 |
Do about
20-30 minutes of conditioning training every day using
the appropriate Forging
tools. Train no more than 3-4 body
parts each day and rub Hanbang
liniments thoroughly. Better if you concentrate your
training in the same body region, as Ki and blood flow will be concentrated in that area. For example, if you are training your hand, do
your forefist, sidehand, backfist, and fingertips or inner sidehand in the same session.
Conditioning exercises must follow simple rules:
- If you are a beginer, you must start with calisthenics and
hitting softer targets until you achieve proper body alignment
and you can stand the pain involved in conditioning training
(around 1-3 months). However, do not indulge yourself to much
with this "soft" training. A major goal of Iron Hand conditioning is to overcome the pain and strengthening you
character as you harden your body. This is as important as
having protruding knuckles and hard shins.
- Focus your mind "into" the forging tool, coordinating
breathing with striking. Exhale during the execution of the technique; hold your breath, closing your
glottis (the Valsava maneuver)
for a fraction of a second, just before impact and do Kihap (not necessarily loud) at the exact moment
of contact with the target. Breathing techniques and Kihap are explained in the Ki
Gong section.
- Be relaxed and do not reduce speed before contact this is an instictive reaction to
avoid pain and injury);
- Divide conditioning training into series of strikes, with 3-5 minutes between sets. Do cycling of body parts to keep the area warmed up. For example, cycle insteps, sidesteps and shins, then metatarsus and toes.
- Do a series of 30-50 lighter strikes to "warm up" the region (knuckles, sidehand,
fingers, forearms, shins or foot parts, for example). Warm
up lighter strikes diminishes skin sensibility and reduces injury risk during conditioning training as Ki and blood gathers in the area after warming it up.
- Then, go into 3-4 series of 50-100 strikes, depending on
your conditioning level, increasing power. Be sure
that the last 25% of your strikes is at maximum power and speed.
- To increase effect, put your focus at about 10 cm into
the target. You should strike "into" the target and not "at" the
target. Remember, your punch reaches it’s maximum speed
(7,5 m/s) when your elbow is a little bit ahead of your body
line; so (to exert maximum power) hit when your arm is not
fully extended, and straight it up into the Dallyon Ju. Never lock your elbow to prevent injuries.
- Absorb reaction form the target before recovering your hand
or foot.
- Use variations of forging tools and textures to obtain extra effects.
The idea is to attack from different angles, hit different textures and
receive different reaction, form different targes.
For example, do your sidehand strikes on a Dallyon Ju one day
and on a swiveling cane (pendulum) every other day. The Dallyon
Ju affects the whole side muscle and hand structure. The pendulum
conditions deep into the bone, in specific spots. Simetimes can use a wrapped stick attached to the front of the Dallyon
Ju, to add the penetrating effect to the roundness of the forging pendulum.
When doing punching training, you can also vary types of Dallyon
Ju. The juta rope or rice straw target type, conditions knuckles,
hand inner bones and wrists. A softer target, over a less flexible
support (tree trunk or pillar), conditions hand, wrist bones and cartilage structures,
reaching the elbow and shoulder bones. You shall do 80% of your fist training
using a traditional flexible Dallyon Ju and 20% using stiff targets
(as you cannot hit stiff targets with maximum power, it may
affect your speed). Do not forget, to focus your punching,
aim with the index knuckle to get an adequate distribution
of power between your index and major knuckles.
- To increase power you need to strengthen the supporting structures
of your hands and feet: wrists, elbows, ankles and knees. Power
comes from the hip and abdomen, and it has to be properly transmitted
through resilient, strong limbs. Use different types of targets
to ensure a complete, adequate training.
- You do not need extra large knuckles. You need hard, resilient
knuckles to execute your outstanding technique, applied at
maximum speed. Speed is far much more important than brutal
strength (remember Kinetic Energy = ½ x mass x velocity²). Small, hard, protruding knuckles induces more pain than big rounded gummy knuckles.
- Hardening your body is just one part of the whole Martial
Arts training. Mind and Ki development, high grade technical skills and
strategy intelligence are lot more important.
|
|
