Days 201-230

Current training regimen:

– 10 reps (each rep = all 3 strikes) on the mung bean bag

– 40 reps on the gravel bag

As stated before, I’m going to keep warming up with 10 reps with each hand on the mung bean bag because I think it’s a good warmup, but now each week I’m going to increase the reps on the gravel bag by 5.  So for example, beginning on 9/1 (day 235) it will look like this:

– 10 reps on the mung bean bag

– 45 reps on the gravel bag

And then the following week (day 242) will be:

– 10 reps on the mung bean bag

– 50 reps on the gravel bag

And so on until I get to a total of 100.  It’s going to take about 8 more weeks to get there and I will reach that goal on day 298, which will be 11/3/2012.

I think 90 reps on the gravel bag will eventually get me to a good level of conditioning, and I probably won’t need to go above that.  I am planning on staying with the gravel bag indefinitely and have no definite plans to move on to the steel shot bag, but knowing me I’ll probably eventually give it a try just for the challenge/experience.

I’ve been feeling some interesting things during my qigong sessions recently.  As I mentioned back when it first started happening, it’s a peculiar feeling, as if my arms were submerged in water.  It only happens sometimes, though.  I’m not sure what it is.  Some people would say “it’s the qi moving through your arms.”  Perhaps.  There’s something going on, though.  I don’t think it has any effect on my strikes.  It could just be the feeling of increased blood rushing through the area, and because I’m standing there doing qigong I’m paying more attention to it.

What’s more intriguing is that other people have described the exact same feeling; specifically the feeling of “waves.”

So at least I know I’m not the only one!

Day 200

There’s not anything special about this day relative to any other day but it’s a cool number cuz it’s a nice, round number.  I’ve been practicing iron palm for more than half a year now and I feel that I’m making some good progress.

Today I did 30 strikes on the mung bean bag and 20 strikes on the gravel bag.  Some people may say I am progressing too slowly, but I’d rather go a bit slower than too fast in something like this.  I have been injury free so far and feeling good.  Like literally feeling good.  My hands feel good after each practice session.

Since there’s nothing really too crazy to report about my training, I’m going to use this entry to talk about some of the stuff I’ve encountered while training iron palm.

In my study of this art (the last 200 days), I have met some cool people online.  It seems that a lot of people online are curious about iron palm.  On almost every kung fu forum there are people asking questions about iron palm.  I think it’s one of those things that has been kind of elevated to legendary status because it seems just out of reach for the common person.  Like there are specifics that are missing.  Most people know you hit a bag, and they know you use dit da jow, but that’s all they know.

I don’t think there is any “one way” to do iron palm.  I know a lot of kung fu schools have the mentality of “our way is right and everyone else is wrong,” but I’ve talked to at least a half dozen people about their training routine and each one does some things differently but they all get good results.  Everyone stresses the important key points:

– progress slowly
– don’t strike the bag with muscular force (meaning just let your hand fall)
– place an emphasis on the healing/recovery portion

I also read an article about whether or not there’s a still a reason to train iron palm today (link).  It was a really good article, and touched on many of the reasons why I train.  In fact, that’s probably the best iron palm site I’ve seen to date.  It’s absolutely straight forward and dispels a lot of the myths that surround the art.

Well, I’m off.  The next update will be more focused on training, I promise!

Days 141-180 – Beginning the intermediate bag

I want to talk about the bag filled with pebbles for a little bit.  While I got it a few weeks ago, I didn’t start using it until today (day 180) because that marks (about) the 6 month point.

This bag is much heavier and harder, and I suspect the mung beans in my first bag have been worn down a little bit from the daily use.

Here is how I used the gravel bag today:

I warmed up and did everything as normal.  I then did the first 45 sets on the mung bean bag and for the last 5 I switched to the gravel bag.  This way, when I get around to hitting the harder bag, I am thoroughly warmed up.  It is definitely harder!  Remember, however, that I am dropping my hand.  I am not hitting the bag with muscular force.

