# Training to take a Punch



## Yoshiyahu (Dec 16, 2008)

How do you guys condition your self to take a punch. In some Karate schools a student stands in a stance while another kicks his thighs inside and out side and punches him in the chest and stomach. They train their bodies to be harder by excessive push ups and sit ups. Some boxers use medincine balls to drop on their stomachs and practice breath control. My Sifu said when he was learning Wing Chun you get the practice by standing and take blows to different pressure point areas. He also said they use canes or wooden instruments to hit you with to harden you up while you sitting in your stance.

What do you do to condition your body to take a punch?


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## seasoned (Dec 16, 2008)

Yoshiyahu said:


> How do you guys condition your self to take a punch. In some Karate schools a student stands in a stance while another kicks his thighs inside and out side and punches him in the chest and stomach. They train their bodies to be harder by excessive push ups and sit ups. Some boxers use medincine balls to drop on their stomachs and practice breath control. My Sifu said when he was learning Wing Chun you get the practice by standing and take blows to different pressure point areas. He also said they use canes or wooden instruments to hit you with to harden you up while you sitting in your stance.
> 
> What do you do to condition your body to take a punch?


 


While doing Sanchin kata, Sensei would punch, kick, and strike all muscled parts of our body. If we flinched, we did push ups.


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## mook jong man (Dec 16, 2008)

My particular method was to get regularly beat up by sadistic instructors , I will qualify that statement by saying that they wouldn't make that much contact unless they thought you could take it . 

They also didn't mind if you hit them as hard as you could , if you got through their guard . But I rarely got through their guard , one time I did and I cracked him fair in the cheek bone which probably would have stunned any normal person , but he just smiled and said " Good Hit " and then we kept on going , I will always remember that .


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## Yoshiyahu (Dec 17, 2008)

Very Intersting...Sounds pretty skilled....





mook jong man said:


> My particular method was to get regularly beat up by sadistic instructors , I will qualify that statement by saying that they wouldn't make that much contact unless they thought you could take it .
> 
> They also didn't mind if you hit them as hard as you could , if you got through their guard . But I rarely got through their guard , one time I did and I cracked him fair in the cheek bone which probably would have stunned any normal person , but he just smiled and said " Good Hit " and then we kept on going , I will always remember that .


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## matsu (Dec 17, 2008)

yeah abit like mook. we have to make contact,controlled as it should be and expected to take the odd heavy hit.a few of the more seniors def give you a whack to either test out your bottle/reserve or dedication to the art but i expect that and dont want them to lighten up,stupid as it sounds!

the saying goes "train as you will fight" so if you train to just graze or miss then youre likely to do just that in a fight.
sitting here typing with a split lip form monday and a very painful thumb where it got jarred in a double pak drill....

is it me that i sorta enjoy having this pain, knowing that it was benefitting me, that i,m learning and developing a skill...........abheit very very slowly mind you:whip1:

matsu

matsu


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## JadecloudAlchemist (Dec 17, 2008)

Good ole' fashion fighting gets you use to being able to take a punch.


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## Drac (Dec 17, 2008)

Holding the pads helped along with light kumate...


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## mook jong man (Dec 17, 2008)

matsu said:


> yeah abit like mook. we have to make contact,controlled as it should be and expected to take the odd heavy hit.a few of the more seniors def give you a whack to either test out your bottle/reserve or dedication to the art but i expect that and dont want them to lighten up,stupid as it sounds!
> 
> the saying goes "train as you will fight" so if you train to just graze or miss then youre likely to do just that in a fight.
> sitting here typing with a split lip form monday and a very painful thumb where it got jarred in a double pak drill....
> ...


 
Sounds like your doing some hardcore training there champ , what do they say at work when you front up with a split lip ? 

They probably think " Have a go at him , he's been out drinking all night again and got into a fight ". Just tell em " Yeah , but you should see the other bloke "  :uhyeah:


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## jarrod (Dec 19, 2008)

personally i'd rather train my defense than my ability to take a punch.  i used to do some body hardening but it really didn't seem very beneficial for my purposes.

jf


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## Yoshiyahu (Dec 19, 2008)

Please elaborate?




jarrod said:


> personally i'd rather train my defense than my ability to take a punch. i used to do some body hardening but it really didn't seem very beneficial for my purposes.
> 
> jf


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## jarrod (Dec 19, 2008)

Yoshiyahu said:


> Please elaborate?


 
on which part, exactly?  

