Been hardening my knuckles...

[Andre]

The idea is to not end up with arthritus when your older from the beating you give them.
Thats where the herbs come into iron palm training they make the skin like leather abd harder when tensed but the bone stays unbrusied.

[pacfan]

Actually, I try to gradually train all 4 knuckles, because YA NEVER KNOW when you might accidentally use those last 2.

Seriously, I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a practical need for them. But if you must, do it gradually. You shouldn't rush this thing because you might permanently damage your knuckle bones and ligaments. And also, try to strenghten you wrist because when you punch bare-handed, the first thing to go is the wrist, especially if you're a thin built with thin arms. Strenghten it so your punches won't collapse under your wrist during impact. Actually, learning to punch bare-handed is the best way to learn punching, even for boxers. Learning to box with gloves leaves too many flaws that will adversely affect your punching, although some has eventually overcome those flaws and those who did are the best punchers in boxing.

[Andre]

So what proceedure are using to toughen them up ?

Slow and sure I hope .

[Douglas]

So what proceedure are using to toughen them up ?

Slow and sure I hope .

I rap them a thousand times against a big hard metal tower that has something to do with our water heating system out in the backyard. But I do it VERY LIGHTLY. My rule of thumb is [color=green]"if your knuckles start hurting before your able to get to a thousand, then YOU'RE DOING IT TOO HARD"!!![/color=green] You can't expect to have brick-breaking fists in only a few weeks time.

[Andre]

So what proceedure are using to toughen them up ?

Slow and sure I hope .

I rap them a thousand times against a big hard metal tower that has something to do with our water heating system out in the backyard. But I do it VERY LIGHTLY. My rule of thumb is [color=green]"if your knuckles start hurting before your able to get to a thousand, then YOU'RE DOING IT TOO HARD"!!![/color=green] You can't expect to have brick-breaking fists in only a few weeks time.

There is a way. buckets of sand punch down into them.
few weeks later change the courseness o f the sand to beach sand then gravel .
next stage little polished stones .
next sharper gravel etc etc .
volcanic rock. metal.


By the way none of those things punch back and not many people stay still like holding a plank out in front of them ready for you to break them.

[Douglas]

So what proceedure are using to toughen them up ?

Slow and sure I hope .

I rap them a thousand times against a big hard metal tower that has something to do with our water heating system out in the backyard. But I do it VERY LIGHTLY. My rule of thumb is [color=green]"if your knuckles start hurting before your able to get to a thousand, then YOU'RE DOING IT TOO HARD"!!![/color=green] You can't expect to have brick-breaking fists in only a few weeks time.

There is a way. buckets of sand punch down into them.
few weeks later change the courseness o f the sand to beach sand then gravel .
next stage little polished stones .
next sharper gravel etc etc .
volcanic rock. metal.


By the way none of those things punch back and not many people stay still like holding a plank out in front of them ready for you to break them.

How many times a day should you punch into them?

And it's true none of those objects hit back. However, UNLIKE a human opponent, those objects can pretty much withstand ANYthing I try and dish out on them.

[Andre]

Everyones different ,ITs to toughen the skin before you get into the harder hits routine that your doing now . repitition not power is the key.
If your skin isnt ready to move to the next level or course grade ,you'll know cuase it'll get sore or rip up.
This helps to stop you gettting arthritus later inlife cause your conditioning the skin and tendons and ligaments around the knuckles first before the bone crunching stuff that your doing at the moment.
A chinese herbalist may be able to make you up a mix (worth a phone call into china town).
We used to soak our hands in a tea of chinese herbs immediatly after the work ,little gas flame under it to heat it up with your hands in it.
Makes your skin go like leather then like iron when you tense up afterwards.
After the sand and rocks you can fill a few bags with lead shot and dump them on a table in front of you and do all the strikes off them.
we used to do finger strikes ,side strikes punches etc.It works too I seen the damage done from a miss hit that didnt even have any power on it. Nasty like a slice open along the jaw line.
Keep your hands warm for a few hours after this type of work gloves would benifit in winter especially.
If your going to make stuff up your self to soak in, Hot spicey herbs done in thin liquid is best, not made from oils or cream rubs like dencorub that soften the skin.

[pacfan]

So what proceedure are using to toughen them up ?

Slow and sure I hope .

I rap them a thousand times against a big hard metal tower that has something to do with our water heating system out in the backyard. But I do it VERY LIGHTLY. My rule of thumb is [color=green]"if your knuckles start hurting before your able to get to a thousand, then YOU'RE DOING IT TOO HARD"!!![/color=green] You can't expect to have brick-breaking fists in only a few weeks time.

