Thread: Martial artist who punches metal?

I heard of a fighter (I believe he is a kung fu master) who has really hard knuckles due to him toughening them up on steel a thousand times every day. He started out by just lightly tapping them, then over the years, his fists steadily became harder until now anything less than steel will shatter. A guy at work told me that he has to be very careful not to punch too hard when sparring or in a fight, otherwise he will kill his opponent.

(I saw him on TV a while back, but I've tried googleing him but can't find any info. I don't know his name and if anyone knows anything about him, please tell. Thanks. )

that was from a movie, iron and silk i think, as a side note he was also a police interagator for the communist government and was allegedly reputed to use that fist on shall we say guests of the state..as for doing that, you will destroy your hand and deform the knuckles at the very least, maybe one could shatter things but i doubt steel...trust me i work with it.

No, I don't think it was from a movie. Seems like I saw it on Discovery channel or a channel similar to it.

I'm no doctor but that sounds kinda far fetched. I know there is strength training for your shins you can do to toughen them up, but punching metal to make your knuckles like iron..... I dunno.

If its possible that would be a nice advantage to have in MMA fights haha.

don't forget theirs skin and flesh before any knuckle making impact on anything let alone metal. you going to need iron skin and flesh before you can have metal knuckles.

I was bare knuckle shadow boxing a few month ago and I miss the punching bag by a few inches and hit the side of the wall and my knuckles swelled up and my skin torn with the flesh expose. Thats the reality even if a tough tough men say it doesn't hurt. the human body will bleed or swell up when the impact is strong. Anything else is pure bullshyt.

The thing is, he didn't punch metal very hard. He would only just touch his knuckles against metal when starting out. I think it took years of gradually building up before he got to where he is now.

yeah it was iron and silk, a movie based on dudes traning and travel in China...i wouldn't try it, you will tear hell out of your skin, and deform your knuckles...and if you do, use your non-writing hand...you may have to sign checks in the futre.also as for mma, what use unless you have iron chin and body as well?

Well, I think a lot of what we hear about shit like kung fu is exactly that.. shit... but I would say that there is some truth to this kind of training. A) your skin would callous like a mofo B) your nerve endings would slowly die, and C) your bones would become stronger due to Wolfe's law, which is the basic reason why power lifters' bones can endure such loads.

But you'd probably get one really bad case of arthritis down the road..

yes arthritis would be a definite thing to look forward to and like the death touch guy in the second or so UFC, you will still get your ass handed to you and be embarrassed as well...try just training and leave fiction to good authors

Yeah! It was a while back on the Discovery channel about a "Chinese man" who punch steel 1000 times a day. I'm not sure also... perhaps he is called " Iron Tiger, Iron fist..Iron Claws" Not sure! I goggle his name nothing show up but this site. He is one of the Shaolin master and a Chinese War Hero retired somewhere in Canada. If anyone know who this guy is please tell me... Thanks!

Yeah I would pass on punching steel!

Yeah I would pass on punching steel!

Originally Posted by Clubber

I heard of a fighter (I believe he is a kung fu master) who has really hard knuckles due to him toughening them up on steel a thousand times every day. He started out by just lightly tapping them, then over the years, his fists steadily became harder until now anything less than steel will shatter. A guy at work told me that he has to be very careful not to punch too hard when sparring or in a fight, otherwise he will kill his opponent.

(I saw him on TV a while back, but I've tried googleing him but can't find any info. I don't know his name and if anyone knows anything about him, please tell. Thanks. )

Hi, the man you are looking for is Pan Qingfu. And I am so happy to have found this forum. I could not for the longest figure out the title of the movie. I saw it when I was like 11 or 12 and it left a strong impression on me. Of course I am talking about the film "Iron and Silk"

And Pan Qingfu played himself in the film. You should check it out. Much love

Originally Posted by somedouche

Yeah! It was a while back on the Discovery channel about a "Chinese man" who punch steel 1000 times a day. I'm not sure also... perhaps he is called " Iron Tiger, Iron fist..Iron Claws" Not sure! I goggle his name nothing show up but this site. He is one of the Shaolin master and a Chinese War Hero retired somewhere in Canada. If anyone know who this guy is please tell me... Thanks!

His name is:

Pan Qingfu

I have never done it mate because it doesn't suit me and i feel that its a bit inappropriatet thing to do i mean punching the metal and all otherwise martial arts is something pretty cool and doing it can be wonderful.