I have read that there is no safe way to condition your knuckles. Even knuckle push-ups are bad.
I have read that there is no safe way to condition your knuckles. Even knuckle push-ups are bad.
How can knuckle push-ups be bad?
I used to punch walls all the time, and it REALLY hurt, but it toned them pretty well. And don't you think kicking a man in the face is bad for him? No pain no gain!
[img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Animenigma [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
read the post on the chinese wall bag.
if you get one of these & are shown how to use it correctly by a good wing chun instructor, your knuckle will slowly become conditioned as a bi-product of using it.(although this isn't the its main function you will be happy with the results)
vts
Hey Animenenigma, Umm I think the no pain no gain dosent uply to this topic, as it could be seroiusly damaging. What I liked when I started Wing Chun was that there wasnt any stupid and painful ways to toughen your body up or anything like that, it was always "avoid the force" And that maily applied to everything.
I see my seniours punch the wall sometimes but thats becuase they have already condition there "punch" (not nuckles), to hit properly!
I would just get chinese wall bag and work through your own grains over time!
Cya!
i had to do those knuckle push ups in tae kwon do and i think its a f@cking stupid thing to do
The one inch punch that I was taught by a 3rd Dan in Jujitsu was more body mechanices oriented. I don't know what you are learning that requires hand conditioning. We practiced on each other with very thick phone books over our chest to pad the blow. It was profound the amount of power if done right. Large men moved back a step with a one to three inch punch. It sounds like you are learning a different technique.
Hello All,
I have heard differing views on knuckle conditioning. I think that in the past the excessive conditioning was needed but not in todays society. I mean if you really think about it, how many fights are you going to get in in your life? What is the likelhood of needing to have superbly conditioned knuckles in order to defend yourself? It is all well and good to condition oneself but not to extremes. FWIW, I see no problem with knuckle push-ups but I do not like them myself [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]. I think that proper alignment is more important than the developing of callusses or other such extreme methods of conditioning.
I think that the proper use of the wall-bag owuld be sufficient for most of us today. Again, I would stress proper alignment and learning to use body structure to supplement the punch. In a real fight I prefer to utilize palms as they seem to offer a different type of power and cause nice results.
I would refer you to the book on the 1 and 3 inch punch put out by James Demile. In it he covers most of the mechianics of the 1 and 3 inch punch.
Peace,
Dave
Bruce Lee at one point "toughened" his knuckles so there were these huge callouses on them. You can see these in photos during that period. But, he later deemed that unnecessary for whatever reason and afterwards just left them "normal."
I got Bursitis THREE TIMES training my knuckles by punching a 3 inch thick hard wood board. It hurt like hell, and I stopped because my parents made me.
Btw. Let me please clear the confusion. Knuckle Pushups DO NOT MAKE YOUR KNUCKLES HUGE. Putting stress on your knuckles does encourage bone growth, but only in DENSITY.
I've put my hands in burning sink water 3 times before. Conditions the skin ever so slightly, but mostly just kills the nerves in your skin.
What I do to train knuckles nowadays:
I get high-density styrofoam and attach it to a concrete wall. I use it like a makiwara. It conditions your knuckles really well.
Knuckle Pushups: Painful at first, but it also thickens the skin and conditions the knuckles.
Heavy Bag: Get a good punching bag between 50 - 70 pounds. My 50 pound one costed 59.95. Good skin conditioning, targeting.
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Underaged Drunken Monkey
I got Bursitis THREE TIMES training my knuckles by punching a 3 inch thick hard wood board. It hurt like hell, and I stopped because my parents made me.
Btw. Let me please clear the confusion. Knuckle Pushups DO NOT MAKE YOUR KNUCKLES HUGE. Putting stress on your knuckles does encourage bone growth, but only in DENSITY.
I've put my hands in burning sink water 3 times before. Conditions the skin ever so slightly, but mostly just kills the nerves in your skin.
What I do to train knuckles nowadays:
I get high-density styrofoam and attach it to a concrete wall. I use it like a makiwara. It conditions your knuckles really well.
Knuckle Pushups: Painful at first, but it also thickens the skin and conditions the knuckles. Do knuckle pushups ON A THIN CARPET. NEVER EVER EVER EVER on a wood floor or concrete floor. This can injure you on the long run, like give you arthiritis. Not a pretty thing.
Please please please please never do your knuckle pushups without even a bit of padding. Very bad.
Heavy Bag: Get a good punching bag between 50 - 70 pounds. My 50 pound one costed 59.95. Good skin conditioning, targeting.
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Underaged Drunken Monkey
Hi Guys
Sorry to get off the point, but at what stage of your training should one practise ''the one inch punch''?
What has knucle conditioning got to do with it?
Respect,
Hing
Me, I just hit the wall bag, which is only full of sand. And I don't really focus on hitting it as hard as I can anyway. Bone packing, or the calcifiaction and density increase in the bones of the hands, occurs from the bones being jarred. You really don't have to jar them that hard, you just have to jar alot, over time. After I had been hitting the wall bag regularly, over the course of about a year, I noticed that although my hands didn't really look or feel any different, I realized I could pound on a concrete floor pretty darn hard without it really bothering my hands, or breaking the bones. Although I'm sure I could have hit hard enough to break the bones, I was amazed at how tough my punching had actually become. So honestly, I don't happen to feel that pounding on bags of rocks, or lead shot, or any other sort of hand torture is really necessary to develop these qualities. It just takes constant training, over a period of time. But that's just my take on things....
Thanks!
Sandman[Wing Chun]
Sandman, Do you apply iron palm liniment on your knuckles before and after you do this training? Can you wear gloves while doing this training and still improve your punching power?
Phantom:
No, I don't use iron palm linemint either before or after. I mean, I'm not hitting anything hard enough to hurt my hand. When I first got started, my sifu told me not to worry about hitting it hard, just to get used to hitting it at all, using the correct bone alignment and structure. Over time, I was able to up the amount of force I would place into each hit. I can't stress it enough, you have to have proper bone alignment and structure or you'll mess up your hand. But really, hitting the bag hard isn't the most important part, instead just hit the bag correctly. With time, your bones will strengthen. BTW, this is the same phenomenon that is seen with serious long distance runners, they get an immense increase in the strength of the bones in their legs from all the constant jarring motions of jogging. Are they attempting to beat the crap out of the ground with their feet? No. It's just that the constant, repetative thudding of foot on pavement is enough to trigger bone density increases. Also, I'd highly recommend against using gloves, as I personally feel they are more of a detriment than a help(for a variety of reasons). If you just get a wallbag, put sand in it, and practice hitting it correctly, and not trying to smash your hand into it, then over time you can reap the benefits of this training method. But again, that's just my opinion.
Thanks!
Sandman[Wing Chun]
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