There is a way. buckets of sand punch down into them.
few weeks later change the courseness o f the sand to beach sand then gravel .
next stage little polished stones .
next sharper gravel etc etc .
volcanic rock. metal.


By the way none of those things punch back and not many people stay still like holding a plank out in front of them ready for you to break them.

And make sure the metals are red hot... ...and a bucket full of ice might help afterwards.

[Douglas]

Do you need to sink your fist INTO the sand? I tried it, but all I did was pack it down. Seemed effective tho...

[Andre]

You wont pack down dry beach sand mate it just keeps moving. From the ocean crushed shell and rocks that are now sand.
Where do you live, maybe small minute river pebbles or gravel, should be some in a gardening suppliers.

[Douglas]

You wont pack down dry beach sand mate it just keeps moving. From the ocean crushed shell and rocks that are now sand.
Where do you live, maybe small minute river pebbles or gravel, should be some in a gardening suppliers.

I'm a good 110 miles from the beach. I tried putting some sand in a bucket, but it may have not been big enough...

[DaxxKahn]

Does this look like a bad thing? It doesn't hurt or anything, but I just wanted to make sure.

No disrespect mate but Unless you are going to participate in some sort of contest that requires you to have bare skin that you will be getting a cheese grater rubbed over them there is no legit reason to do such a thing to yourself.....the whole hardening of the knuckles thing is more or less a myth....

1- From what I can see you are only giving yourself callouses on the top of your hand..GREAT!!!...If you are some sort of construction worker that uses hand tools on a regular basis...Not too mention it only hardens the outside....Also very unappealing to the ladies

2- The whole hardening the knuckle bones themselves is also foolish..Even when done properly...This so called beneficial process (when done correctly) basically is just tiny little bone fragments chipping off and filling in with calcium eventually dulling the senses....The dulling of the senses often makes minor injuries not be felt as much and in many cases you do not feel an injury that should be tended to...

3- Eventually it leads to arthritis or a club hand especially since the calcium prefers to attach to each other in rapid fashion..

I don't know if someone or you yourself just decided this is something beneficial to being a boxer but in all my years around the sport and the some 100+ world champions current, past present or top caliber contenders current past or present...I can't really name any who did not have soft hands...Tyson had baby soft hands

do yourself a favor give this silly thing up for your own good in the long run...

Don't take my word on it do some real research

[Andre]

Does this look like a bad thing? It doesn't hurt or anything, but I just wanted to make sure.

No disrespect mate but Unless you are going to participate in some sort of contest that requires you to have bare skin that you will be getting a cheese grater rubbed over them there is no legit reason to do such a thing to yourself.....the whole hardening of the knuckles thing is more or less a myth....

1- From what I can see you are only giving yourself callouses on the top of your hand..GREAT!!!...If you are some sort of construction worker that uses hand tools on a regular basis...Not too mention it only hardens the outside....Also very unappealing to the ladies

2- The whole hardening the knuckle bones themselves is also foolish..Even when done properly...This so called beneficial process (when done correctly) basically is just tiny little bone fragments chipping off and filling in with calcium eventually dulling the senses....The dulling of the senses often makes minor injuries not be felt as much and in many cases you do not feel an injury that should be tended to...

3- Eventually it leads to arthritis or a club hand especially since the calcium prefers to attach to each other in rapid fashion..

I don't know if someone or you yourself just decided this is something beneficial to being a boxer but in all my years around the sport and the some 100+ world champions current, past present or top caliber contenders current past or present...I can't really name any who did not have soft hands...Tyson had baby soft hands

do yourself a favor give this silly thing up for your own good in the long run...

Don't take my word on it do some real research

See mate; no point, other than to give yourself arthritus or to break things that dont hit back which is also a bit pointless other than 4 comp reasons.
The skin toughening thing is the peliminary to further iron palm training and may help to protect you from future damage ,but yeah I have to agree ,why ?

[StrictlySP]

Hi Clubber et al,
First off, the herbal liquid Andre is referring to is Dit Dow Jow. There are different kinds, so it's best to go to a herbal store, be it in a Chinatown, Little Tokyo, and what have you, to purchase it. But you know what? You don't need it. Vigorously rubbing your hands in hot water after conditioning serves the same purpose as dit dow jow.

Personally, I'm not an advocate of hand conditioning...anymore. In my younger days, I did spend some time doing so, but when it comes to bare-handed fighting, I'm all about using palms instead of fists nowadays. Anyway...

