Being heavy handed

[hskwarrior]

I was just wondering about being heavy handed.

By many of the people close to me including my girl and my students i have been told by a good few that i have real heavy hands. in some instances when i think i am lightly touching someone they say it hurts and such and complain that i don't know my own strength.

I was wondering, if i am really heavy handed is that something that comes naturally or is that just a by product of my gung fu and escrima training?

if its something that has to be developed, then what are some of the ways to develop it. i just think that it comes naturally from my training.

what are your opinions to this subject, love to hear your 2 cents.:D

[David Jamieson]

nope, you're just a ham handed lummox. Get used to it. :D

[Fu-Pow]

I think it comes from hitting stuff all the time. If I block someone with an open hand it leaves a big red mark on their skin, even if I wasn't trying to.

I've also noticed that my hands tend to have trouble staying warm. I wonder if the small blood vessels in your hands become broken over time and it makes them feel "heavy" and lose heat faster.

Something like that.

[hskwarrior]

yeah, george foreman hammhocks. i like that. LOL

but it is sort of a bad thing too. the people i know don't like me touching them because they are always getting hurt. i don't mean to, but what i think is real soft is still hard to them.

i wonder if it had to do with using the staff slamming, you know holding one end while slamming and making the tip of the staff wobble.

or, if it has anything to do with escrima training, because we hit hard, and i mean hard. I don't used rattan or wood anymore because we go through rattan sticks daily and out here the are about $20 bucks a pair.

for the stick fighters here, you ever hit so hard during practice that the chips are flying, and you can smell the wood burning?


hsk

[hskwarrior]

fu pow or my othe CLF brothers,

have you ever thrown sow choys so fast and hard that you can feel the little *****ly *****les in your hand afterwards?

man you can't say the word P R I C K L E Y?

[bung bo]

I had a girl in class once tell me that I had heavy hands. This was back when I was practicing iron palm. Anyway, I took it as a compliment. :cool:

Fu-Pow:My hands get cold very easily, too. When I practice qigong, thay get warm easy enough, though.

[joedoe]

If you are unintentionally hurting people, then maybe you need to be more aware and try to exercise better control. When I was a teenager I was the same, and had to learn how to gentle again.

As for cold hands - very rare for me. I have to had immersed them in cold water or ice for them to feel cold. Normally my hands are too hot.

[Green Cloud]

Frank your hands are heavy because your arms are bigger than my legs and you think I drink to much:o Just kidding dude just make sure that your left hand doesn't get left out HHMM I mean you know since CLF is a right handed style;)

[SimonM]

I'm a bit heavy handed.

I ran into an old friend standing in line at Dicos to get a chicken meal. I clapped him companionably on the shoulder and he staggered into the next line over... hadn't meant to do that.

I tend to be VERY careful around women so as to avoid hurting them. Around guys I have a bit more of a suck-it-up attitude.

Go ahead, call me a neanderthal, but I just don't like hurting women. :)

[Fu-Pow]

fu pow or my othe CLF brothers,

have you ever thrown sow choys so fast and hard that you can feel the little *****ly *****les in your hand afterwards?

man you can't say the word P R I C K L E Y?

Yeah, I have to really crank it around though.

The weirdest sensation I've had in my hands is when doing Taiji. Its like I got a warm burst in the center of them where the laogong point is.

[Ben Gash]

One perfect Gwa Choy and my hand can be useless for 5 minutes :( I think I should start doing iron palm again, as that made me more able to push through it. However, I must say that I and everyone I know find that training boosts circulation and your hands are much warmer. I think you probably need to work on your internals more, which will boost your circulation, improve your fine control and improve your awareness, which should help your problem.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

i bet they are just a bunch of pu ssies.

tell them to keep their mouths shut or they will recieve the wrath.

[GreenCloudCLF]

But on the topc of cold hands... BG is right...that is a sign of poor circulation, and needs to be corrected.

Internal, accupunture, herbs, whatever...You extremities should not be colder than the rest of your body unless you are in extremely low temperatures..

My wife suffers from the same problem, and our accupunturist recommended herbs...

[hskwarrior]

so i guess its a good thing that my hands are always hot huh?

yeah, you know my students have started to flinch now when my hands get near them. they will tell you that when i demonstrate how to use a technique they are afraid to be my demonstration partner.

like ou ji once said recently that when striking you focus behind your target, i guess that also plays a part of it too.

[Oso]

me too. my hands are average length but broad and thick ;)

started wrestling in 9th grade...all the way through HS. obvious hand development there.

i did my first iron palm training when I was 16 or so...hitting sand a lot w/ different hand positions.

i've also worked landscaping and plumbing at different times so good functional strength development there.

did a second round of iron palm training, softer method, when I was 29 or 30. It was then that I started really being heavy handed and started hurting people unintentionally and I had to really pay attention to have good control.

so...some genetics, some internal training, some external training

[SevenStar]

I was just wondering about being heavy handed.

By many of the people close to me including my girl and my students i have been told by a good few that i have real heavy hands. in some instances when i think i am lightly touching someone they say it hurts and such and complain that i don't know my own strength.

