Iron palm training tip's

[shao]

Does anyone know some good ways for a beginner to start training the iron palm technique?

[joko]

.
Find a good teacher.

[shao]

In the area i live in there are no martial artists who teach shaolin techniques there is only kids karate classes and jiu-jitsu classes thanks for the advice though sifu joko.

[Daoist]

Hello Shao,

I have already posted about the dangers of training Iron Palm without supervision in the Book Reviews section, but I will reiterate it here.

Iron Palm is a simple art, but with great benefits. However, there are major repercussions to your health if you do not know the right method.

Some are: Blindness, internal damage, arthritis later in life, impotency, heart attack, stroke, and others.

Here lies the irony: Practicing the correct method of iron palm can benefit the organs, but an incorrect method can injure the organs (even the sexual organs).

Learn from a real-life Sifu who is a master of Iron Palm. If his hands are enlarged with thick callouses, then chances are he does NOT know true iron palm (just an external variant). If he has you beating hard metal bags without a proper Dit Da Jow formula, then it is not Iron Palm. If he does not teach you chi gongs to practice after doing Iron Palm he does not know Iron Palm.

I personally do not recommend beginners in kung fu to train Iron Palm. Beginners should practice basic skills first and build a foundation of chi to support exercises like Iron Palm. Be careful.

[Markus Kahila]

Daoist is correct; it is very easy to do mistakes in unsupervised training of specialized arts such as Iron Palm. Furthermore, the risk of making mistakes is increased many, many times if you don't have a good foundation of basic kungfu training.

And even if against all odds you should succeed in training Iron Palm correctly from instructions, what are the benefits? Hard palms, powerful external strike, and little else.


Kungfu training should enrich our lives, not just offer fringe benefits - and certainly not make us unhealthy. Think of this: What is the benefit of having Iron Palm in our modern society?


Therefore, my suggestion is that if you wish to do well in practicing genuine kungfu, define your aims and objectives, find a good instructor or our Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit's books, and practise exactly according to instructions.

If you wish to excel in kungfu, I would recommend you to attend Grandmaster Wong's intensive kungfu course in Malaysia. This is sincerely the very best advice I can give.


All the best,

[shao]

thank you for the advice daoist and sifu markus I never knew the dangers of training incorrectly where that bad I have read books on it and learned some information on it but i guess I should learn from a qualified teacher instead and try out other techniques with greater benfit's. I might attend Grandmaster Wong's intensive kungfu course in the future it's 1000$ but I heard it's well worth it.

[shao]

Sifu Markus do you know of any way's to prepare for sifu wong's intensive kungfu course. What i'm practicing right now is lifting the sky,horse riding stance,standing meditation, and cosmos palm even though it is a advanced art I know the technique well and have been practicing for around 5 months I can still feel the energy flowing through my arms and hand almost like a magnet. It may take long to master it but i'm dedicated to learning this art even if it takes me 20 years. I'm still a beginner and need much more practice to attend sifu wong's intensive kungfu course so if you have any advice Sifu Markus to help me prepare for the course please let me know and I will start training.

[Markus Kahila]

Dear Shao,

...and cosmos palm even though it is a advanced art I know the technique well and have been practicing for around 5 months I can still feel the energy flowing through my arms and hand almost like a magnet.

- Again, you're getting ahead of yourself. At this point, you should focus on finding the best method / teacher and building a good foundation with basic training, not dabbling with advanced arts.

Cosmos Palm is a Shaolin treasure and an advanced art. Trying to learn it from books or from online instructions, especially without a good foundation, is asking for trouble.

To put it bluntly: Stop practising Cosmos Palm. You are very likely to hurt yourself.

It may take long to master it but i'm dedicated to learning this art even if it takes me 20 years.

- If you want to be a dedicated practitioner, be a good student first. Find a master and practise well according to instructions. Move on to advanced arts only after they've been taught to you, when you've mastered the basics.

I'm still a beginner and need much more practice to attend sifu wong's intensive kungfu course so if you have any advice Sifu Markus to help me prepare for the course please let me know and I will start training.

Lifting the Sky and horse-riding stance are a good start for building basic foundation.

Are you practising from a book? If yes, pay attention that you're following the instructions to the letter. Also, don't hurry. Make your training enjoyable and fun, but keep it consistent. These are all sound guidelines to good results.


I would recommend you also to incorporate to your training:

- Basic stances (bow-arrow, false leg, unicorn, single leg, goat), and basic footwork.

