Originally Posted by
wutangforever
I know this thread is old, but I just wanted to comment that we can train in Iron Shirt at the Chicago Shaolin Temple if we so choose. I've found it very interesting, as we use Ba Duan Jin and Yi Jin Jing to work on focusing our chi to particular spots, and then work at taking blows from fists, knees, sticks and even baseball bats. We also just built a handing beam that they will swing at us.
Its pretty remarkable. Whether or not its good for long term, I don't know, but I don't plan on doing it daily for years... I just want to learn it and get a little better at taking blows. In fact, I only started learning Kung Fu 4 months ago and I can already take fairly hard hits and will soon be breaking big sticks over my stomach or back.
All I can say is don't really knock it until you try it. Sometimes it hurts (i.e. when me and a few students used 2x4s to hit each other), but when you are having a good night and your energy is right, it doesn't hurt even for powerful hits. We also lay on the ground with boards across our stomachs and have other students stand on them, usually like 300 - 400 lbs.
I'd be happy to talk more about my experiences so feel free to ask.
Ben