I was wondering, if i am really heavy handed is that something that comes naturally or is that just a by product of my gung fu and escrima training?

if its something that has to be developed, then what are some of the ways to develop it. i just think that it comes naturally from my training.

what are your opinions to this subject, love to hear your 2 cents.:D

you're born with it. I'm heavy handed. Always have been. someone who is naturally heavy handed will have harder strikes than someone the same size with the same training who is not. It's all in the genetics, I believe.

[SevenStar]

yeah, george foreman hammhocks. i like that. LOL

but it is sort of a bad thing too. the people i know don't like me touching them because they are always getting hurt. i don't mean to, but what i think is real soft is still hard to them.

i wonder if it had to do with using the staff slamming, you know holding one end while slamming and making the tip of the staff wobble.

or, if it has anything to do with escrima training, because we hit hard, and i mean hard. I don't used rattan or wood anymore because we go through rattan sticks daily and out here the are about $20 bucks a pair.

for the stick fighters here, you ever hit so hard during practice that the chips are flying, and you can smell the wood burning?


hsk

wood burning? how well are the sticks conditioned? I used to soak my sticks in baby oil. Someone told me to try it, saying that the pores at the end of the stick would absorb it, increasing the life of the stick.

As for the heavy hands hurting people, yeah, that can happen. Get it under control and it's great though. Comes in handy when giving massages...

[hskwarrior]

oso (bear)

i think you may be right. at my school we used to hit sand bags all time, then i turned to cement to condition my hands. but even when i think im being light handed its still too much.

i realized this recently when i was scratching my cats head. i thought what it may feel like and i thought "****, this guys hands hurt." thats when i realized to really soften my touch.

when my girl and i wrestle each other of play fight i usually leave her with bruises from a simple hand grab and what not. she always says i hurt her but i never mean too.

it makes me nervous for when i have kids, and i discipline them. but hey, its another learning process so the ball still bounces.

[hskwarrior]

seven star,

thanks for your comments. and as for the wood burning, i've never been told about conditioning the sticks before hand. thats new to me.

but in a closed area like our school, when drilling our stick strikes we hit so hard you can actully smell the feint aroma of wood burning.

I recall one time when in Kansas we (students and i) went to a martial arts supply store looking for a certain type of material for escrima sticks and the shop owner was a karate guy who learned some sticks. my students kept inquiring about this material, and the guy came around the counter, grabbed two of his best rattan sticks and banged them together pretty hard then saying "you won't hit much harder than that!"

So i asked to give it a try. took one stick in one hand eacb. i began to strike the rattan the way we would and the guy flipped out. he snatched the sticks back and shout 'hey, don't hit my other sticks like that!!!!".....i thought that was funny.

thanks again.

[hskwarrior]

you want to know what will really preserve your sticks?

duct tape!!!! seriously.

if you wrap your sticks whether it be a wooden dowel (1 inch diameter) with duct tape you will have you stick for a long time. i once wrapped a wooden dowel like that and it outlasted any rattan and even put to rest a few rattan sticks. although inside the tape the stick turned to mush, it still held together because of the duct tape.

we all know after a while rattan tends to splinter and peel. you can save that stick for practice with the duct tape.

lets hear it for macguyver!!!!!!!

[Oso]

sticks

someone told me there was a mineral content to the arnis sticks that lends to the burning smell, but I don't know that for sure.

but, yea, get to doing some sinewali drills fast enough and hard enough and you will smell that smell whatever it is...maybe since they are fibrous and you are crushing the fibers and they are essentially rubbing against each other so maybe there is enough heat build up to mildly burn the wood.

my arnis teacher would yell at us when we were slowing down with a 'i'm not smelling anything!!!!!!!!!!

I always put electrical or duct tape on my sticks...and athletic bandage tape on the grip area.

I've also heard to use mineral oil to do the same thing seven said. never did it though.

I have a set of ash short sticks that are very sweet to hit with.

Genetics vs. Conditioned

It's both I think. As you say, someone born with them will always hit harder than someone who is not. However, I think anyone can get heavier hands than they were born with through conditioning...from sand, to manual labor, to hitting the heavy bag.

This Mexican guy that just started training with me has heavy hands and extremely hard hands. Judging by the rest of his bone structure I would say that he wasn't born with them but has gotten them from a lot of hard work.

[hskwarrior]

i agree with the combination idea.

