Guide: Iron Palm Training

[TommyTrainR]

Guide: Iron Palm Training

The method used in my class is considered to be one of the safest methods of training the hands out there today. It consists of seven different strikes to a canvas-covered board filled with beans or gravel. Beans and/or rice are recommended for beginners, at least for the first few months. Those who have developed a ‘feel’ for the strikes may switch to gravel or even small ball bearings.

Types of Strikes

Regardless of the type of strike, it is imperative to master two things:

1. To avoid possible damage to the elbow and wrist, all strikes should come straight down onto the canvas - never at an angle.
2. Secondly, do not lock your elbow joint at any time within the entire range of motion. This is especially important during ridge-hand strikes.

Training can be done in either a cross-legged sitting position (floor) or in a horse-stance (table). Remember to remove any jewlery that you may have on your fingers and/or wrists.

For all strikes except ridge-hand, raise your hand about 18”-20" straight above the board. The wrist and fingers should be held loosely. Inhale into the abdomen and then exhale, tightening the abdominal muscles. Bring the hand down onto the canvas with as much power as you’re comfortable using. The hand should not tense until just before impact. Immediately after impact, relax the hand, inhale, and raise the hand in preparation for the next strike. As you progress, you may want to go for 2-3 strikes on one exhale.

The ridge-hand strike gets special mention because if you’re sitting on the floor, you’ll have to lay on your side to strike accurately and avoid injuring the elbow and wrist. If you’re training on a bench or table, take extra care to avoid hyper-extending the elbow on impact. In either case, keep the elbow slightly flexed.

Strikes

Palm Strike


BackfistStrike


Knife Strike


Punch Strike


Ridge-Hand Strike



Other strikes include the open back-hand strike and the fingertip strike. Each are self explanatory.

Training

When I started, I would do a dozen of each strike with each hand. Time permitting, you should strive for 50+ repetitions of each strike with each hand, ideally two times per day, but one day will do the trick.

Making A Hitting Board

To make your own hitting board, you’ll need the following materials:

-One 10”-15” board, roughly square
-One 1/2”-1” thick sheet of canvas (found at craft shops)
-Approximately 75 furniture tacks or you can use a staple gun
-Enough beans, rice, or gravel (fish gravel works well) to fill the pocket between the canvas and the board to a thickness of at least one inch (tightly packed).

Fold one inch of the edge of the canvas under itself and either tack it down or use your staple gun. Do the same to two of the other sides, leaving the final side open. You’ll have to trim a bit of the canvas away each time you fold the edge under itself in order to get the desired appearance and strength at the tacking/staple points. With one side still open, begin filling the pocket with the material of your choice. When it seems to be full, take a long-handled wooden spoon (or other long object) and repeatedly thrust it into the filling material to get it to pack tightly. You’ll now find you have room for more material. Continue this process until you cannot pack any more material into the pocket, remembering to leave about an inch of the board showing in order to tuck the canvas in and tack down this final edge. You should now have a tightly packed hitting board.

Remember to be paitent. This is a process that takes time. If done daily, you'll start to ntoice results after a few weeks. Give it time and before you know it, you're hands will feel pretty solid and quite deadly. Be careful and use them at your own risk. Best of luck!

[decadbal]

can u show us a guide to catching bullest mid-air, bc if not then all this other crap is useless......

[IronFreakX]

pffffffffftttttt
u can't catch bullets mid-air wut a loser

[SplinterCell]

thanks brotha

[TommyTrainR]

can u show us a guide to catching bullest mid-air, bc if not then all this other crap is useless......

Sure. Stand approximately 10' in front of a loaded gun of your choice. I like using the double barrell shotgun. Ask a friend or volunteer to gracefully pull the trigger while aiming at your head. Once the trigger is pulled, quickly (this is important) grab the bullet(s) out of mid-air and bask in the spotlight of glory. If done correctly, you'll feel an overhwelming sense of accomplishment. Let me know how everything goes!

[TommyTrainR]

thanks brotha

No problem. If you do it, let me know how everything works out for you.

[GQ-Bouncer]

Sure. Stand approximately 10' in front of a loaded gun of your choice. I like using the double barrell shotgun. Ask a friend or volunteer to gracefully pull the trigger while aiming at your head. Once the trigger is pulled, quickly (this is important) grab the bullet(s) out of mid-air and bask in the spotlight of glory. If done correctly, you'll feel an overhwelming sense of accomplishment. Let me know how everything goes!

hahahah good comeback,

but Decadball has a point man, what can this accompish other than joint problems

[TommyTrainR]

hahahah good comeback,

but Decadball has a point man, what can this accompish other than joint problems

Actually, if trained properly, no joint problems will result. To make things simple, your bones are composed of calcium. Due to the structure of bones, each time you "hit" something, you put pressure on your bones. Your bones have the ability to "stretch" in order to accomodate the pressure of the hit. Think of it as pressing down on a sponge and it slowly coming back to normal size. Well, the bones grow back stronger than before. Many actually purposely break their hands and fingers in order to have stronger hands when they heal. I would never do that, but I know many who have. This bone strengthening allows one the ability to strengthen the hand and the force in which you can hit with.

In the long run, this can help you in many aspects. If you're a fighter, a kickboxer, or just a regular guy, having overhwelming hand strength will help you in any phyiscal confrontation. One little jab to the jaw and their face can easily shatter. This is the exact training guys hitting piles of bricks and wood go through. Many also claim that this training helps them "find peace in mind" or more simply put, relax and concentrate. It's similar to a mild meditation.


By the way, thanks to whoever moved this thread. I was unaware of where it should go.

[phwSSJ]

I can understand the part with the bones, but here is the problem.
You have a lot of connective tissue in your hands.
And ligaments and tendons do not get stronger when you bang on them. Bones maybe, and that is a big maybe. It all depends on your genetics, some people..when they break their bones ..their bones actually grow back weaker.

I can understand the muay thai training of the shins, cuz there isnt any moving joints on the shin, but later down the road it could be dammaging to the body.
There was a thai boxer who was LEGENDARY, he died in his early 30's from a blood clot that went from his shin to his brain!

That stuff is oldschool, and I dont agree with a lot of the oldschool methods.
Plus If you are tough you are that way cuz you were born that way, trying to make yourself tough is not something that happens very often and successfuly!

No offense intended bro!

[TommyTrainR]

I can understand the part with the bones, but here is the problem.
You have a lot of connective tissue in your hands.
And ligaments and tendons do not get stronger when you bang on them. Bones maybe, and that is a big maybe. It all depends on your genetics, some people..when they break their bones ..their bones actually grow back weaker.

I can understand the muay thai training of the shins, cuz there isnt any moving joints on the shin, but later down the road it could be dammaging to the body.
There was a thai boxer who was LEGENDARY, he died in his early 30's from a blood clot that went from his shin to his brain!

That stuff is oldschool, and I dont agree with a lot of the oldschool methods.
Plus If you are tough you are that way cuz you were born that way, trying to make yourself tough is not something that happens very often and successfuly!

No offense intended bro!

It's cool man I understand where you're coming from. I do know genes play a factor, however I have yet to come across someone who has any type of joint/ligament problems. I stress the importance of technique because one can easily hyper-extend an elbow. Repeatedly training incorrectly can certainly lead to damage, but if done correctly, no problems should result. I started practicing karate when I was 4 so I've pretty much grown into a "fighter". Each person it different. But I see where you're coming from though.