100 Days!

So my buddy Jarrett, who has been studying Hop Gar and Fu Hok Kung Fu for almost eight years now, passed on this little bit of wisdom:

"Chinese philosopher dudes say that if you want to really get down with something, you have to do it every day- for like, a hundred days."

I like that. It helps me to get a mental handle on getting through this introductory phase of my training and progressing to a point where I'll actually feel like this stuff is clicking. I can catch a glimpse of it every now and then- the more I practice, to be quite honest- so I think this is the way to go. I started today- forms in the a.m and afternoon- and iron palm bag training. (Somebody who is mowing through this uninspired prose might ask at this point: what is that? Or even more importantly- why do I care?)

Iron Palm training is a process that involves daily conditioning of your hands so that they can eventually chop down a tree. No, not exactly. It is designed to gradually toughen the hands to where they become relatively impervious to blunt trauma without becoming numb or deformed or hardened. You should be able to blast through blocks and maybe even somebody's solar plexus with 'iron hands'- and conversely, should also be able to script a delicate bit of calligraphy- Chinese were 'Renaissance' like that, I guess.

The training itself means striking a bag repeatedly in a controlled, forceful (yet relaxed until exact moment of impact) manner using various 'empty hand' blows. My routine: palm down, chop, backfist (knuckles) and front fist knuckle point. Wash, rinse, repeat. Currently doing 25 4-count repetitions for a total of 200 blows per session. After you finish the actual striking, you apply Dit Da Yow oil to yoru hands and massage vigorously- this allows blood to flow to the hand and prevents premature bruising, stiffness or joint damage.

I've enlisted the help of Lee-Ying Arn to show you just exactly how it's done...




Wild, huh? Day 99 tomorrow....

Breakdown of Day:

Forms in the a.m. and in the afternoon-
leg training via Kettlebell Lunges/Sumo deadlifts and 100 swings
Iron palm: 25/25