Bloody knuckles

[Camo]

I've just recently upped my knuckle push ups and bare fist bag/makiwara training, and was wondering what to do about bloody knuckles, was going to ask my instructor this evening, but had a bit of an injury at work that'll keep me away from training this week.

I don't really mind training untill all the skins gone, but they don't seem to be getting stronger, just wondering is there a point in knuckle conditioning you should slow down at, or is thereanything that can be done after training to speed up recovery/make them tougher or do I just need to man up?

Cheers guys!

[Hardball]

Treat them with neosporin or some other antibiotic to prevent infection and wrap them in clean white guaze.

[Middleweight]

I've just recently upped my knuckle push ups and bare fist bag/makiwara training, and was wondering what to do about bloody knuckles, was going to ask my instructor this evening, but had a bit of an injury at work that'll keep me away from training this week.

I don't really mind training untill all the skins gone, but they don't seem to be getting stronger, just wondering is there a point in knuckle conditioning you should slow down at, or is thereanything that can be done after training to speed up recovery/make them tougher or do I just need to man up?

Cheers guys!

Soak your hands in warm brine for 20 minutes. Why are you destroying your knuckles, anyhow? Someday, God willing, you will be old. Want joint problems? buggered carpal bones in the wrists?

Join a boxing club and get some exp at full steam ahead - all out sparring.

Finally, it is twice as hard to win a fight if you have a broken knuckle. Exception is if you have already put the guy out.

Heel of hand under chin is A-1 set up for solar plexus or hip throw. Just my 2 cents worth. Hit the bag, not the makawara board. There is a reason I quit after 4-5 weeks of Karate.

Stick at it for 5 years, just don't get into a scrap with a boxer

[JadeDragon]

What caused the knuckles to get bloody, the knuckle push ups? or the bag work? Knuckle push ups shouldn't have caused bloody knuckle. Anyhow, to treat the bloody knuckle I would uses hydrogen peroxide to clean them out of any infection then put some neosporin on them and wrap them with some guaz(sp?). At night while asleep I would let the knuckle breath and take the gauz off. That's what I would do.

[Hardball]

What caused the knuckles to get bloody, the knuckle push ups? or the bag work? Knuckle push ups shouldn't have caused bloody knuckle. Anyhow, to treat the bloody knuckle I would uses hydrogen peroxide to clean them out of any infection then put some neosporin on them and wrap them with some guaz(sp?). At night while asleep I would let the knuckle breath and take the gauz off. That's what I would do.

Makiwara boards make your knuckles bleed.

[Camo]

cheers for the help guys, will go check for some neosporin or Aussie equivalent over the weekend!

I do karate because I want to do karate, not so I can pick fights with people.

[Clubber Lang]

Hey Bud,

I don't want to contradict anything your teacher is telling you, but just be careful with concepts like "conditioning the knuckles". These practices often stem from traditions that span hundreds of years ago, when maybe it was important for a certain group, in a certain art, for a certain situation. What you have to ask yourself is, how does this benefit me, now, in 2009?

What are you really gaining from stripping the skin off your knuckles?

- Does this help in competition? I can't imagine so, surely you wear mitts, and even if you do full contact Kumite its really not going to make any difference.
- Would it help you in Self-Defence? No, how tough the skin on your knuckles is really isn't going to swing a fight, by any stretch of the imagination.
- Is it good for your health? I very much doubt it.
- Do you enjoy it? I can't imagine so.

I know you study a traditional martial art, but there's nothing wrong with asking yourself "why am I actually doing this?". I think its a very important question.

[Hardball]

Hard knuckles are a Mo Fo Bro! Makawara training makes your knuckles hard. You always hear about these new age martial artist advising against punching someone. They say you will hurt your hand. Well makawara training will prevent you from hurting your hands when you get in a bare knuckle fight. It's a matter of personal choice. I'm 51 and I did lots of makawara training. My hands are o.k., and I am confident enough to use bare knuckle fist as a result of makawara training. Palm strikes are o.k against the nose but I'd prefer fist.

[Clubber Lang]

I don't want to tell you what's what my friend, you sound like an experienced guy. All I can say is that in my experience, if you're really hitting bone hard, then how rough the skin on your knuckles is makes no difference. I've broken my hands a few times, and rough skin won't help that. I've had teeth in my hands, and rough skin won't help that. Its like a lot of martial arts conditioning, you're doing it so you'll be better at.......more conditioning.

[Hardball]

The object of prolonged makawara training is to get callous on the two big knuckles.

[Clubber Lang]

....to achieve.....what?...

[Hardball]

I've broken my hands a few times, and rough skin won't help that.

If you had callous, you would not have broken your hands.

[Clubber Lang]

Brother, as the husband of an Osteopath, I have to tell you that's utter nonsense.

Bones break through a simple matter of physics, a force of pressure on the joint or bone greater than that of the resistance in that joint or bone. Small, hardened sections of skin will, I grant you, help to prevent damage to the skin, and in extreme cases offer a protective layer for the knuckles themselves. But, a few hard bits of skin preventing a compound fracture of bones in the hands? No.

Anyway, what you choose to draw from your training is your business.

[Tant01]

Don't ask me...

If you had callous, you would not have broken your hands.

That seems like a stretch (hypothetical) ....

I thought the conditioning was supposed to build BONE tissue?

[Tant01]

I love old school....

.....

Heel of hand under chin is A-1 set up for solar plexus or hip throw. Just my 2 cents worth.
...

Where'd you pick up the atemi waza???