Conditioning training for Taiji

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David Mcleary
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Conditioning training for Taiji

Post by David Mcleary » Thu Sep 15, 2011 2:10 am

I am interested in conditioning training espicially for the finger tips I have been told things sutch as finger tip pushups and thrusting into a bucket of dried beans is very good. From what I understand this kind of trining dose dull the nerve endings in wht ever part of the body you are conditioning. As a practitoner of Taiji and Liuhebafa sensitivity of the hands is very important,if I ws to undertake this kind of training would it have an negative effect on my sensing jing?

I have experienced finger jabs from wing chun people who do this kind of trraining, the whole prncipal behind wing chun is softness and sensitivity especially in Chi sau, which is what got me thinking about this for myself.

Afterall wether you hid something whith fajing or brute strength the striking part of the beody is going to impact something. I am curious to see what others think about this.

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J HepworthYoung
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Re: Conditioning training for Taiji

Post by J HepworthYoung » Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:58 pm

Sun style has a lot of spear finger type content but it was taught in some groups of it that this reflected conditioning people lack now and that fists should be used instead of spear like palms...
another common posture in taiji is spear and shield where the fingers are again spear like and can jab
ward off can be done with a spear hand motion at the end of it, and in some forms (CWM) there is a right spear hand to the carry tiger to mountain move right after the first crosshands

the nature of taiji allows the energies to be expressed with various parts of the body and finger jab type spear moves are certainly found in taiji... they also seem to be taught to target soft tissues and specific vulnerable or sensitive points

as an application it isn't something that is ideal to do without practicing and conditioning for it, but i am uncertain what conditioning is ideal and what is potentially counterindicated by taijis use of suppleness in strikes

I think issuing force from the fingers is different than shoving them into things, it is more like expressing and transmitting your momentum into your fingers, or absorbing and redirecting momentum as well, i don't think that using your fingers to strike is much like finger push ups or stabbing into beans... i would imagine that those would condition the hands for striking and make the fingers strong, but perhaps it could interfere with their being properly relaxed...?

Tony Mosen
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Re: Conditioning training for Taiji

Post by Tony Mosen » Sat Sep 17, 2011 11:01 pm

I do push-ups on my fingers several times a week, but only for arm and hand exercise rather than any iron finger ability, make sure your fingers are bent and not straightened when you do them if you are going to try, or over time you may damage the joints in your hands.

Conditioning training needs to be learn't correctly, there is most often always a soft practice to complement the hard conditioning part of the practice.

Finger conditioning can be dangerous and effect your eyesight if not done correctly is usually what is warned along with this type of training.

One of my teachers is a master at hand and body conditioning and his hands are soft and in good condition after 50yrs of training' with no problems to sensitivity in the hands and fingers, some other masters he know have many problems with their hands from using incorrect methods, mainly he say from breaking bricks and such too early on in their training.

Here's a link to a good resource to kick you off on your search for info..

http://rumsoakedfist.org/viewtopic.php? ... ng#p229612

Michael
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Re: Conditioning training for Taiji

Post by Michael » Tue Oct 11, 2011 1:36 pm

David Mcleary wrote: I have experienced finger jabs from wing chun people who do this kind of trraining, the whole prncipal behind wing chun is softness and sensitivity especially in Chi sau, which is what got me thinking about this for myself.
In my experience, which includes Wing Chun, it seems like the main surfaces that people condition aren't the surfaces which require the most sensitivity anyway. In chi sao, you spend a lot of time in wrist-to-wrist contact with the opponent, whereas you tend to condition your knuckles, fingertips, palm, etc. So even if you did end up with big calluses on those areas, it might not have much effect on your sensitivity.

As a side note, I think this sort of practice is more useful in terms of developing form than it is for conditioning. When I practice punching a wall bag, I don't do it so my knuckles will get stronger. I do it to practice a proper punch. Proper technique should help prevent injuries anyway.
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