I've herd little about this and I'm very interested... I'd like to know more... And how I do it. The whole breaking of the fist and then "fusing" the knuckles together. So If anyone can help me... I'd be very thankful.

Breaking bones intentionally is a horrible idea. "Fusing" your bones will only cause tremendous problems for your hands as you age.

If you wish to condition your hands, use a heavy bag.

Working your hands against a heavy bag or simalar object can break microscopic calcium deposits in your hand, wrist, and arm.
When they heal up they will be denser than before.


"I am made of iron, steel, and various grains."

Think of the conditioning of your knuckles as scar tissue of the bone. Like scar tissue is tougher than normal, so will the hand bones become. But do NOT intentionally break your hands. This will only lead to at least a year off from conditioning your hands and lots of problems, like arthritis, down the road. And stop listening to whoever told you to do that.

There are other ways of "conditioning" your bones, using "dit da jow" or "zheng gu shui", or using "ki".

Talk to 'meijin' - he does Iron Palm training and can point you in the right direction.

As always, if in doubt, always consult your medical practitioner first.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by eyrie:
There are other ways of "conditioning" your bones... ...As always, if in doubt, always consult your medical practitioner first.[/QUOTE]

Good answer eyrie.

I can`t give you really the "right" advice concerning the problem, but in our school at hospital we learned that it can be a problem, if a small splinter of a bone gets into a joint? (articulatio). The joint? can become more and more bone itself and after a certain time it can`t be stretched/bend anymore.

Sometimes doctors use such splinters if they for certain have to make stiff such a joint? forever - they just put a splinter of a bone in it.


What Stone Carver wrote on the other hand is true also - but as you obviously don`t know how you have to practice, how do you make sure that you will "damage" your hands just in the right way?

An exercise which should be for your benefit and was executed a hundred times right can be lead to the opposite you wished to achieve by performing it just once in the wrong way.

I really want to encourage you to do the hardening exercise if you`d like to, but as much as for growing in martial skill care for your health also.

[This message has been edited by Wilf (edited 03-26-2005).]

I use dit da jow too and fill mung beans or green beans in my wingchun wallbag. The mung beans are a type medicine that help u heal faster. When they get smashed up in the bag, the crumbs go through the bag and into ur hands.

My uncle used to be a shaolin monk for 8 years. He did hard Qi Gong, Lohan Kung Fu and had Iron Fist. He used mung beans for 6 months, after he used gravel and some chinese herbs mixed together in a basket, which he strikes for hours. The gravel breaks up into powder so the minerals get into his muscles, skins and bones; the herbs was there to help him heal his hands. Then he moved on to iron bearings in 3 years. His hands were yellow and a bit of orange because of the rust.

I'm 13 and i could break two bricks at the same time but i'd get hurt and he won't when he does it. I know i shoudn't be trying to break bricks at my age. I don't put gravel into my wall bag because it hurts. I don't do the iron fist but i do train my fist. I won't try training the iron fist because you will cripple it for life if you don't use dit da jow or have a instructor and if you do your hands will be stiffer and you won't type or write well.