Conditioning Question

[straight blast]

I've just gone from doing no Wing Chun to training about 2 and a half to 3 hours a day, and that'll be going up in about 3 weeks. This has had a toll on my soft little forearms. Actually, my forearms are pretty good. It's the section just on the outer edge of the wrist where there is a little "knuckle" thingy that you try to intercept & impact with in defence.

Basically it has next to no skin left on it, just a bloody scab. I sort of "chinese burn"ed the skin off it with friction from practice. I can't really train much until this fixes itself up 'cos the moment I cross arms with anyone I start to bleed.

Any hints for conditioning this area? Anything that'll make it heal up quicker?

And what is Dit Da Jow? Is it some sort of healing stuff? Would it be good for my arms? I'm really frustrated at waiting for my body to catch up to my enthusiasm.

[Gluteus Maximus]

Hi Straight Blast,

When they've healed enough to begin training again, try putting some moisturiser or oil on them before each training session, to reduce friction.

Dit Da Jow is a type of ointment that toughens the skin and reduces bruising and swelling. There are several different types. Tiger Balm is one type. Sihing73 gave some recipes for making your own a while ago. Try doing a search and if the posts are archived that far back you should be able to find it. But I wouldn't put it on a bleeding wound. Perhaps just treat it with Betadine or something similar until the scab's healed.

[Marshdrifter]

I've had a similar thing happen to my forearms a while back. I
think part of the cause is sweat. If I let my arms get too sweaty,
the skin would weaken from all the moisture and would rip more
easily. Wiping off excess sweat has apparantly help a bit
because it hasn't happened lately.

Or maybe my forearms are tougher now. :)

[S.Teebas]

Anything that'll make it heal up quicker?

A band-aid.

[red5angel]

Also, you may be over trianing it! If it starts to bleed, stop right there. Wait for it to heal before you do some more conditioning.

[dzu]

As a consideration for your training partners, I would suggest that you stop training that side (or completely) until you have healed. At the very least, cover the injury with a band aid or a wrap of some sort. Take the time to work on non contact drills or practice your sets.

In this day and age, I would feel very uncomfortable working out with someone with an open wound. Even more importantly, if I had an open wound I would want to protect myself against infection or blood transmitted diseases.

DZu

[Sihing73]

Hello,

While I am far from any type of authority on injuries, I would like to offer the following links as a reference. You may need to wade through them to find something of value for your situation. I know that one thing which I have heard and read good things about for "open wounds" is Yunnan Bai Yao which is, I believe, available already made. In any event here are some links which I hope prove helpful.

http://www.acupuncture.com/Herbology/HerbInd.htm

http://www.chusaulei.com/health/005_chest.html

http://www.echinadrug.com/

http://home.pacbell.net/cnivens/firstaid.html#bleeding

Remember, in the event of a serious or prolonged injury it is always best to seek professional medical attention. Good luck.

Peace,

Dave

[straight blast]

Thanks guys. Unfortunately it is both my wrists so I've stopped training with a partner for a few days until it heals up. I will have a look at those links too, thanks Sihing73.

Dzu- I actually haven't bled on anyone. I'm real careful of that sort of thing too. I wouldn't cross arms with someone who'd bleed on me, and so I extend the same courtesy to everyone else.

Thanks again!

[IronFist]

Neosporin.

Iron

[wingchunalex]

my sifu says that no one should be able to look at you and know you do martial arts. you don't want scars and stuff like that. try lightening up the techniques untill your arms can take the punishment. it sounds like your trying to go from normal forarms to iron forarms in about 3 weeks. sorry if you have already heard this story: the studdent asked the teacher how long it would take him to be expert in the system, the teacher replyed 10 years, so the studdent asked what if he practiced even harder, the teacher said 20 years, the what about practicing day and night, 30 years. in other words, you can't rush the process.

[straight blast]

the studdent asked the teacher how long it would take him to be expert in the system, the teacher replyed 10 years, so the studdent asked what if he practiced even harder, the teacher said 20 years, the what about practicing day and night, 30 years.

I like that. Sometimes it is hard to learn to crawl, especially when you have been running in another style.

Patience...:)

[mun hung]

What are you doing exactly to cause this "chinese burn?" (interesting term BTW) Is it from a defensive or offensive movement? I've never had this happen to me before and I'm curious as to how this happens.

Teet da jow is definitely a no-no on open wounds.

[straight blast]

Two of us stand facing each other in the opening stance. One chain punches while the other "punches" into the first person's attack, deflecting the punch. Good practise for intercepting punch. Interception is done on the bit of my wrist I described earlier.

Hope that clears things up for you :)

[Marshdrifter]

Originally posted by straight blast
Two of us stand facing each other in the opening stance. One chain punches while the other "punches" into the first person's attack, deflecting the punch. Good practise for intercepting punch. Interception is done on the bit of my wrist I described earlier.


Yeah, this is pretty much how I got it. The only thing I could really
do is let it heal and try to not let it happen again. Thinking about
what I had posted earlier, you may also want to try to minimize
the friction with the other person's arm, especially if that person's
arm is covered in coarse hair.

[Savage Knight]

Well, sounds like you just started off too quick. I just joined the forums otherwise I would have commented earlier.
Conditioning takes time and patience to build up.
So, heal up and we can get started...
Remember that if you start getting bruised, lighten up or stop. Remember, good conditioning can take years to develop. It's sweet when you get there though. :)
Oh, and this is just from my experience. Either way, good luck with training.

Adam