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!
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Originally Posted by Decadbal
