Hi blackmantis----I practice Northern Praying Mantis and we put a lot of emphasis on conditioning. Mostly forearms and shins, but we practice body conditioning as well. That other mantis person saying conditioning isn't that important because proper blocking doesn't mena hard contact....what?!!!! I've always been taught that a block is an offensive strike as well as a defensive technique. I am not telling you lies when I say that I have run into people with better technique than I, but I had harder arms, and I won. Sometimes how much punishment you can take determines if you last or not. Some people say that external conditioning is harmful. Some is, but for as much as I beat on my forearms, I have never recieved any chronic pain such as carpal tunel or anything else from it.
Conditioning on your own:Be careful when banging your bare arms on a tree and then applying jow. The banging on the bark of the tree may cause small abrasions on your arms. When you put the jow on it will really hurt and could very possibly get infected. A tool I use is a conditioning flail I made. Take a bunch of wire hangers and cut straight lengths about a foot long and duct tape the ends. Be sure to make it very compact. Enjoy!
"If you practice praying mantis, women will like you."--Shi Zheng-Zhong