Hand Development For the Seasoned Operator

If given a choice fill your hands with the best weapon.

The human hand is an amazing weapon. Consider the power and strength of a punch from a trained fighter. All the focused striking force of a punch is still nothing compared to what the hand can do when holding a tool. Holding a rifle, pistol, steering wheel or detonator switch the hand can reach its fullest potential. There are many martial arts that train their students to condition their hands to break board or deliver deadly blows.

How does hand conditioning work?

Hand conditioning is the tool used in many martial arts to prepare the body for very high impact and for combat. It conditions the bone and the nerves to withstand great trauma without sustaining injury. But it must be trained gradually and methodically if great gains are to be made.

Hand conditioning has two physiological consequences. The first is a deadening of the nerves. Pounding bone on a hard object repeatedly eventually kills the feeling in that part of the body. So when expert breakers claim to have no pain during a break that is why. They can't feel anything but pressure. The second change that occurs is actually a strengthening of the bone itself. When bone is cracked your body released calcium to that region which later hardens and becomes new bone. This often results in big knuckles, the trademark of a conditioned hand.

So for those interested, what is the best way to train for this sort of extreme skill? Hit stuff, plain and simple. Old school Karate practitioners would smash their knuckles with a hammer and then punch a wall until they passed out. This would turn the hand into more of a mangled club, good for little else but smashing. But this is unnecessary. Most hard core breakers take a long term and dedicated approach with a little each day mentality.

What are the problems with hand conditioning?

There are drawbacks to conditioning your hands. As your bones and joins strengthen they are adding calcium. This alters how the joins move affecting their overall dexterity. Consider the late Karate Master "Masutaru Oyama" The originator of the "Kyukushinkai Karate" system. He was well renowned for the development of the 'Fist', and stories abound of his ability to knock out 'Bulls with one punch. There are even several reports that he killed some bulls with one blow.

Master Oyama trained the knuckles and fists to the point that they became clubs at the ends of his wrists. His first two knuckles looked

more like one large knuckle. They were wonderful for martial arts demonstrations where he broke boards and blocks with amazing strength. The problem was later in life he lost the ability to pick up small objects with his fingers.

Philosophy of the punch

Just For Fun

We need out hands to perform fine motor skills. The idea of conditioning your hands so they can kill is counterproductive to our area of operations. It is better to push a button from a distance then to try and remove a threat with your bare hands. It would be simple to just work down a scale of distance and safety. That doesn’t remove the question about what to do when you are danger close and you cannot use a firearm.

Bottom Line

You must consider your target and the kind of appropriate fists to use to deliver the maximum injury to your attacker while doing minimum damage to yourself. We work through a series of fist that are based on the target area. When working through the punch drills you need to also consider what you would do if your opponent is wearing a helmet, face shield and body armor. Grapples, throws and finishing techniques become more useful than a punch to hardened/protected areas. You need to develop your techniques and not your hands. If given a choice fill your hands with the best weapon.