The cornerstone of hand conditioning for the front or back fist is the knuckle curl. A fighter’s ability to perform several hundred push-ups at once, knuckle-knuckle, on uneven asphalt or even gravel, is a sure sign that the front “face” of his fists will be able to withstand the pain with room to spare. associated with hitting a hard surface. If he’s done tens of thousands of push-ups in his life, but none on the knuckles on a street or street-like surface, he’s in for a bit of a surprise. You may be thinking to yourself, “Well, gosh, how hard could a push-up like that really be?” Try it; walk to the nearest sidewalk or parking lot, and do nothing more than assume the ready position with your knuckles, not even attempting a full-range push-up (and greatly intensifying the pressure and pain in your fists), and see as it does. . Many people who do these push-ups for the first time end up thinking that it is the most intense pain they have ever felt; So what does that say about the knuckle conditioning level of someone who can perform thousands of them at once?
The relevance of the knuckle push-up lies in the style of punch that martial artists throw; the punch is actually thrown so that the main blow is delivered by the knuckles of the index and middle fingers; a small part of the blow may take a secondary hit at the site of the knuckles of the ring and “little” fingers, but those fingers must not serve as points of impact. Because the force of the blow is channeled through only two specific points on the hand, it is absolutely essential that these areas be developed to a high degree in order to be as destructive and as impervious to pain and damage as possible.
Consequently, for the knuckle push-up to achieve its goals, it must be performed in such a way that the knuckles of the first two fingers of each hand remain the primary points of contact on the surface on which the push-up is performed. At first, the temptation is to flex so that the entire fist is bearing the weight. One of the reasons for this is simple inexperience; it usually takes a bit of time to do the knuckle curl to gain the balance needed to perform the exercise with only the knuckles of the index and middle fingers serving as contact points with the surface. In addition, there is often a misunderstanding that the entire fist should be developed, which is simply not true. Remember, the actual hit points are the forefinger and forefinger knuckles; any impact absorbed by the other fingers should be minimal, at most.
The best way to become proficient at the knuckle push-up is to start gradually. It is best to start this exercise on a carpeted surface. Once you get to a point where you can do 300 of them (not necessarily as a set; 10 sets of 30, with a minute rest between sets, is fine), it’s time to move on to a harder surface, like a linoleum floor. . Again, you want to repeat the goal of getting to the point where you can do 300 of these on that type of surface. Next, it’s time to try a surface that’s even a little harder, like the smooth concrete floor you might find in your garage or outside on your patio. It is when you move to this type of surface that you will be provided with the first taste of real pain.
Once you’ve mastered that, it’s time to “step up” and move your push-ups onto the bumpy, gravel-covered surface of the street or sidewalk. Once you get to the point where you can perform 300 full-range knuckle push-ups at least three times a week on this type of surface, without stopping and without cuts or tears in your skin, then you can be satisfied that your fists are properly conditioned. Some breakers make a point of regularly seeking out the roughest surfaces they can find to perform their knuckle push-ups. While that may seem extreme to some, these martial artists know that the higher the conditioning level of their hands, the easier the breaks will be, for two reasons: first, their hands will be solid, like battering rams themselves, and second , the chance that the pain they feel when trying to break through a stack of boards or blocks will prevent them from making the break successfully is greatly reduced.
An excellent complement to the knuckle curl in fist conditioning is the repeated makiwara strike with both the front and back fists. It is especially important to spend a lot of time working the makiwara from the back fist position, because neither the knuckle push nor the front fist makiwara strike will sufficiently condition the “top” or “back” of the first two knuckles. Granted, developing this area isn’t that essential to standard front punch conditioning, and if you plan on never throwing a back punch, then you could probably do without it, but your neglect of this component will result in a less-than-full punch. . conditioning.
While there’s nothing terribly scientific about hitting the makiwara, it’s recommended that you do it every day, using a figure of 1,000 as a guideline for your target number of reps. As with all of these exercises, that number is one you’ll need to work up to; however, once it is there, it will have reached a level of conditioning that makes this area of the hand “ready to break.”
As a substitute for the makiwara, you can use a heavy bag, but keep a few things in mind. First of all, in order for the heavy bag to serve as a suitable substitute for the rough surface of the makiwara, it is recommended that you stick with a heavy bag made of canvas. Today, heavy bags used by martial artists are made of vinyl and are slightly softer than canvas bags. While this difference is important in allowing kick training with less risk of foot injury, the old-style duffle bag is still the best choice for hand conditioning. Also, be sure to locate the hardest part of the heavy bag and use it as a striking surface. Today, most heavy duffel bags are filled with fiber, but regardless of the filler used, the tendency is for the contents to settle in the bottom half of the bag. This means that the part of the bag at or near the bottom will be the hardest and is therefore the area where you will find the most beneficial place to hit. As with those who use the makiwara, you should aim to reach a point where you are hitting the heavy bag to the tune of about 1,000 repetitions each day.