regarding defense, i'd rather get really good at not getting hit than get really good at taking hits.  let's say i'm getting kicked in the leg a lot.  rather than spend 5-10 minutes of my training time each session getting intentionally kicked in the leg, i'd rather spend 5-10 each session working on my leg checks & stop hits.  

as for body hardening...just not my cup of tea.  made it harder to get to work when i was doing manual labor, harder to do my next workout, etc.  plus i think your body will condition naturally just by sparring.  i think that's more realistic anyway since during sparring you don't know where you're going to get hit.  

hope that explains better,

jf


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## Yoshiyahu (Dec 19, 2008)

Thank you for your opinion. I understand!




jarrod said:


> on which part, exactly?
> 
> regarding defense, i'd rather get really good at not getting hit than get really good at taking hits. let's say i'm getting kicked in the leg a lot. rather than spend 5-10 minutes of my training time each session getting intentionally kicked in the leg, i'd rather spend 5-10 each session working on my leg checks & stop hits.
> 
> ...


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## BFL (Dec 19, 2008)

1) If you never train to take a hit, then when/if it happens in a real situation, your going to probably be more than a little "stunned" and end up getting your butt handed to you.  Being hit is a shock to the system and one should at least occasionally take one so you can deal with it in real life.
2) Taking it a step further, not only learning to take a hit but also learning how to react after the hit.  Do you just end the drill or keep going and if you keep going are you training on how to recover from the hit and regain center/control, respond and deliver your own hit/attack. 

I don't think that the hit should be an arbitrary "ha, I got you" kind of thing for the ego, but I do believe that there should be some training on how to take the hit without the whole "freeze up, shock factor", and how to respond/react/counter to the hit scenario.
BFL
and Happy Holidays to all


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## Yoshiyahu (Dec 19, 2008)

Great. I agree. One should be able to recover his structure and re-take centerline after being hit. Also learn how to attack effectively even when you are hit. The fight don't stop when your hit. In fact more is coming at you. If you freeze up your done for.


Great Post BFL




BFL said:


> 1) If you never train to take a hit, then when/if it happens in a real situation, your going to probably be more than a little "stunned" and end up getting your butt handed to you. Being hit is a shock to the system and one should at least occasionally take one so you can deal with it in real life.
> 2) Taking it a step further, not only learning to take a hit but also learning how to react after the hit. Do you just end the drill or keep going and if you keep going are you training on how to recover from the hit and regain center/control, respond and deliver your own hit/attack.
> 
> I don't think that the hit should be an arbitrary "ha, I got you" kind of thing for the ego, but I do believe that there should be some training on how to take the hit without the whole "freeze up, shock factor", and how to respond/react/counter to the hit scenario.
> ...


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## takadadojokeith (Dec 19, 2008)

If you want to be able to take a hit to the body or legs, you should be in good shape. If you want to keep from getting knocked out with a punch to the head, it helps to be able read what's happening. That takes lots of sparring. Seeing a punch coming helps you brace for it. Lots of boxers say its the one you don't see coming that puts you down.


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## Yoshiyahu (Dec 19, 2008)

So very True you sound like someone who has alot of experience with sparring and taking hits? NO?




takadadojokeith said:


> If you want to be able to take a hit to the body or legs, you should be in good shape. If you want to keep from getting knocked out with a punch to the head, it helps to be able read what's happening. That takes lots of sparring. Seeing a punch coming helps you brace for it. Lots of boxers say its the one you don't see coming that puts you down.


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## matsu (Dec 20, 2008)

haha the guys at work-mostly girls are bemused by my enthusiasm and enjoyment at getting hit!
but they are used to me now doing funny things with my hands in the air in any freee space and time i get during the day!!!

matsu


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## takadadojokeith (Dec 20, 2008)

Yoshiyahu said:


> So very True you sound like someone who has alot of experience with sparring and taking hits? NO?


 
LOL. Yeah, I guess I've taken my fair share of hits. But I'd like to think I've gotten better at not getting hit over the years. It sure beats having to brace yourself and take a punch. If you want to see guys who are really good at not getting hit, I'd recommend checking out some of James Toney or Chris Byrd's boxing matches.


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## Seeker (Dec 20, 2008)

I haven't been in a fight in years, but I seem to recall coming out with bruises and aches; not knowing exactly how I got them because with the adrenalin dump I didn't feel getting hit at the time.