I am going to continue in this way, and every week I am going to increase the gravel bag by 5 reps and decrease the mung bean bag by 5 reps, so in a week I will do 40 reps with the mung bean bag and 10 with the gravel, and then in another week it will be 35 with the mung beans and 15 with the gravel, etc.  I am going to stop at 10 and 40 because I think it’s always a good idea to warm up with the mung bean bag anyway just as a softer warmup.

I also added a minute to the massage time afterward to make up for the added impact of the gravel bag.

It sort of feels like when I was starting for the first time again.  Beginning with the first bag was new and noticeable, and then over the months I slowly got used to it.  Using the gravel bag now is new and noticeable again.  I can tell I’m making progress because of how it feels when I hit the new bag; I know that I’ve gotten some conditioning from the first bag.

So training today was kind of cool because I was excited.  I had that good feeling you get when you know you’re progressing in something you’ve worked hard at.  You know, like that feeling of hard work paying off.  And that’s what kung fu means.

So I’m pretty excited about using the new bag now and am looking forward even more to my training tomorrow.  And as you know, being excited about something tends to make you more likely to keep doing something.  Looking forward to the next 6 months of training!

Days 121-140 – What happens if you miss a day?

Now doing 50 sets per hand. 10 minutes of qigong and massage.

The last few qigong days have had a subtle wave sensation from my hands to my elbows or so.  Not super strong or anything, but I definitely feel it.  I wonder what is causing it.

It’s going on a half year of iron palm practice.  I read online about how people have been practicing for years and I think I can see how.  The practice seems to go by quickly and it no longer feels like something new that I need to do, but rather a normal part of my day.  I am an iron palm practitioner.  Well, maybe it’s a bit too early to say that, but it doesn’t feel like anything new anymore.  It’s part of my training just like pushups, crunches, hitting the heavy bag, etc.

I’ve heard some stuff about having to practice iron palm every day and if you miss a day you have to start over or something like that.  That sounds silly to me.  I’m pretty sure you can miss a day or two here and there and nothing bad will happen.  Now if you miss an extended period of time you should probably start back slowly, but I think a lot of that “you can’t miss a day” stuff was designed to make students take their training more seriously back in the day.

Days 101-120 – More Waves

I’m now doing 45 sets per hand.

On day 117 I had another one of those wave sensations experiences while doing qigong.  I could feel it running from my hands up past my elbows.  It wasn’t as strong as before but it came on almost right away and lasted for the rest of the qigong session as well as for a little bit afterward.  It sort of distracts me when it happens because I start to focus on it and my mind begins to wonder what is happening and if it’s going to get more intense or what.

The gravel iron palm bag arrived in the mail a few days ago.  It’s a lot heavier and harder than the mung bean one.  I slapped it a few times and it’s definitely harder.  I’m still looking forward to starting with that one, however.  Not until I’m at more than 45 sets per hand with the mung bean bag, though.

There’s a third one that is filled with steel shot.  I bet that one is HEAVY and I bet it’s hard.  It’s also expensive.  I’m told that you can develop a high level of iron palm without going to that one so I will probably just stay at the gravel bag.  Of course, this is all just planning at this point.  Of course I will keep you updated.

Day 100 – a Milestone?

It’s been 100 days since I started my training.  Beginning today I increased the training to 40 sets with each hand.

I think 100 days is some sort of milestone in iron palm training.  I don’t know if I “have iron palm” now but I know I’ve made progress since I first started.  I am more aware of my hands now.  If I wasn’t such a skeptic I would say I feel more “energy” in them than I did before.

And I still look forward to and enjoy training.  It’s relaxing in an energizing sort of way.  I’m sure that doesn’t make any sense.

To celebrate I’m going to order myself the next bag (the one with gravel in it).  I don’t think it will be time to start using it anytime soon but I think having it will motivate me (not that I need the motivation.  This is fun!)

And soon I’ll be breaking bricks like in the photo!