Video clips of stances and footwork

- 16 Shaolin Wahnam Kungfu combat sequences

Video clips and picture series of combat sequences

Aim for gradual progress; for example start with horse-riding stance and a few other stances. As you progress, add more stances, some basic footwork and a combat sequence. As you progress further, add variations to footwork and more combat sequences.

So you don't have to try to learn it all at the same time - start from the most basic methods, practise them well, and then expand your repertoire.


Remember, you don't have to master everything before the course - after all, you're going there to learn. If your forms are correct and you can perform even some of the basic techniques quite well, you will be able to attend and benefit from the course.


But most importantly, acquire and maintain the mindset of a good student: Respect your master, follow the instructions and practise well.


Best wishes,

[shao]

Thank you very much sifu Markus for helping me out I will try to start out easy and continue training the basics until im ready to attend the course one day. Then find a good teacher to train myself further, also I practice the horse riding stance and lifting the sky from a book but i got the technique down and have been practicing daily for 6 months I can already do the horse riding stance for 30-40 minutes a day and lifting the sky 10-15 minutes each day which is a acomplishment for me so far, anyways thank you for helping me with the problems I was having.

[Kopac]

Question

Hello,

I have one question related to iron palm.

I have a bag filled with sand. Now, i dont practice any kind of Qigong or qi-related things. My question is, will there be any effect if i strike the bag every day ? And yes, will there be any more serious injuries ?

Thanks in advance,
Kopac.

[MaxP]

Hello Kopac,

Welcome to our virtual kwoon.

If you strike a sand bag everyday for a period of time, then yes there will be an effect. Whether this effect is negative or positive, and whether or not you may seriously injure yourself in the process depends on numerous factors, and also on your perspective.

One crucial aspect is your method. If you learnt your iron palm method from a book or video, then the likelihood of incorrect practice is high. You may understand the instructions (even if they are good), but without someone to guide you and correct mistakes you may be unwittingly doing yourself harm. The possibility of problems arising is higher still if you do not use medicated wine or practice Chi Kung/ Qigong.

The damage caused by incorrect iron palm training is very difficult to reverse. You yourself may not be aware of the extent of it, as it is insidious. You could end up having to bath your hands in medicated wine everyday just to retain movement.

It is important therefore to have a Master to guide you in your training, or at least a good instructor. If someone is teaching you iron palm, and their hands are rough, calloused and deformed with oversized, arthritic knuckles, you would be wise to steer clear, even if they can teach you to break bricks with your hands.

But if the Master, the Method, and the Student are all good, then you can acquire the art of Iron Palm, without injury or deformity, after several years of dedicated daily training.

However, before committing yourself to the daily toil of bashing a bag so that you can turn your hands into hammers, consider your aims and objectives. Why do you want to learn Iron Palm? What benefit will you get from attaining it? Do you have a good teacher, with a good method, and are you a good student?

Considering that the risks of incorrect training are high, and the benefits relatively low, you may wish to consider spending the training time more beneficially.

All the best,

Max

[Omar]

I agree with Max's reply, it is very good advice.

I have to echo the recommendation that learning any Shaolin arts from a book or video no matter its quality is not recommended without a masters guidance. Safety first

In addition I am curious why you would want to learn iron palm specifically?

[Kopac]

Thank you for your answers. I'll have that on mind.

I have a video where Sifu Wing Lam shows how to strike the bag, and what time of the day, also the correct use of the Dit Da Jow.

The only reason I wanted to practice Iron Palm was that I want to have strong and taugh hands. But I guess it wont happen in near future, as I dont have access to any Iron Palm instructor.

All the best,
Kopac.

[mping]

Hi Kopac,

A good way of developing strong arms and hands is through Golden Bridge. It is baffingly simple, yet very powerful. Although I would still recommend learning it from a proper instructor or Sifu, I believe it both is easier to get it right and harder to damage yourself than Iron Palm.

It is also a very important building block for the rest of the Kung Fu training, as it will benefit all aspects of both your Kung Fu and your daily life.

[Kopac]

Hi Kopac,

A good way of developing strong arms and hands is through Golden Bridge. It is baffingly simple, yet very powerful. Although I would still recommend learning it from a proper instructor or Sifu, I believe it both is easier to get it right and harder to damage yourself than Iron Palm.

It is also a very important building block for the rest of the Kung Fu training, as it will benefit all aspects of both your Kung Fu and your daily life.

Can you point me to some good material of Golden Bridge ? I know you recommend me to learn it from an instructor, but i dont have that possibility.
What do you mean by "building block for the rest.. " ? You want to say that when i practice the Golden Bridge, i shouldnt practice any other kind of Kung Fu ?