In kickboxing we did a drill where you did leglifts while a partner dropped a medicine-ball on your ab section. As far as conditioning you to take a hit, it never seemed to get any easier. 

There also was a solo drill also where you would swing a heavy-bag and let it fly back into you, this more or less taught you timing to exhale as the bag struck you. But in a fight, fight. When you go over the edge and are no longer concerned with getting hit, but rather hitting, these little things probably go out the window.


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## Yoshiyahu (Dec 20, 2008)

Very intersting drills?


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## Mystic Wolf (Dec 20, 2008)

Why train to take a punch, we get enough of that in our sparring.

We train not to get hit or as little as possible, that is the purpose of WC/WT.


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## skinters (Dec 21, 2008)

well we all get affected when hit,i mean when it happens how do you respond,do you want to get one back in as quick as possible ? do you go defensive ?...there are a lot of people who dont like the contact,but our ego are such that not to be affected is very difficult and something i try to aspire to think of it as no particular thing .

you have to accept you will get hit and the better you get the less you will be hit,but nobody can claim to never being hit.still if you can be struck and not pay it no mind,and keep relaxed,then your getting somewhere...very difficult thing to do.

when i was going through the stage of being afraid of getting hit,worrying if i can stop the other persons attack,or just wanting to get my own strikes off,i would go to class and just roll ...no strikes,let my opponent strike if he likes.i found that after a few classes i was getting struck and and it did not affect me, i was desensitizing myself to the shock of being hit,i ending up stopping a lot more strikes,control my opponent more,and be more relaxed.


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## Mystic Wolf (Dec 21, 2008)

Back before I started taking Martial Arts when I was 12, I was afraid to get and when I did get hit I wanted to get one back in right away. It is tough growing up in the hood. Then when I started taking martial arts, I started to remain calm, focused, and relaxed after getting hit.


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## seasoned (Dec 21, 2008)

Yoshiyahu said:


> How do you guys condition your self to take a punch. In some Karate schools a student stands in a stance while another kicks his thighs inside and out side and punches him in the chest and stomach. They train their bodies to be harder by excessive push ups and sit ups. Some boxers use medincine balls to drop on their stomachs and practice breath control. My Sifu said when he was learning Wing Chun you get the practice by standing and take blows to different pressure point areas. He also said they use canes or wooden instruments to hit you with to harden you up while you sitting in your stance.
> 
> What do you do to condition your body to take a punch?


 

Body should be hard from training. Blocking and moving off center is much harder to learn. Practice hard, and be ready to absorb hits when you cant do either of the above.


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## Yoshiyahu (Dec 21, 2008)

My Sifu use to always say. Don't worry about getting hit. Anyone can get hit. So from the beginning I didn't worry about getting hit. I had a three focus. Try to eliminate their strikes if I couldn't deflect try to smother the blow to lessen the impact damage,Try to attack them more than they did me. Try to hit them harder than they could me(Fighting of course). 



So I can see what you mean. Very interesting...




skinters said:


> well we all get affected when hit,i mean when it happens how do you respond,do you want to get one back in as quick as possible ? do you go defensive ?...there are a lot of people who dont like the contact,but our ego are such that not to be affected is very difficult and something i try to aspire to think of it as no particular thing .
> 
> you have to accept you will get hit and the better you get the less you will be hit,but nobody can claim to never being hit.still if you can be struck and not pay it no mind,and keep relaxed,then your getting somewhere...very difficult thing to do.
> 
> when i was going through the stage of being afraid of getting hit,worrying if i can stop the other persons attack,or just wanting to get my own strikes off,i would go to class and just roll ...no strikes,let my opponent strike if he likes.i found that after a few classes i was getting struck and and it did not affect me, i was desensitizing myself to the shock of being hit,i ending up stopping a lot more strikes,control my opponent more,and be more relaxed.


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## skinters (Dec 22, 2008)

Yoshiyahu said:


> My Sifu use to always say. Don't worry about getting hit. Anyone can get hit. So from the beginning I didn't worry about getting hit. I had a three focus. Try to eliminate their strikes if I couldn't deflect try to smother the blow to lessen the impact damage,Try to attack them more than they did me. Try to hit them harder than they could me(Fighting of course).
> 
> 
> 
> So I can see what you mean. Very interesting...



right,there nothing wrong with that, only the word try means you are striving,its like trying to relax the very word try goes against the act of being relaxed as it a forced type of thing,and a contradiction.

i used to tell those who tell me or others to relax that it never works,as soon as your told to relax what happens? you go tense,completely the opposite to what you need.

nothing i say is set in stone, and i change my way of thinking quite a lot, so just take it with a pinch of salt and pay it no mind .


