Shaolin Art of hard body conditioning

Chinese martial arts, in it\’s many forms, embraces both soft internal and hard external training in symbiosis. The internal Qi and mental fortitude reinforces the body\’s external movements and durability.

The physical conditioning of the body is not, usually, complex – it involves the repeated striking of the body against a hard object or the application of extreme pressure.

What you need to train

There are many ways and means to train but basics are usually best.

A brick or flat stone
A tree or thick metal pole
A canvas bag filled with sand
A partner

Not everything is necessary, even with only one of these you can manage to train most of the body.

What and How to train

You can train specifics – fists, abdominals, shins – or take a more holistic route to harden every bone and fibre in your body.

DISCLAIMER – This is for educational/interest purposes, take on this style of training at your own risk. Expect severe discomfort (sometimes called pain) but know your limits and don\’t continue training if the skin is breaking. Open wounds will only slow your progress and can cause infection.

Brick

The brick is often associated with advanced hand conditioning (brick breaking) but can actually be used to condition every part of the body if other resources or space are limited.

Lying the brick flat on a strong table surface, drop the outside \’blade\’ edge of your hand on the brick. Keep your hand strong (not relaxed) and focus on the point of your hand which you are striking with. As you become more confident and feel less pain you can begin striking the brick in the same way – do not bounce off the brick but instead momentarily maintain the pressure as if you were pushing all the way through the brick.
Standing in a horse stance (mabu) and holding the brick in your hand, begin gently beating your abdominals, chest, shoulders and ribs. Use both hands in turn, and only increase the power slowly – you should not aim to damage yourself but only to cause enough discomfort to improve while allowing for daily training.

Tree

The tree doesn\’t need to be smooth, rough bark is better for the advanced students progress. Each body part can be done separately or in a combination drill but regardless, the body should be struck at least 100 times for each exercise.

Begin by standing facing the tree, strike with the inside of the forearm, then the outside – repeat with the other arm.
Grasp the tree on the left side and kick the tree at ankle height with the base of the right foot – repeat on the other side.
A metre from the tree, step your left leg forward into a lunge (gong bu stance) and ram your right shoulder, then your left into the tree – step feet back together then repeat on the right foot.

Sand bag

The canvas sand bag is a staple of many martial arts – stuck to a wall for punching, hung as a bag for kicks/punches/elbows/knee, or as a small square bag for table top and grip work. Here we will discuss some square bag methods.

Laying the bag on a low table top, take up a horse stance (mabu) with your fists at your waist and elbows behind you. Raise one hand above your head and drop the back of your hand on the bag, then the palm, then the side – repeat with the other hand. Make each strike count, taking a couple of seconds between each.
Standing in horse stance (mabu) again, hold the bag with your fingertips and a straight arm held directly in front of yourself (letting the bag hang down, your palm facing down). Drop the bag and instantly change arms so you seize the top of the falling bag in your fingertips with a straight arm – raise your arm back to a 90° angle and repeat. This can done with all fingers or just three if you are interested in eagle styles.

Training partner

Training with a partner provides many benefits, including but not limited to motivational support and having someone else dictate the power so you can\’t hold back because you\’re feeling sorry for yourself. Exercises are quite easy to make up, just focus on anything which is likely to happen in a fight situation. Here are some examples:

Stand in horse stance (mabu) with one arm held across your body at solar plexus height (this isn\’t compulsory but can work as a guide for the top of the abdominals to protect your ribs) and let your partner punch your abdominal muscles from the front or they can stand beside you and kick horizontally across the muscle with their shin.
Standing in a kick boxing stance with your hands by your face and your elbows tucked into your body, let your partner strike at your arms and shoulders. This is very useful – if in competition a fighter has a strong guard their opponent will rain kicks against their arms until they weaken and the guard opens.
In a lunge (gong bu stance) have your partner deliver 20 kicks to the inside then the outside of each thigh. This can be surprisingly painful but don\’t let it deter you.
Sitting on the ground with your legs stretched out in front of you, have your partner roll a wooden staff across your shin bone with increasing pressure. With the right pressure this should be very uncomfortable but after repeated training the skin will become desensitised and you can begin strengthening the bone by knocking shins with your partner or against a tree.

This training takes dedication and mental grit.

The benefits are obvious and well worth the hardship but shouldn\’t be taken on lightly. To begin and then give up after a short time, or to be inconsistent with your training will reap no rewards and only waste valuable time you could have been training something else.

Expect a year or more before your training starts to really show results – this may seem like a long time for many people but Martial arts is something which is developed over years and enjoyed for a lifetime.