Is there a relatively safe way to build them?
A. Yes
Q. Are big, calloused knuckles impressive to look at?
A. Some people think so.
Q. Do they make for a harder hand strike?
A. Yes.
I’ve worked at toughening my knuckles off and on for all of my martial arts career. There have been times when they were thick with callousness and there have been times when I’ve stopped working them and the callouses diminished (maintaining them is a continuous process). One time while in Vietnam, a country where the people are quite aware of the martial arts and notice such things as calloused knuckles, a dozen Vietnamese people gathered around me after one of my brawls as a military policeman and stared at my hands as they talked excitedly among themselves about my knuckles. The only word I could understand them saying was “taekwondo,” the primary martial art in Vietnam at the time.
Other than for cosmetic purposes, calloused knuckles, especially if they are thick and hard, add to the impact of your punch. One Chinese master, who strikes a metal plate 1000 times a day and has knuckles nearly as large as golf balls, says that hitting someone with his knuckles is like hitting them with a rock. He also says that he doesn’t feel pain in his knuckles because he has long ago deadened the nerves in them.
Whether to toughen your knuckles or not is, of course, your decision. You may find that toughening them is a long and painful process that has no benefit other than impressing white belts. On the other hand, you may find that building them is beneficial to your punching. If you choose to do it, you should know that there is some risk involved, especially if you build them by repetitiously striking a hard object, like the aforementioned metal plate. When doing it that way, it’s quite possible to cause irreversible damage to the nerves, so much so that you could spend the rest of your life walking around with a hand frozen in the shape of a claw.
There is, however, a way to put callouses on your knuckles by toughening the skin rather than damaging the bones. This may be a superficial way to build up the knuckles and not as effective as enlarging and toughening the bones, but it nonetheless puts a layer of protection on them. This is the way I have always done it and, when they are at their best, I can hit a hard object without feeling much pain.
Knuckle Push-ups
Do your push-ups on the large knuckles of your index and middle fingers. They are your primary striking points, and therefore the ones you want to toughen. Just doing push-ups on them won’t toughen the skin much, so you need to twist your hand ever so slightly so that your knuckles rub into the floor. The keyword here is twist “slightly” because the weight on your knuckles is significant, and too much twisting will tear the skin, a not-so-fun moment in time that stings like the dickens. Start out doing these on a carpet, then progress to wood and then cement.
Make sure your weight is on your index and middle knuckles and twist them ever so slightly.
Rub a Brick
Actually, you can rub your knuckles with a rock, a piece of wood, cement or anything else that has a rough surface. Place your two large knuckles on the object and rotate your hand back and forth in a vigorous rubbing motion. Don’t get carried away and press too hard because you will tear the skin. As your skin grows tougher you can press progressively harder.
Punch a Canvas Bag
Modern-day heavy bags are usually made out of slick, smooth vinyl. These are excellent for developing power in your techniques, but they don’t do much toward toughening the skin over your knuckles. Canvas-covered heavy bags, however, work wonderfully. They are hard to find (I found mine in an old boxing gym), but they are worth the search because they toughen your skin quickly.
Salt Water Torture
There are herbal ointments on the market that supposedly toughen and heal your skin, but I have never used these products and haven’t heard anything as to how effective or ineffective they are. I have always used salt water or just plain salt to help heal my skin after I have gotten carried away and torn off a big patch. I just sprinkle a little salt on the exposed layer of wet meat (is that graphic enough?) and lightly rub it around on the injury. It hurts, sometimes all the way to my elbow, but I have found that it accelerates the healing.
If you are going to toughen your knuckles, I recommend that you only work the skin that covers them. I recently heard of a Japanese master who in his advanced years suffered greatly from all the pounding he did on his knuckles. Arthritis of the bones is natures cruel way of letting you know you did too much when you were younger.
Building callouses is controversial, though some martial artists believe they serve as armor.
I’ll admit it, I’m not a great kicker, and any ability I do possess has been hard earned. In bodybuilding, people who develop muscle slowly are called “hard gainers.” Well, if this term was used in karate training, I would definitely be labeled a hard gainer as far developing my kicks. Here are some ways I have used to bring my kicking skill to where it is today and has also helped my students become far better kickers than I am.
Hey, who you going to listen to? A guy with natural kicking ability, or someone like me who has had to sweat, bleed and swear for every inch of progress?
1. STRETCHING
There are two basic times to stretch: Before you train, to warm up your muscles in preparation for your workout, and after your training session when your muscles are already warm.
Take it Easy Before Training
Use caution when stretching before your training. Go slowly and gently, keeping in mind that you are only trying to get blood into the tissues and lubrication to the joints. To repeat: This is not the time to work on increasing your flexibility. I’ve seen many students strain muscles by stretching too hard immediately upon entering the class room. I had a student who tore his hamstring so violently that I heard it snap, and I was in another room. I didn’t have any trouble hearing him scream, either. Go easy when your muscles are cold.
Stretching to Increase Flexibility
When stretching to improve flexibility and limberness, you want to first thoroughly warm your muscles with a few easy kicks to a low target, a dozen or so half squats, a dozen reps of leg chambering, and a couple minutes of knee rotations in both directions. You are ready to stretch when you can feel that all the kinks and stiffness have left your legs and hips. Nonetheless, start out slowly and don’t push the muscle until you have been stretching for several minutes.
Although, most sports trainers advocate stretching for increased flexibility at the end of class, it’s still wise to start out slowly, progressively pushing the intensity of the poses over the 15 to 20 minute session.
You are not “Naturally” Stiff
Don’t
