Iron Palm or Iron Hand (Chinese: 铁掌功; Cantonese: tit1 zoeng2 gung1) is a body of training techniques in various Chinese martial arts. These techniques are typically meant to condition the hands and body to allow a practitioner to deliver very powerful blows without injury to his or her body.

Iron palm is a broad term, as there are various methods used to achieve these results. Some are internal and others are purely external in training methods. Martial artists who practice iron palm training are not unified in their training and techniques. Some teachers treat their iron palm methodology as a valuable secret, and only share their specific techniques, training methods, and herbal recipes with a select few. Others are very open and teach those interested in learning this program.

Iron palm is not a martial arts style unto itself, but a general training concept common to many schools of Chinese martial arts. Some non-Chinese martial arts, such as Muay Thai and many schools of karate, also emphasize conditioning body parts used for striking; however, the term “iron palm” is not normally used to describe this training.

As a general rule, iron palm training involves three primary components. The first is to strengthen the entire striking limbs themselves. This can be achieved by developing the tendons and ligaments from the shoulders all the way down to the fingertips. Next you would then progress to tapping relatively hard objects enclosed in canvas/leather bags and treating the hands, usually with a medicinal aid created from plant derivatives. The benefits of some erroneous iron palm training exercises, such as intentionally breaking bones do nothing but weaken the original structure, and should be cast off as ignorant and not worth the risk to the practitioner.

The second component of iron palm training involves using proper technique in order to strike with more force. As in other martial arts, students learn specific body mechanics which are supposed to produce a more powerful strike. Most students will learn how to relax and rid the body of residual tension in order to move faster. This is usually done with standing meditations that are designed to rid the residual tension in the body and develop whole body coordination/power.

Other training will include how to move the body as one unit rather than a collection of unattached pieces. This is actually one of the “secrets” of internal training usually ignored by the external schools.

The third component is to engage in qigong exercises in order to develop one’s qi. This training, done in conjunction with the physical training, is supposed to allow the practitioner to focus qi to improve mental focus in order to produce a more powerful strike. Some consider qi to have a mystical aspect separate from mental focus.

Method

The exercises used in iron palm training are often divided into “internal” and “external” exercises. External exercises consist of striking increasingly hard surfaces using different hand positions depending on the trainee’s particular style of kung fu. One common method uses bags or containers filled with beans; the trainee strikes the bags or thrusts his hands into the containers. As training progresses, the bags are filled with increasingly resistant substances such as sand, gravel, or steel shot. Trainees frequently measure their progress based upon how long it takes to perform a given number of strikes on the bag or the number of strikes they do in a particular training session, and the progression from one type of striking surface to another may take months or years. The typical external method is progressive striking of material in canvas bags.The palm conditioning technique starts with hard beans in canvas bags, progressing to gravel and in the final stages to bags of steel shot. It is also important that iron palm practitioners have developed adult bones. It is recommended by most iron palm shifus that the student be at least sixteen years of age to prevent deformation of immature bones in the hand.

Internal iron palm exercises usually consist of therapeutic and meditative exercises, often intended to offset the potential negative effects of external exercises. Massaging the hands with a special liniment called dit da jow is usually considered an essential component of iron palm training. The usage of dit da jow supposedly aids in preventing callus buildup, enhances blood flow and healing, provides nutrients for recovery, and removes dead skin and tissue. Many believe it draws qi into the hands as well. Dit da jow users need to use caution applying it because it may cause infection if exposed to open cuts or broken skin. Trainees also usually follow their external training sessions with standing meditation, breathing exercises, and other qigong exercises. A common belief among trainees is that failing to apply dit da jau or to practice these breathing exercises after iron palm training sessions has negative effects on long-term health and psychological well-being.

Uses

Many systems of martial arts use a wide variety of open-hand strikes, and iron palm training is designed to condition the hands in order to prevent injury and make the techniques more effective. Hardening the hands is also supposed to make up for the loss of speed and strength which martial artists experience as they age.

Iron palm practitioners often demonstrate their abilities by breaking hard objects such as bricks and coconuts with their bare hands or in some cases hitting a steel object rapidly without sustaining injury.

See also

• Iron shirt

External links

• Video demonstrating results of traning
• Another iron palm demonstration
• Modern iron finger training techniques and periodized training
• authentic Iron Palm training and Iron Palm Medicinal Formula
• Bulk Herbs for Iron Palm