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## Tez3 (Dec 22, 2008)

I was at an incident a couple of years ago when someone was threatening us. The man said he'd punch my partner's lights out so my partner (work partner) being a contrary sort of person said go ahead. The man swung and punched him hard on the chin, my partner just stood there looking at him, the look on the man's face was priceless, all he said was oh s***! He'd given it his best shot and....nothing! he gave up and was arrested quietly and very deflated.


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## paulus (Dec 22, 2008)

Seeker said:


> I haven't been in a fight in years, but I seem to recall coming out with bruises and aches; not knowing exactly how I got them because with the adrenalin dump I didn't feel getting hit at the time.


I know what you mean. During the fights I've been in (not many) the physical pain wasn't felt until after the situation had 'resolved' - i.e. I was away from danger. At the time, adrenaline kicked in and my body took over - I didn't even think. As far as training to take a punch - is this really necessary? I would have thought the quality of your fight response is more affected by your psychological reaction to the situation. I know that some people freeze even before being hit.

I can see how this kind of conditioning might be useful if you're going to be in a long fight, maybe in the ring, but for your average street situation (I know there's no average ) I don't think it's necessary.

Also, how long are you going to train to take punches? Til your 50, 60, 70 years old? This doesn't make sense to me. I can't imagine Ip Chun doing this kind of training.



Mystic Wolf said:


> Why train to take a punch, we get enough of that in our sparring.


I agree with this too. All the clumsy knocks I've had and all the blows from the more sadistic seniors have got me used to the shock factor/stress/pain and have helped me develop the ability to keep going after the strike(s).


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## skinters (Dec 22, 2008)

paulus said:


> I agree with this too. All the clumsy knocks I've had and all the blows from the more sadistic seniors have got me used to the shock factor/stress/pain and have helped me develop the ability to keep going after the strike(s).



thats good mate,it shows you willing to take those knocks to be good at it,there not many who can accept that kind of contact,they shy away from people who are good for fear of losing,or being on the end of a few slaps.to me you gotta seek these good chunners out,and say look teach me and give in to it .

there was a guy who used to train at my school everyone mentiones his name they would say he would on times be a bit heavy handed,it got to the stage that nobody wanted to train with him and he left,the thing is i tell people they missed a good oppuntuinity to learn off someone good instead of complain all the time ...shame,there seems for a lot of people who are good at it pay a price along the way,i have noticed the more better im getting the more others are complaining.....ah well.


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## Nolerama (Dec 22, 2008)

In a real fight, you will get hit. To think otherwise is foolish IMHO.

Some people can't take a hit. For others, not being able to take a hit makes them throw their training out the window when they lose their composure and start panicking. I think they're both dangerous and potentially fatal to the practitioner.

It's sad, but very amusing, to see people who train for years to "not get hit, or get hit as much" as a mainstay focus and see the look on their faces when someone tags them on the chin.

It's a look of panic, fear, and shame. Why did they waste all that time thinking that they wouldn't get hit? (Not only did that person get hit, but their bruised ego gave their opponent enough time to slip in another strike.)

I think that's completely against training in a fighting art.

Spar. Get that adrenaline up! Learn controlled aggression! Learn to take a hit or two, and focus on surviving as the victor of the fight.

But that's my opinion. Some people like to remain pretty.


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## Tez3 (Dec 22, 2008)

Nolerama said:


> In a real fight, you will get hit. To think otherwise is foolish IMHO.
> 
> Some people can't take a hit. For others, not being able to take a hit makes them throw their training out the window when they lose their composure and start panicking. I think they're both dangerous and potentially fatal to the practitioner.
> 
> ...


 
I couldn't post for cheering when I read this! So, so true. I wince when I read people saying they train not to get hit, of course you're going to get hit! the trick is not to be bothered by it (well it isn't going to hurt until after the fight!) and you'll get that way by sparring! Not point or touch sparring, real sparring!