If you are going to go down this hand-toughening path, do so in a gradual, progressive way. There are various methods you can pursue, some of which have been detailed in this thread. The bottom line to hand conditioning is to hit something dense. Some "experts" advocate hard materials that give a bit like sand, beans, iron pellets, steel shots, etc. packed in leather or canvas bags, while others, advocate hitting solid objects like a block of steel, iron, hardwood, etc. Some also advocate both. In all cases, start off easy, and I mean easy. Pick one or more of the above, and start hitting them with ALL parts of the hand (not just the forefist area) in a light, easy manner like tapping. As far as initial reps are concerned, start off with 20, that's right, 20 reps and again, do them easy. You may think/feel you can skip over this stage BUT DON'T. Oh, as far as sets are concerned, in the beginning, stick with one set for each part of the hand (forefist, palm, fingers, and back-of-the-hand). Don't worry about using proper boxing-based (or whatever fighting system you're studying) body mechanics as you are hitting the object(s)/material(s) of choice; just focus on "tapping" the hand on them.

To reiterate, start off SLOW. One set of 20 reps to the four parts of the hand (with each hand) every other day is a safe, conservative way to start off. After completing your sets/reps, RINSE/RUB your hands under hot water (or dit dow jow if so desired), as hot as you can take it for at least 20 seconds. Dry off your hands by dabbing them gently.

As far as progression goes, move up by five-rep increments in two-week (some say one-month) intervals. Set-wise, stick with one set until you reach 100 reps for each part of the hand. With the addition of another set, start at the beginning again with 20 reps and gradually work your way up again. Work your way up to three sets (some say five or more) of 100 reps. For me, three sets of 100 reps with each part of the hand was more than enough, especially time-wise.

In terms of intensity, power used in the "tapping," VERY GRADUALLY increase that too. Some guys work their way up to blasting the object/material they're hitting with almost full-power. From what I've learned and done myself, this is not necessary. Working your way up to mid-level power (around 50% or so) is more than enough when it comes to "hardening" your hands. Remember, you're not working power here, you're working on toughening up your hands (i.e. bones, ligaments, and tendons).

As I mentioned earlier, I did engage in this practice for awhile many years ago. My hands did toughen up and over 20 years later, I show no signs of arthritis in either hand. In street fights where I was still using fists, I never broke my hands BUT did lacerate them pretty badly on a few occasions. While I never fractured any bones in my hands from the fights I engaged in with fists many years ago, I eventually switched to palms because of the ever-looming possibility that I could break them someday AND concerns about infections (HIV, hepatitis, etc) I could contract from lacerated hands being exposed to an infected adversary's bodily fluids. Switching to palms freed me up from these concerns for the most part and this has allowed me to hit full-power with impunity--no hesitation, no deliberation, no worry about breaking or lacerating my hands.

I don't recommend you doing this but if you insist on doing it anyway, do it safely and gradually. Well, I hope this helps you out...

Take Care,
Lito

[Chris Nagel]

For me, in the beginning it was interesting to learn about hand conditioning, but the more that I learned the less that I felt it was necessary. However I do feel that if taken to an extent it can be beneficial to any boxer.

Grip training as well as strengthening the fingers and forearms is important in many ways. For one, developing a strong and explosive grip will better facilitate the transfer of power as the hand must be clenched into a tight fist at the moment of impact, as well as the punching arm must become rigid. Perhaps the long term benefit is a more resilient hand since the bones and tendons become stronger over time.

To get any noticeable benefit from grip training a boxer should follow a systematic and progressive regimen that allows a boxer to develop different facets of his grip strength.

Now instead of reiterating what I've read I'll just hand you the best page on grip training that I have come across: http://www.t-nation.com/article/performance_training/old_school_grip_training It's a fantastic and fun read that covers different elements of grip training, such as developing an explosive grip, and a number of ways of strengthening the different parts of the hand, fingers and forearms. If anyone is interested in more useful exercises for strengthening your forearms and grip, my PM box is always open for questions.

[Anyways, getting back to the sort of hand conditioning that this thread has been going on about I'd like to throw my hat into the ring. First of all, I don't believe it is necessary to train to the extent that many martial artists do. A light hand conditioning regimen of knuckle pushups and light tapping against a semi-hard object can desensitize the area over the knuckles which may be of a psychological aid for the fighter who wants to hit harder. As for the toughening of the skin, it's not necessary and should be but a consequence of hand strengthening drills when using a bucket of sand.

This can help anyone that's willing to stick with it, but when it comes to protecting your hands hand, things such as using proper punching technique, being able to make a solid fist, using good equipment and safer training methods will allow you to keep punching with less chance for injury.