Days 81-99

Training is still going well.  Again, still nothing out of the ordinary to report.

My friend has one of those rebreakable boards that I broke with a palm strike.  That was pretty cool.  Of course, it’s not like it’s really a hard board to break anyway.  It didn’t hurt when I broke it, though.  So am I making progress?  I think so.  Eventually I’ll try breaking an actual brick.

So just to recap, I’m doing 35 sets with each hand now, and the qigong is up to 8 minutes per set.  I realize I’m spending more time on qigong and massage than on the actual training itself but I think this is part of the ways to progress safely.  You don’t just wanna go bang on the bag for a long time and then not do anything to help your body heal.  Well, some people might.  I wouldn’t recommend it, though.

Days 63-80

On Day 75 I increased to 35 sets per hand.

No more weird qigong sensations.  Training has been going well.  It’s still exciting and fun.  Not much to report at this point other than “things are going well.”

It’s hard to believe it’s been 80 days since I started.

Closing in on that 100 days milestone.  I think I heard something about a 100 days protocol that was supposed to give you iron palm after 100 days.  I don’t know if that was real or not or if it was some harder form of iron palm that might produce results more quickly but at the price of not being as safe for your hands.

It seems that my hands are getting tougher.  I remember the way it felt on the first day and now when I hit (drop my hands on) the bag it doesn’t “hurt” as much.  It never hurt before, really, but I feel it less now.  I suppose that means I am making progress.  I’ll probably progress to the next bag at some point in the future.  The next bag is full of gravel.

I also wonder if this bag (the one with mung beans) will need to be replaced at any point.  I imagine the beans are getting smashed up a bit.  It still feels good to me, though.

Days 51-62 – More Qigong Weirdness

On day 51 I increased the reps to 30 per hand.

Training was uneventful except for today which is why this entry is titled “day 51-62”.  Remember that weird sensation I described on day 47?  It happened again.  It grew stronger faster this time.  It felt like my arms were submerged in water and waves were pouring over them.  It continued to get stronger as I continued to do qigong.  It didn’t hurt at all, but it was getting very, very strong, almost to the point where I was about to start getting worried and maybe stop the qigong.

Again, I’m a skeptic.  This could’ve just been a sensation from increased blood flow expanding the blood vessels or something.  Or maybe the position I had my arms in was causing some weird feedback or something.  I’m not so sure I was feeling increased qi or anything but I see why, if older, less-scientific generations of martial artists had experienced this, they may have thought it was some sort of energy.  I’m still trying to keep my mind open, however.

The training is going well.  My hands are feeling good.  No stiffness, no soreness, and I still have that increased awareness type of feeling I was trying to describe earlier.

Days 41-50, a Strange Experience, Notes on Qigong

On day 47 I experienced something really strange during qigong; it felt like there were waves of water flushing over my arms while I was doing the qigong.  The sensation was getting stronger as I went on, but eventually my 6 minutes were up so I stopped.  I kind of wanted to extend that session and see what was going to happen.  I wonder how powerful it would have gotten.

Other than that, nothing really eventful happened  during these 10 days.  Beginning tomorrow I’m going to increase the sets to 30.

I’m one of those people who are naturally skeptical.  I don’t really believe that qi has fighting applications.  I think all of those guys who do the “qigong” demos where they break stuff or break spears on their throats are just showmen and stage magicians.  All of the stuff they do can be done by people who are trained but who haven’t ever studied qigong.  In other words, I don’t believe that qi is protecting their throat from the spear.  It’s a stage trick.  And yes, I believe they are deliberately misleading the audience.

That being said, the sensation I felt in my arms was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.  Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think my arms were immune to spear strikes or anything like that at that point, but there was definitely something going on.

So you might ask if I’m a skeptic why am I even including the qigong portion in the training at all then?  Blood flow is important in healing injuries and I think qigong increases blood flow in the hands, so it’s probably beneficial to my training.  Same with the jow and the massage.