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## Yoshiyahu (Dec 22, 2008)

Aww your post brings back memories of Wu Wei. I believe in one Jun Fan books he speaks of Wu Wei. For those who do not know Jun fan is bruce lee. Anyway. Yes very true you have to let it happen, But to get to a point were relaxation comes naturally you have to train at it. You have to practice. Thats like me telling you to do a Tan Sau an never even seen a Tan Sau. Are telling you to fight a black belt and you only be training for two days. No No. I have seen real results. When I strecth I meditate on my muscles to relax. Eventually they do. I tell my body to relax when I am holding the traditional horse stance. You know the really low one. I also tell my muscles to relax when stand in hanging horse. I train my basics so I can be natural, Flowing, Relax, Soft and hard at the same time. I practice these things. Once you practice them long enough than it will just happen. It will be natural. But the key is practice. First I have to think about relaxing before my body relaxes. I have think about calming down before I calm down. I have think about or meditate on these things just for a sec. An then my body adjust. If I feel my body structure is off I adjust it. But if I feel it I adjust it. I slightly think about it an my body moves into posistion. We are always thinking. This is our Yi. We must put mental intent into our punches and kicks. We should put mental intent in relaxation and breathing. If you don't breath how will you fight?





skinters said:


> right,there nothing wrong with that, only the word try means you are striving,its like trying to relax the very word try goes against the act of being relaxed as it a forced type of thing,and a contradiction.
> 
> i used to tell those who tell me or others to relax that it never works,as soon as your told to relax what happens? you go tense,completely the opposite to what you need.
> 
> nothing i say is set in stone, and i change my way of thinking quite a lot, so just take it with a pinch of salt and pay it no mind .


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## Si-Je (Dec 22, 2008)

Pain usually motivates me to keep going in a fight.  (although it's been forever and day since I was in a real fight. lol!)
Sparring is good training for this it think, though.  Gets you used to the idea of fists zooming towards your face and such.  Although, I know some schools are more vigorous in their sparring to prepare students to be able to take a punch.


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## Yoshiyahu (Dec 22, 2008)

This guy looks about fifty or sixty who has his student striking him in the body.

Wounder why he has him doing that?

Check out the video of old gray hair sifu getting hit?






 

Just incredible what they do in Vietnam. This Vinh Xuan or Vietnam Wing Chun from Chong Te lineage.



paulus said:


> I know what you mean. During the fights I've been in (not many) the physical pain wasn't felt until after the situation had 'resolved' - i.e. I was away from danger. At the time, adrenaline kicked in and my body took over - I didn't even think. As far as training to take a punch - is this really necessary? I would have thought the quality of your fight response is more affected by your psychological reaction to the situation. I know that some people freeze even before being hit.
> 
> I can see how this kind of conditioning might be useful if you're going to be in a long fight, maybe in the ring, but for your average street situation (I know there's no average ) I don't think it's necessary.
> 
> ...


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## paulus (Dec 23, 2008)

Yoshiyahu said:


> Wounder why he has him doing that?


I was wondering that too. Do you think they do this kind of conditioning regularly so that their bodies are used to getting hit? I know that some high level practitioners like to show off the ability to withstand pain that they acquired through qigong etc in videos like this. That's another possible interpretation.


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## Yoshiyahu (Dec 23, 2008)

Well even with Chi Kung. If you practice some kind of body conditioning you have to maintain it. Like in Bagua your suppose to hit or bang your body up against a tree. If you practice iron palm you hit the bag with steel shots. An of course even with other forms of iron body you have to contiously maintain your body being hit...

But also I have heard from my Sifu that the banging on the body like what is being done by this older man in video is also to help open up certain meridans.



paulus said:


> I was wondering that too. Do you think they do this kind of conditioning regularly so that their bodies are used to getting hit? I know that some high level practitioners like to show off the ability to withstand pain that they acquired through qigong etc in videos like this. That's another possible interpretation.


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## paulus (Dec 23, 2008)

Yoshiyahu said:


> Like in Bagua your suppose to hit or bang your body up against a tree.


I dunno Yoshiyahu. I find the idea of people running into trees comical.


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## Yoshiyahu (Dec 23, 2008)

Actually they don't run into trees. They banged their bodies on trees.

its hard to explain!

You also strike the tree.

like in Tai Chi





 




paulus said:


> I dunno Yoshiyahu. I find the idea of people running into trees comical.


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## paulus (Dec 23, 2008)

Thanks for the clarification Yoshiyahu. That video looks much more sensible and not comical in the slightest.


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## Yoshiyahu (Dec 23, 2008)

Yea. There some other videos showing different techniques but its to toughen to body and open up the chi meridans.



paulus said:


> Thanks for the clarification Yoshiyahu. That video looks much more sensible and not comical in the slightest.


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