Best way to harden your hands?

I still think finger tip push ups are the way to go. They give your hand the strength to withstand punching. The iron palm stuff aside, this is where one starts. My teacher opens coconuts and breaks stools with his iron backfist. He talks about using medicine wine and sand bags etc. to toughen his hands in his blog here: Dharma-Zen Blog » Blog Archive » Wu Shu With Traditional Chinese Medicine and here's a video of him smashing a coconut: http://www.damazen.com/media/iron_fist.mov He also talks about some other forms of hard chi kung here: Dharma-Zen Blog » Blog Archive » My Experience Of Si-Sue Jing Qi Gong and you can find some scary photos of Shaolin monks doing these exercises off the Chi Kung page (scroll to the bottom of the page and definitely not for the faint of heart or easily offended!): Dharma-Zen Chi Kung

Having said all that, if the goal is to strengthen one's hands for punching, fingertip pushups are the way to go.

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“	Originally Posted By: Doughboy Well, to get the ball rolling. I think that any form of conditioning you want to train, whether Internal or External Iron Palm, or headbutting ice blocks in half ( whatever floats your boat ), it's something you should learn from an instructor, and something that has to be built up to gradually. Surely we can all agree on this ?	”

Agreed.

Slow and steady wins the race is the attitude you want to use here in this paradigm.

Seek out personal instruction as you want someone who can correct the technique as well as the conditioning program.

Always start slow and build up over a LONG period of time.

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Be well, train hard and heal quickly.

Red, I have to say you are persistent. Find an instructor....heck im begging you to! If you learn incorrectly you can hurt yourself. Yes finger tip push-ups and knuckle push-ups are generic exercises that can help strengthen your tendons and muscles but its not specifically iron palm and usually every style has its own way of doing iron palm.

Better you do some push-ups, crunches, jumping rope, and other exercises to conditioning your body for training. And find an instructor to teach you. I understand money may be tight. Many instructors will work with you if you let them.

“	Originally Posted By: Doughboy redroosda, My advice to you is to join the best local MA school of any style and do that for a few months and see from there. You should never begin your MA training with self-taught training.	”

My mate said that the only Kung Fu school in the area is $100 NZD per term (12 weeks) and I don't have that kinda money. My parents I'm sure would like to help me out in my interests, but they just bought me a $100 pair of Basketball shoes and paid $35 for the B-ball season. I'm just gonna have my mate teach me until I can afford the school. In regard to breathing, I was told to breath in the nose, out the mouth. Correct?

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God is coming one day. Are you ready for His return?
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Oh my god, dude.
LISTEN(!!!): Stop learning from your friend.
Don't learn ANYTHING without a PROPER teacher.
It's better to wait to learn than it is to learn incorrectly.

I know where you've been dude, looked at some of my earlier posts back in '05.
I was a complete and total, immature moron. I didn't listen to people either.
So, at least listen to someone who's been there; wait.

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If the problem has a solution, worrying is pointless, in the end the problem will be solved. If the problem has no solution, there is no reason to worry, because it can't be solved.

Thanks for the advice, but just let me make my own descisions (no offence intended)
I feel that my mate knows what he's on about
"How did the Shaolin Monks get so good at MAs? They didn't go to a school, they taught themselves and developed their own styles." Quote from my mate

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God is coming one day. Are you ready for His return?
If you don't choose Him, Hell is your future.

I was talking to my mate again today and he said that he doesn't do Iron Palm training
I decided that I'm not going to do Iron Palm, but I'm still going to have him train me
He is kinda like an instructor hes been studying Kung Fu since he was 5 for cripes sake!
He also has been doing some MA since he was 5 as well

__________________
God is coming one day. Are you ready for His return?
If you don't choose Him, Hell is your future.

LOL this is too much fun.

So has your mate been studying MA since he was 5 or just MA? Do you know what MA is?

“	"How did the Shaolin Monks get so good at MAs? They didn't go to a school, they taught themselves and developed their own styles." Quote from my mate	”

I'm lovin' it. Like a McDonald's cheeseburger, I'm lovin' it. OMG that's funny.

Dude, do you take calculus from your mate too? What's the square root of egg?

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"Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san

"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...

Man, **** this.
I'm finished.

__________________
If the problem has a solution, worrying is pointless, in the end the problem will be solved. If the problem has no solution, there is no reason to worry, because it can't be solved.

You know what Redroosda? Your story on your mate keeps changing. Let's take a look at your claims about him.

“	I'm being taught by a friend who has been studying Kung Fu for half a year and he has also taken other martial arts classes jujitsu I think I'm not sure	”

“	My mate has been doing MA since he was 5 He has only been doing Kung Fu 6 months but hes done other stuff the other years	”

“	Yeah I know you're trying to help but yesterday I found out that he has studied Kung Fu from a young age My mate doesn't want any personal info put on so don't ask please	”

Ah, so now it is a implication of KF for longer than 6 months, but no time frame of his studies given, or who he has learned from.

