Makivara

[qeySuS]

Ok i know a lot of you guys have used a makivara, and i am planning to buy one because i have no access to a heavy bag or anything else that i see that i could use. Please note that iceland is COLD and i dont intend on training outside so dont say "put a phonebook on a tree!".

My question is this: Since i intend to do both forearm/shin training i need to be able to get into kicking position to the Makivara, it would seem that mounting it on a wall does not allow this. Since you'd had to be paralell to the wall while you kick and if you have to worry about the wall constricting you it's both irritating plus you dont do the kick well enough. So where would you/do you place your makivara for condition purposes? It would be ideal to have it in f.x. hip height, that's a good kicking height and i could drop into a low stance for forearm training.

Free thinkers are dangerous.

[IronFist]

Hmm... Makiwara are generally used for Japanese styles, so I don't know if you're going to get that much shin and/or forearm benefit from one.

Those "wall mount" makiwara aren't that good. Traditional makiwara was a long board that you burried in the ground, and wrapped the top part (at punching height) in cord or something, and when you punched it it would sway slightly.

Would an indoor punching bag work for you? I'm trying to think of "inside" methods since it's so cold there, so, consider these:

Indoor punching bag (indoor hanging stand, the corner kind) or, one of those stand up ones. they suck, but it's better than nothing right?

Wooden dummy

Forearm/shin beating bags. wle.com sells them

A partner (forearm beating exercises?)

I don't know, maybe one of those ideas will inspire you.

Ok, my turn to ask you a question. By chance I found a band on Napster called "Land og Synir." What does "Synir" mean in Icelandic, cuz I can't find it in my online dictionary. Thanks :p

Iron

[qeySuS]

Oh god iron fist dont listen to land og synir, it's an icelandic boyband, it's like the Backstreet boys of iceland. :) Anyways "Synir" means "sons" it's the plural of "A son" which would be "Sonur" in icelandic. Land if of course "land" (tough one huh :) and "og" means "and". So it's basicly "Land and Sons". If you want some good icelandic bands you should check out "Sigurrós". Their like a Radiohead kind of thing, if you want hardcore rock i suggest "Andlát" or "MÃ*nus" (yes that means minus! :) ) The striking similarities in some words in Icelandic and english is because before 1200 the same language was basicly spoken in all of europe, at least in germany/italy/spain/Britain/Scandinavia. And Icelandic is as close as you can get to that old language, because we'r such an isolated place we werent influenced by any other kind of language. Btw a common icelander can almost read books that were written in 1200 :) That's pretty kewl that the language hasnt changed more then that the past 800 years.

Free thinkers are dangerous.

[qeySuS]

And i of course completely forgot to talk about the makivara. The reason for the makivara was beacuse it seemd like a pretty small thing that could give me some conditioning. I have no room for bags because my room is very small and my parents dont want one in the living room :D The makivara seemed like a cheap and small solution to this. And the reason i dont really want the beating bags (i checked them out a few months ago) is the same reason i dont use my chopsticks to beat my shin/forearm, i have a hard time beating myself, while striking something seems to be a smaller mental block.

Free thinkers are dangerous.

[shaolinboxer]

Generally, the makiwara is used to strenghten the fist, elbows, and perhaps the forearms. It is not a kicking surface.

Remember that one rule of makiwara...if you hands get cut, you must stop until they heal completely. That is part of the training. A cut hand means you strike did not travel straight in. I find it interesting when is see guys picking at scab on their knuckles, proud of their wounds. But those wounds actually indicate poor form.

[Johnny Hot Shot]

Used for punching. Nothing more. Get conditioning rings or a stick for shins and forearms.

"Life's a great adventure, mate."
Jacko Jackson

[IronFist]

qeySuS,

Hey dude thanks for the info. I enjoy studying liguistics in my spare time. I had in fact noticed the similarities between icelandic and old english (the Beowulf kind). It's also cool that English and Icelandic are the only Teutonic language that still use the "th" ("ð" and "þ") sound. German has "th" in some of it's words, but it's only pronouced like a "t." Be pround of your language.

Do your parents know that if you put a makiwara on your wall it's going to make noise every time you hit it?

You might want to consider one of those square canvas bags that you fill with beans and hang on your wall for training your punches.

As far as forearm and shin conditioning go, it's going to be hard to do that on a makiwara. As for the beating bags, keep two things in mind. First, you start out soft and slowly, you never hit to the point where it hurts. And second, you always use dit da jow afterwards to help heal anything.

Don't use chopsticks for conditioning. They are hard. A beating bag has give in it, so the strike is absorbed better.

