Preferred methods for training the Claw...

[Wah Ren Jie]

Hey guys. I'm listing my favorite methods for traing my hands for clawing and grasping. Please enlighten me with methods you use that may be different from mine. I'm always open for new ways to train.
1) Squeezing tennis balls using the tips of the fingers for reps and for time.
2)Dropping and catching a small log (with the bark still attached)
3) Holding a bundle of 2 inch thick 4 foot dowells (used for forearm conditioning as well) with a claw at one end for as long as I can hold it.
Please share your favorite methods. Thanks. Peace.

"I'll kick you square in the nuts!!!" -Eric Cartman

[Kung Lek]

open the hand fully and close to a fist 100 times in 30 seconds.

keep doing this exercises and increase the amount of times opening and closing to 125, 150, etc in 30 seconds.

move onto longer sessions when you can.

check your grip strength in the other exercises you mentioned after about 30 days of doing the opening and closing exercise.

post your results :)
I am certain you will be surprised by the improvement and strength.

peace

Kung Lek

[Wah Ren Jie]

Thanks KL. I'll give it a shot and let you know.

"I'll kick you square in the nuts!!!" -Eric Cartman

[Water Dragon]

Watch Liar,Liar with Jim Carey 3 times a day for a year

Although there are many styles, they all depend on the strong beating the weak and the slow falling to the quick. These are not related to the power that must be learned -- Taiji Classics

[Self-Thinking Follower]

1. Get all your old clothes, linen etc. put inside a laundry bag and either assume a horse riding stance or sit on a bench with the bag infront of you. Now proceed to tear up all the material, try to tear it up with one rip using both hands. Dont look in the bag. Try this for a year and let us know how small the shreads are.

2. Go to the hardware store and buy nylon made rope, tie a knot every three inches, after tying the knot pull it tight by snapping both sides, like cracking a belt, continue until the entire rope is knotted. Next begin un-tying every knot with your thumb, index and middle fingers only!.
Repeat and continue for one year.

Use medicine if possible before and after also stretch fingers or play with Bao Ding Iron Balls to increase circulation and maintain dexterity.

[tricky-fist]

Here are a couple you can try out…

1) get an old punching bag or a small canvas bag filled with sand (yes, those little suckers can get pretty heavy). If you have an old pair of jeans, can manage a good double-stitch, denim makes great material for sand-bags. If you’re using a small bag, there are a variety of catch-and-throw drills you can do. Try varying the depth of your stance and speed of your footwork while doing the catch-and-grab exercises…. If you’re using the old punching bag, grab it from the floor (two hands on either side) lift, check, up over the head and throw it. Ideally you’ll have a partner to catch it, drop it, pick it up, check it, up over the head and throw it back.
2) Doing stepping drills while holding gripping jars in your hands… well, fingertips really. Try not to get jars made out of glass though, it can be a real pain to clean up.
3) The exercise that Kung Lek mentioned is excellent… it’s part of our everyday warm-up at practice, along with dynamic tension exercises.
4) Finger-tip pushups.
5) Pull-ups… well, I found they helped anyway. Try alternating regular, wide-grip and narrow-grip.
6) Stone dumbells. They don’t have to be made out of stone obviously. Just get a 16 inch stick with some weights at one end. Hold the weightless end. Chamber a punch and extend slowly (with the weight held up above the fist). Keep it extended, rotate the wrist left and then right. Swing the weight (in a controlled fashion) around your head and back to the end-punch position. Slowly chamber the arm again. Repeat as much as you can. Makes me want to scream.

Enjoy!

TF

" I'll play it first, then tell you what it is later..."
- Miles Davis

[lowsweep]

:eek: I can't believe nobody mentioned this yet. Get yourself a gripmaster. The good kind have a spring at the top and two bars attached to the spring that you squeeze together. THIS THING WORKS GREAT! I used one for about 45 minutes a day for a few months and went from having a relatively weak grip to the equivelent of Superman (according to my friends) OK, I exagerate a little but they really work great. After this gets to easy just squeeze it as hard as you can for as long as you can, it makes it much harder. Go to http://store.yahoo.com/martialartsmart/20-79.html
for some. I think they are like $3.00 for two (one for each hand) Trust me, these things work great. :cool:

boards (shake head)
don't hit back

[NyHc]

I must agree with lowsweep on the grip master. That thing works wonders.
1. However, I'd have to say that the infamous finger-tip push-ups are the most effective. But, you have to be on the tips. I've seen some teachers have you do them on the area where your finger prints are. Although this will strengthen your fingers/hands, it won't do too much for your grip. It's all-in-the "tips".
2. Get a nylon rope, tie several tight knots in it and just untie them.
3. This thing called an "eagle catcher" is great too. You can find those in any martial arts store.
4. Find a bar or tree branch/anything that is about 5"(or more) thick and just hang from it in pull-up position. Or, if your superman, do some pull-ups. I'm not superman yet.
5. Sit in your horse and extend your arms straight out in front of you while holding 1 brick in each hand - grasping them-palms facing down in claw position...

[NyHc]

I like your method as well. I'm definitely gonna utilize that...thanks for the tip.

[triskellin]

Extend your arms out to the side, bend your wrists as far back as they'll go, and squeeze your fingers. don't make a fist, just squeeze the fingers. not only will your claw improve, you'll get great arm muscles as well! :D make sure to bend your wrists back though, and keep those arms up! also do it to the front, and up in the air. i like doing it in a horse stance as well, another one is to get a beanbag and keep throwing it, and catching it in a claw.

[Leimeng]

I worked on a farm for 6 years milking 395 cows twice a day (with machines). We still had to use our hands plenty for milking though.
Then the haying, and wood splitting, and general chores for the other part of the day. I recon that dairy farmers have about the strongest grips out there, and darn close to the strongest bodies too. Unless you live in a high rise, you might want to consider 8 - 10 holstein. As a bonus you get your own milk, cheese, fertilizer, beef and leather!
If that does not work then nothing will....
:) :D

However, since I am sure that you are not wanting to go through all that trouble, you might just want try the above listed exercises and then rub your hands with some high quality jow everynight.
If you cant get a hold of some of that, send me an email and I will send you a basic recipe for some.


Peace

yi beng, kan xue