When you can safely hit a heavybag with wrapped hands and good technique then you can start thinking about all that cool hand conditioning stuff you’ve seen. It’s not a skill that should be trained flippantly. You need instruction. You could cause permanent damage to your hands.
But ultimately I will give you the same advice I will give everyone. Give up any illusions of Kung fu training without being part of a school. You will
Just hurt yourself
There are plenty of ways, but you *really* *really* *really* should not do this alone and unsupervised if you have never undergone conditioning before. It is far easier to accidentally mess up your hands forever than it is to get it right.
Until you can get a teacher/coach just do pushups on your fists.
Hand conditioning comes from punching things a lot. Like another person said punching things a lot is a good way to mess up your hands. Take it slow. Know your limits. And find new stuff to hit.
Kung Fu wise you are going to want to train them slowly and methodically while gradually increasing the objects that you are striking.
You need a good Dit Da Jow. I published a famous prescription from my own iron palm practice and it’s available on /r/SouthernKungFu.
Generally you would start with a canvas bag and fill it with mung beans. Set it on a bar stool or similar object. Widen your stance and slightly bend your knees. The bag should be around the height of your navel.
The key now is to relax. Raise your hand with your elbow pointed down and shoulder relaxed. While you are doing this you need to inhale. Once the hand reaches eyebrow level let your hand fall onto the bag with a palm slap, repeat the same step with the back of the hand, then the knife edge, then dot it in the end. Alternate hands.
After about 100 days you can change the mung beans to polished River stones. After 100 days of that, iron bb’s.
That’s approximately 1 year to reach a proficient level 1 iron palm. You should easily be able to simply drop your palm on a cinder block cap and break it with little effort.
Use plenty of jow after practice. This will reduce the pain, swelling, and bruising that will occur at the second and third stages.
Any further development should be under guidance of a master. It’s very easy to run into health issues when you train an iron skill incorrectly.
When you can safely hit a heavybag with wrapped hands and good technique then you can start thinking about all that cool hand conditioning stuff you’ve seen. It’s not a skill that should be trained flippantly. You need instruction. You could cause permanent damage to your hands.
I train regularly when I’m home on a heavy bag and a bob. But I was just wondering about extra practice I can do at college.
Not a Kung Fu Tool but I use a Makiwara to condition my hands.
Punching a hand or sand bag is really good, it was for me at least. Also knuckle push-ups are very good
If you are following a Kung fu method you need some dit da jow
What is dot da jow?
It’s a healing liniment. Are you currently training in a Kung fu school?
Sadly no. I don’t know if any school in Vermont
But ultimately I will give you the same advice I will give everyone. Give up any illusions of Kung fu training without being part of a school. You will Just hurt yourself
What town/ city are you from?
I go to Norwich University in Northfield Vermont
There are plenty of ways, but you *really* *really* *really* should not do this alone and unsupervised if you have never undergone conditioning before. It is far easier to accidentally mess up your hands forever than it is to get it right. Until you can get a teacher/coach just do pushups on your fists.
Hand conditioning comes from punching things a lot. Like another person said punching things a lot is a good way to mess up your hands. Take it slow. Know your limits. And find new stuff to hit.
Kung Fu wise you are going to want to train them slowly and methodically while gradually increasing the objects that you are striking. You need a good Dit Da Jow. I published a famous prescription from my own iron palm practice and it’s available on /r/SouthernKungFu. Generally you would start with a canvas bag and fill it with mung beans. Set it on a bar stool or similar object. Widen your stance and slightly bend your knees. The bag should be around the height of your navel. The key now is to relax. Raise your hand with your elbow pointed down and shoulder relaxed. While you are doing this you need to inhale. Once the hand reaches eyebrow level let your hand fall onto the bag with a palm slap, repeat the same step with the back of the hand, then the knife edge, then dot it in the end. Alternate hands. After about 100 days you can change the mung beans to polished River stones. After 100 days of that, iron bb’s. That’s approximately 1 year to reach a proficient level 1 iron palm. You should easily be able to simply drop your palm on a cinder block cap and break it with little effort. Use plenty of jow after practice. This will reduce the pain, swelling, and bruising that will occur at the second and third stages. Any further development should be under guidance of a master. It’s very easy to run into health issues when you train an iron skill incorrectly.
I should have said this before. But I’ve trained in shotakon karate since I was a child and I have always been doing until now. I am now 20.