Also, keep in mind that for forearm conditioning, there are forms (exercises, more acurately), that involve hitting your own forearms together. This accomplishes the same type of conditioning. Again, use dit da jow afterward. The benefit of something like this is that it require absolutely no equipment (aside from your own forearms, and jow).

With shin conditioning, be care with that too. Don't do it too hard, start out very softly and progress slowly. Excessive bruising is bad, and if you do get a bruise, don't do anything until it heals.

Is this stuff going in your bedroom? You said "my room." Do you have a basement you could use? Maybe you could work out a deal with your parents or something.

Also, consider why you want to condition your shins so bad. Are you going to college soon? You might want to wait until then when you have your own dorm room. See, because without beating bags or a heavy bag it will be difficult to *properly* condition your shins, and you don't want to do it wrong in the mean time.

One other possibility is to use a rolling pin on your shins (the kind like bakers use to roll out dough). I've never actually done this before, but some muay thai people talk about it, so it's something you might want to research.

Sorry, this reply was kind of choppy. I hope it makes sense. You might also want to ask your sifu, or if you study on your own, visit a couple schools and see if you can get some opinions or something.

Thanks for the band recommendations, I'll check them out. Ok, one more question. Have you seen the movie "the Mighty Ducks 2?" Before the first faceoff against Iceland, the guy says something in icelandic (supposedly, someone else told me it wasn't icelandic). Can you tell me when he says? If not it's cool.

Iron

[qeySuS]

Heh the Mighty Ducks, the girl in that movie (that was assistant coach or something) she was really icelandic. I remember the guy was trying to say something in Icelandic but seeing he had properbly not had a lot of practice saying it i have no idea what he was saying :) I tried to understand buit it was hard. However i remember when he was in the box screaming out at the team he was screaming "drepa drepa drepa" which basicl means "kill kill kill".

As for college i'm already there and in iceland there is no such thing as a dorm :) It's a small country and everyone has a school in within a mile (basicly) so you just stay at home and go to college, i'm hoping to go to USA and go to university there and hopefully go to a dorm :) it's an experience i'd love. But this means i dont have/will have a lot of space to practice, i ahve thought a bit about getting a small bag above my bad, i have enough room to meanuver and kick and i could just hang up the chains when i need them. I'd properbly just buy an empty one and fill it with something pretty heavy. I'll check out the beating bags again and see if i'll buy them :) Thx.

Free thinkers are dangerous.

[IronFist]

Oops, one more thing.

The beating bags have their own accompanying video. In fact, I think you can get the first two bags, the video, and two bottles of jow for US$100. I'm not sure if the videos would play up there in Iceland, because they are VHS, but Wing Lam may sell other formats.

Good luck. If you have any more questions, ask away.

Iron

[qeySuS]

It's properbly the NTSC system (American) but i know Wing Lam also sells PAL (the european system). so that's ok, it's a BIT more expensive but like i said, that's fine :)

Free thinkers are dangerous.

[WongFeHung]

a few things: first of all, makiwara, although popularized by the Japanese, is actually chinese in origin. It is NOT used to develop the knuckles,(neither are knuckle pushups for that matter) but is used to strengthen the punch, by strengthening the wrist,fist, increasing bone density,(Wolff's Law states thet continuous and gradual stress placed upon a bone will increse its density-as in iron palm, and sam sing) and developing whole body structure.The pad MUST be mounted so that it is slightly resilient, not on a wall. Otherwise the strike sends the shock through the arm and causes damage. The wall mounted bag filled with mung beans is very good as it absorbs impact and also conforms to the fist. Mung beans also have medicinal properties that soothe the skin. If you can't get mung beans, then use dried peas, Use tiet da jow after working on the bag. A good store bought variety is 701, they also make good bruise plasters. To condition the shins, you can roll a steel pipe on them, eventually working up to a barbell bar. You can also condition it with a shinai, whiffle ball bat, or take a bunch of steel rods about 24''(coat hangar thickness-non galvanized)and wrap them tight at one end 4 inches leaving the other 20" free so that you have a handle. the bunch should be about 1-1/2" in diameter. this beater can then be used to condition the body. It is also good to break up knots and muscle spasms, and to massage the internal organs in iron shirt hei-gung-don't try this without a trained Sifu. good luck

[WongFeHung]

you can also make a "heavy bag" out of thick chains mounted in a 5/8""plywood disk about ten inches in diameter. use heavy chains and have them hang about 4-5 feet. Don't wrap them in a bag, just let them hang. this conditions the shins, forearms,and develops spreading water power. Lot's of Jow for this one!

[IronFist]

Kicking chains, eh?

hmmmmm...

Iron