.

I used the second approach with decent results, but not in the context of kenpo sparring which is nothing like Thaiboxing. When I started JKD training I found that my shins could stand up to a lot of abuse, but leg destructions still hurt like hell. Working pananjakman drills (oblique kicks and the like) with a lot of contact worked well too.

Tony

[duchman]

copied from mt 2000

How do I condition my shins? It hurts so much when I train. How do I make my shins harder?
First, you must realize that a conditioned shin is one with deadened nerves. The shin is already hard and will unlikely get much harder. The key is to deaden the nerves so that you wouldn't feel the pain upon impact. However, you must also realize that you should not damage the shin bone while trying to deaden the nerves. This can be done only by practicing on the Thai pads and bags. The Thai pads and bags are softer than your shin bone while hard enough to damage the nerves on the skin above your shin bone with repeated impact. This process can take a while depending on how hard you train and how frequently you train. You must accept that in the beginning, it will be painful. You've just picked one of the most demanding sports in the world. There will be pain to go with it. This is only the beginning. The first time an opponent lands a hard Thai kick on your legs, you will get a wake up call more painful than shin conditioning. Mentally tell yourself that this is the initiation process. In time your shins will be properly conditioned. There are ointments that may alleviate some of the pain. Use them as needed. But understand that no oitment will make the process painless.

What I don't want to see any of you do is to try and take the shortcut at shin conditioning by using hard objects like wood or bottles. I was shocked to hear that some people were actually told by their trainers to take this route. If your trainer tells you to beat your shins with sticks or roll hard bottles on them, seek another Muay Thai gym. This is what will happen if you take these drastic measures. You will at first feel that your shins are conditioned fast. Why? Your nerves have been deadened fast so that you now feel little pain. But by using an object harder than your shin bone you've just damaged the bone too. Guess what will happen later in life? That's right, you will have to see a doctor for bone problems. This crazy method probably started from the myth that Thai boxers in Thailand kicked trees with their shins. The truth is long ago before the availability of pads and bags, Thai boxers kicked banana trees. The texture of a banana tree is rubbery and is softer than a person's shin. It is not like the wooden oak tree sitting in your backyard. The only thing as hard as or harder than your shin bone that you may one day hit are the shins, knees, and elbows of your opponents. And if you end up hurting your shin bone as a result of kicking into your opponents raised knee, then you may still suffer an injury. Just try to minimize injuries in training and save your luck for the ring. Most importantly, always consult a physician with your concerns. They know best.

[Chad W. Getz]

Thanks for the 411 duchman. What I do sometimes is to hit the muscle that is diagnolly between the front and side of my shin. I have also got into the habit of kicking with this muscle as well. A 10 year Tang Sou Dao friend of mine used some chopsticks that he rolled on his leg. I wonder what my doctor will say when I ask him about killing the nerves on my shin.

Thanks again.

What would you see as the differences of kicking with the shin, or with the muscle diagnolly between the shin and side of the leg? I have this muscle developed a little larger than I see most people where it is noticeable when lift my toes and flex.

[aseepish]

beating your shins with bottles

Well, that shows you how much my old instructor knew...

-Tony

[Call Me Al]

Dutchman,

I started in the Muay Thai game a little older in life and have been fairly successful with conditioning the shins.

One of the problems I have now is when I impact the pads witht he wrong angle I have cause a great deal of swelling onthe instep of my foot. In one case recently, I think I may have broken a blood vessel becasue it was black and blue for about three weeks. I broke my leg in a tournament approximately 10 years ago and have a few bone spurs inthe area of my ankle, but I don't think this has anything to do with the problem although the doctor said the spurs may break off and "float around."

Do you know of any wrapping techniques or other ways to protect the top of the foot without using pads or losing mobility in the foot. I have been using light weight shoes, but I don't want to practice that way.

[duchman]

Call Me Al,
I suggest you should go to a docter and let the him get an X-ray.Maybe you have bone splinters!

[Lord Lupin]

I have just started my interest in Muay Thai and I was formerly only into Karate (Zen do kai)

I have a normal boxing punching bag at my house. Is it ok to kick that to condition my shins or is there a special softer Muay Thai bag that u can get?