I know for sure i wasn't taught to have heavy hands. The first time i realized my hands were heavy was when i was sparring one of my friends who is a body builder and we played a little hands (he's mostly from a rare filipino martial art, and ba gua) and i thought i was lightly "popping him" in the chest, head, stomach. "fock your hands are heavy" he said. im like whatcha mean? he said everytime i landed a blow although he knew we were going light, said they hurt like hell.

however, i think also mixed into the ingredients is the understanding that power comes up from the floor and knowing how to use that power to exit through your fist comes in handy as well, the use of the waist, and actually being able to throw a punch.

when it comes to someone im fighting then i love my heavyhands, but i know i need to lighten up my touch immensely if and when my girl gets pregnant.

hsk

[SevenStar]

you want to know what will really preserve your sticks?

duct tape!!!! seriously.

if you wrap your sticks whether it be a wooden dowel (1 inch diameter) with duct tape you will have you stick for a long time. i once wrapped a wooden dowel like that and it outlasted any rattan and even put to rest a few rattan sticks. although inside the tape the stick turned to mush, it still held together because of the duct tape.

we all know after a while rattan tends to splinter and peel. you can save that stick for practice with the duct tape.

lets hear it for macguyver!!!!!!!


yeah, we did that one as well. that works pretty well.

[fa_jing]

Heh. I train some grip-intensive stuff, and I was cradling my newborn's head and stuck my finger way too far into the soft part of his skull in the back. Well he's alright but it was scary. :)

[hskwarrior]

what are trying to do fa jing, scare me away from having kids?

so its really time i focus on a softer touch.

no wonder my girl won't let me play with the jubblies anymore?!?!?!?!?!?! HMMMM!:mad:

[hskwarrior]

oh,

when it comes to grip intensive, try training with a way heavy stick for a few months then pick up the light rattan stick.

we never want to lose our sticks right? so we train with heavier ones which when not wanting to lose the stick will help with your grip. i've been training with the heavy ones for so long that after a few hours training with a rattan one i left fingers grooves in the handle part of the stick from gripping so tight.

hsk

[monkeyfoot]

gung fu training will devellop heavy hands/conditioned hands.

In mantis forms you are always punching the palm of your hand. The drills of hitting each others palms will toughen them up also. The end result is heavy handedness. The sensitivity isnt as high so you can misjudge your own power when touching things.

You ever ben patted on the back by someone with iron palms?

point made
craig

[hskwarrior]

nah,

but one of my senior students in kansas (hardcore country boy) knows dim mak. when i first went to kansas my other student introduced me to him and he tested me to see if i was any good. he's 6'2-3 and solid muscle and a wing chun practicioner to boot. (yeah i stole a wing chun-er away and converted him to CLF).

but anyways, he caught me when i wasn't looking and slapped a palm on my chest. at that moment i felt nothing and slapped his head. the very next morning i woke up feeling like i was hit in the chest with a sledge hammer. i was sore as hell.

i asked him what the eff did you do to me? he said i hit you with a dim mak blow.

see thats why i practice a lot of defense, because of shet like that. i don't like being hit. i can take it, but its the next morning i don't like, i'd rather have a hang over.

peace.

[fiercest tiger]

Frank,

Could mean that you understand your principles correctly and when you apply you art for a technique or even just grabbing someone you can hurt the person with little effort. Im the same simple things that students cant do but u can just place the hand on the part of the person with atap and get a result. Means your technique and skill is high level.

Just means you must learn to heal them with dit dar medicine or energy healing!

Jaam Jong can lead to heavy hands, you dont always need to hit things sensitivity is important for correct techniques too.

PIMP HAND is a cool weapon dude!!! ;)

FT;)

[hskwarrior]

fiercest tiger are you an ex street pimp?

only og street pimps understand the importance of a good pimp hand. you gotta put your pimp hand down. pimpin ain't easy fo sheezy mah neezie take it easy or you'll scare mah breezie. holla if ya feel meh!!!!! lmao

but i think you may be right. i've been practicing for 25 years now and i guess thats a natural after effect.

thanks for the kind words.

where are you from?

[fiercest tiger]

Im from Sydney Australia mate! :)

[SimonM]

As for the heavy hands hurting people, yeah, that can happen. Get it under control and it's great though. Comes in handy when giving massages...

Truedat.

I'm famous for my massages. :)

[Oso]

Truedat.

I'm famous for my massages. :)

I am more famous.


I am known as T.O.H.H.M.E.


































;)

[SimonM]

I actually taught one of my classmates in China how to properly give massages. The girl who was the demo-subject followed me around in class for the rest of the semester. :)

[fiercest tiger]

Come give "Big Poppa Pump" a massage, lol Do you do happy endings? ;)

Im the F@cking foot MASTER, You remind me of Pulp Fiction dude, im the best Foot massager..lol

FT

[SimonM]

Come give "Big Poppa Pump" a massage, lol Do you do happy endings? ;)

Im the F@cking foot MASTER, You remind me of Pulp Fiction dude, im the best Foot massager..lol

FT


Sorry FT. My massage skills are for the ladies only. :p

[fiercest tiger]

hehehe okay big fella!!

I have my diploma in Remedial massage theraphy, reflexology, level2 reiki what type of massage you do?

FT

[SimonM]

Amateur self-taught... That and a bit of instruction from a highschool girlfriend whose mother was a massage therapist. :D

I spent my time in school learning writing, photography, gong fu, marxist sociological theory, politics, philosophy, ESL teaching and English history. I didn't have time to formally study massage therapy as well and really it comes down to I'm good enough that the ladies like 'em. Beyond that it doesn't matter to me that much. ;)