Ever heard of this?

[Wey]

Today at lunch my friend said that at her old dojang for Hap ki do, one of the instructors said that a good way to improve forearm durability/conditioning is to rub your arms against a table constantly.

I tried it for about five minutes, and it hurt like hell. Have you ever heard of this or done it before?

 

[celtic_crippler]

I've heard of using a rolling pin on your shins. Basically calcifies bone over time making it more dense and desensitizes the nerves in that area. Seems the same logic is applied here.

 

[pesilat]

Yup. Same principle at work and valid ... with caveat.

All conditioning methods are painful. Period. The only way to build up the bone (or muscle, for that matter) is to break it down a little bit. The physical conditioning/strengthening actually happens in the resting period between workouts. As the body heals these things it strengthens them. Over conditioning will just lead to deterioration because your body never has a chance to rebuild.

Also, there is a psychological component to conditioning. You get used to the pain at a psychological level and your pain threshold rises. That can also be useful.

Caveat: One of my instructors has done *a lot* of conditioning in his life. He says, "I don't recommend it. The fact that I can still write my name legibly is due more to luck than anything else. I know many contemporaries who were maimed by the conditioning. Even if they're now able to spear hand through concrete their hands are only good for destruction. They can do no fine work."

An addendum to the caveat: The forearm conditioning I've done was all done with another person (i.e.: banging our forearms together). I think this method is preferable to conditioning on inanimate objects (though I have maintained my conditioning on inanimate objects). I think that conditioning on another person has some built-in safeguards against over conditioning.

Just as you can pinch yourself much harder than you'd let someone else pinch you I think, with inanimate objects, it's much easier to drive yourself too hard. When working with another person you generally don't go as hard because you don't want to hurt your training partner. I think this means a more gradual conditioning which minimizes risk of over conditioning and injury. I think, also, that the more gradual conditioning can lead to more thorough conditioning but that's totally my opinion.

Based on empirical evidence in my own conditioning and dealing with other people who've done different conditioning I personally think conditioning on another person is preferable to using inanimate objects for initial conditioning.

Mike

 

[Touch Of Death]

Yup. Same principle at work and valid ... with caveat.

All conditioning methods are painful. Period. The only way to build up the bone (or muscle, for that matter) is to break it down a little bit. The physical conditioning/strengthening actually happens in the resting period between workouts. As the body heals these things it strengthens them. Over conditioning will just lead to deterioration because your body never has a chance to rebuild.

Also, there is a psychological component to conditioning. You get used to the pain at a psychological level and your pain threshold rises. That can also be useful.

Caveat: One of my instructors has done *a lot* of conditioning in his life. He says, "I don't recommend it. The fact that I can still write my name legibly is due more to luck than anything else. I know many contemporaries who were maimed by the conditioning. Even if they're now able to spear hand through concrete their hands are only good for destruction. They can do no fine work."

An addendum to the caveat: The forearm conditioning I've done was all done with another person (i.e.: banging our forearms together). I think this method is preferable to conditioning on inanimate objects (though I have maintained my conditioning on inanimate objects). I think that conditioning on another person has some built-in safeguards against over conditioning.

Just as you can pinch yourself much harder than you'd let someone else pinch you I think, with inanimate objects, it's much easier to drive yourself too hard. When working with another person you generally don't go as hard because you don't want to hurt your training partner. I think this means a more gradual conditioning which minimizes risk of over conditioning and injury. I think, also, that the more gradual conditioning can lead to more thorough conditioning but that's totally my opinion.

Based on empirical evidence in my own conditioning and dealing with other people who've done different conditioning I personally think conditioning on another person is preferable to using inanimate objects for initial conditioning.

Mike

This reminds me about hair pulling, at first it hurts like hell, but as you train over the years you learn to catagorize that pain as non lethal, and some how it just doesn't hurt like it used to. If you wanna feel what I am talking about, lace your fingers through your hair, run your hand along your scalp, and make a fist. Its also fun to try on others. LOL
Sean

 

[Wey]

This reminds me about hair pulling, at first it hurts like hell, but as you train over the years you learn to catagorize that pain as non lethal, and some how it just doesn't hurt like it used to. If you wanna feel what I am talking about, lace your fingers through your hair, run your hand along your scalp, and make a fist. Its also fun to try on others. LOL
Sean

Hahaha, that sounds pretty funny. I'll give it a try.

Thanks for your input, fellas.

 

[Drac]

You could follow the example of Tak Kubota...

 

[girlbug2]

This reminds me about hair pulling, at first it hurts like hell, but as you train over the years you learn to catagorize that pain as non lethal, and some how it just doesn't hurt like it used to. If you wanna feel what I am talking about, lace your fingers through your hair, run your hand along your scalp, and make a fist. Its also fun to try on others. LOL
Sean

I think we ladies have an advantage on that one! Ever try running a brush through long, tangled hair? Now try doing it every day for life.

 

[Touch Of Death]

I think we ladies have an advantage on that one! Ever try running a brush through long, tangled hair? Now try doing it every day for life.

Too true, too true. However, you still need to train against a person attempting to control you with hair pulling. You need to work your neck muscles and attemt to achieve good posture.
Sean

 

[Randy Strausbaugh]

I believe in Okinawa it's called kotekitai, and consists of two-person arm rubbing drills. Essentially you form a block against each other's arms and rub back and forth for as long as you can stand it. I understand it can become quite a competition. Saw it in Mattson's book on Uechi-ryu.