“	He doesn't want me giving techniques out coz I might give the wrong info and then someone might get hurt I will however tell you that he is teaching me Tiger Claw	”

Very suspicious......We didn't ask for techniques or a name.

“	He hasn't taught others as far as I know, he is self taught and hes done some nice katas Hes studied for quite some time Seeing as he doesn't want personal info given out, I'll only tell you that hes studied since he was 5 I wish I could tell you more but it'll lead to me giving out personal info He says he has been doing some kind of MA since he was 5	”

So, he has never studied under anyone else but is "self taught". You make reference to Katas instead of forms, confusing Japanese and Chinese MA. (Are Katas a jujitsu thing? I am assuming he means JJ not BJJ.) And back to the vagueness of doing MA with no specifics of what type.

“	Thanks for the advice, but just let me make my own descisions (no offence intended) I feel that my mate knows what he's on about	”

Despite people with decades of experience trying to warn you otherwise? Fine, but don't expect people here to help you make the bad mistake you are making.

“	I was talking to my mate again today and he said that he doesn't do Iron Palm training I decided that I'm not going to do Iron Palm, but I'm still going to have him train me He is kinda like an instructor hes been studying Kung Fu since he was 5 for cripes sake! He also has been doing some MA since he was 5 as well	”

Now he has been doing KF speficially and some vague other MA's.

“	On Saturday, 3, May 2008*I was over at a mates and he begun teaching me Kung Fu. The Style we are both studying, is the Tiger. We are both new to the Tiger style I am only a few days into it and my mate 6 months. Currently we are working on developing our moves and our own style of the Tiger.	”

You admit here HE also is new to "Tiger style" and that you two are developing your own style? Developing your own style when you don't even know what a horse stance is Red?

“	The guy who's teaching me has done other martial arts like jujitsu so he's kinda experienced	”

Now it's jujitsu..........or MA like jujitsu

“	Hes been doing it since he was 5 I'm not saying they're both the same (jujitsu and Kung Fu) because they're not but what I'm saying is I think he can teach me Kung Fu	”

“	don't know what MAs hes done but I think hes done others apart from jujistu I'm not sure The reason he's teaching me Kung Fu is because the Tiger Style is meant to take out attackers/opponents with one good strike I think he can teach me	”

Never go to a teacher until you know more of their background!
And, now you don't know but he has done some other vague MA's, jujitsu and you give some nonsense about a style that takes out opponents with one strike.

“	As I have said, my mate has studied Kung Fu since he was 5 Without giving away personal details, he has studied Kung Fu for a long time and always been doing some MA since he was 5 Tiger Style is not the right style I know, I will fix that. I am doing Tiger Claw, if that will clear things up	”

Ok, there it is laid out for all to see. I am done wasting my time on this nonsense.

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I must not fear.Fear is the mind-killer.Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.I will face my fear.I will permit it to pass over me & through me.& when it has gone I will turn to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.Only I will remain.F.Herbert

Rep. Pending.
Leaving thread now.

__________________
If the problem has a solution, worrying is pointless, in the end the problem will be solved. If the problem has no solution, there is no reason to worry, because it can't be solved.

“	My mate said that the only Kung Fu school in the area is $100 NZD per term (12 weeks) and I don't have that kinda money. My parents I'm sure would like to help me out in my interests, but they just bought me a $100 pair of Basketball shoes and paid $35 for the B-ball season. I'm just gonna have my mate teach me until I can afford the school. In regard to breathing, I was told to breath in the nose, out the mouth. Correct?	”

Firstly, don't let your mate tell you what is out there. He probably missed something good. Check it out yourself.

Really, you answer your own problem with that statement. Your parents put the money into basketball equipment for you. b-ball is very very good physical training. You will become extremely fit if you take it seriously. Forget MA until you have a job and can pay for it yourself, or you are at a point where your folks are willing to pitch in.

It's not that you can't afford the MA classes. You just spent your money on something else. So either take back the shoes and get a refund and go to MA class, or play b-ball and quit b**ching about it. That's life.

REP POINTs for Aaradia and Doughboy! Doughboy best advice he has recieved yet I think. Or pretty close.

Red, read your history on the Shaolin! If you do you will find that the Shaolin, Wudung, etc should be thought of as Universities as much as religious institutions. At these temples Medicine, Alchemy, etc. Also, every member of the order had a teacher above them that taught them, who them themselves had been studying for a decade. Also remembe back then you could take a decade and get to a level that qualified you to teach. Its basically all they did. 8 hours or more just doing MA, as well as farming, medicine, etc. There days started early and ended late.

“	Originally Posted By: redroosda What should I do for Iron Palm training? Hit a wall, punch sand, what??? Thankx in advance	”

Get a teacher... a good one... qualified to teach what he/she knows due to solid training on their part & experienced enough to get the message across.

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Terrorists aren't overseas. They're at the gas pump.
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I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. -- Kung Fu-tzu (Confucius)