Iron arm.

[syn]

At the Hung Gar school I attend we practice iron arm on the 3 sides of the arm, but it's done striking a partners arm in sync. Is there a good substitute at home that y'all use rather than some imaginarey person arm?

[lunghushan]

At the Hung Gar school I attend we practice iron arm on the 3 sides of the arm, but it's done striking a partners arm in sync. Is there a good substitute at home that y'all use rather than some imaginarey person arm?

This is known as a 3-star drill. If you don't want to use a person you can always use a tree.

[syn]

Good idea! Nothing changes hitting the tree rather to partnere right? Breathe out when stricking, and don't hit too hard but apply force.

[lunghushan]

Good idea! Nothing changes hitting the tree rather to partnere right? Breathe out when stricking, and don't hit too hard but apply force.

Uhh ... If you're just starting out, yeah, you probably don't want to hit that hard. I used to do it on a tree, but got tired of going out in the weather and having people stare at me funny. LOL

[syn]

Okay, Yeah I don't really see anything I could use indoors, maybe a door post or something, but that would wear it down, and I'm thinking a punching bag would probably be too soft for it.

How long was it before you noticed a difference in the strength of your arm?

[lunghushan]

Okay, Yeah I don't really see anything I could use indoors, maybe a door post or something, but that would wear it down, and I'm thinking a punching bag would probably be too soft for it.

How long was it before you noticed a difference in the strength of your arm?

Honestly I have no idea, because I didn't do it against a tree for very long, like a few weeks or something, because there wasn't one at my house, and people would stop and stare.

[Laukarbo]

get a log and wrap it with a rope...dont forget the ditda jow

[monkeyking168]

at the studio where i practice at we have a log that is mounted to a stiff coil spring which is mounted to the floor for 3 star training when a partner is not available. you can make something similar to this at home, it seems not all that difficult, it looks like a giant cat scratching post. you can additionally use a tree as others have suggested or a post/beam in your house.
cheers,
mk

[syn]

get a log and wrap it with a rope...dont forget the ditda jow

Are those the herbs your supposed to take when practicing iron technique? What do they do specifically? I haven't started practicing iron technique regularly, and we only do it so often at the academy. While my sifu is a Dit Dar and I'm sure he knows plenty about it, could I ask for some info on it?

[Asmo]

Some tips for Sam Sing on a tree: rub in dit da jow before & after practicing. Right after practicing swing the arms backward really hard (first one for 30 times, then the other, then repeat) and then massage the jow in, rubbing towards the heart to breakup accumulations of fluids. This is important as too many congealed calcified accumulations can lead to serious problems in later life.

At first don't pick a tree which is too small and has a too rough bark. Pick big trees with smooth bark, and slowly (slowly is always the key think to take care of doing these type of exercises) work your way up to small trees with rough bark. Its very easy to slowly build up a problem near your bones if you go to quickly, which in the end will work against what you are trying to achieve.

Finally, first work on your muscles by tensing them on impact, when they are hardened, let them loose and let the impact hit all the way through on your bones. How long this will take is something you need to experience yourself. For some it might be months, for others years.

And remember: do not rush things

[Ravenshaw]

You can hit your own arms together on the surfaces you're trying to toughen.

[Shaolindynasty]

what about a jong?

[David Jamieson]

sam sing on teh meat of the arm is the most rudimentary and fundamental of toughening drills in shaolin kungfu and subsequently, hung kuen and other styles.

there are also versions that concentrate on vibrating bone to produce more, 5 points, 7 points and 9 points of striking and the variants that work muscle vs the variants that work bone.

sam sing more than anything introduces the student to the reality of force feedback and pain returning to you when you hit something, therefor, you have to condition to minimize pain for yourself and toughen the appendage while at the same time increasing pain to whoever it is you hit with your shiny new conditioned arms.

use a partner and move up to other surfaces, later you will likely get the other versions of the conditioning exercises that expand upon the simple 3 star drill. Or maybe not, I'm just speaking from my own experience with this conditioning drill.

[syn]

Some tips for Sam Sing on a tree: rub in dit da jow before & after practicing. Right after practicing swing the arms backward really hard (first one for 30 times, then the other, then repeat) and then massage the jow in, rubbing towards the heart to breakup accumulations of fluids. This is important as too many congealed calcified accumulations can lead to serious problems in later life.

At first don't pick a tree which is too small and has a too rough bark. Pick big trees with smooth bark, and slowly (slowly is always the key think to take care of doing these type of exercises) work your way up to small trees with rough bark. Its very easy to slowly build up a problem near your bones if you go to quickly, which in the end will work against what you are trying to achieve.

Finally, first work on your muscles by tensing them on impact, when they are hardened, let them loose and let the impact hit all the way through on your bones. How long this will take is something you need to experience yourself. For some it might be months, for others years.

And remember: do not rush things

So rub my arms in the dit da jow before hand? At the academy we do the massaging techinuqe, but I don't think my sifu would have enough dit da Jow for all of us, does the Jow just help break up the fluid better than just massaging your arms without it?

[David Jamieson]

dit da jow has herbs within it that in tandem with massage maintain bloodflow and break up blood stasis that causes hematoma (bruising).

if left alone a bruise will take anywhere up to 14 days to dissapate and without any treatment leaves scar tissue due to blood stasis. Younger people clear this away but as you grow older, your body faces more difficulty in getting rid of blood stasis and aids like ddj are excellent.