When Shaolin monks repeatedly hit a certain body part to 'desensitize' it, is this safe?

[Charlie Martin]

Hey all,

 

So I'm sure you've seen videos of Shaolin monks hitting their heads against a wall for hours or maybe punching a wall for hours in order to 'desensitize' the body part until it feels no pain.

 

First question - is this safe? Isn't it just destroying the nerves in the respective body part?

 

Also, would this methodology work for my knuckle handstand training:
 

I like to do some breakdance combos on my knuckles and I'm doing it on semi-hard carpet here, but it hurts a little too much on concrete.

 

In other words, would it work for me to punch a concrete wall for an hour a day... (maybe not this extreme but you get the idea haha)

 

Any opinions would be appreciated! Thanks!

Edited August 21, 2015 by Kuboy

[Jason Dupree]

They aren't really desensizing, though I'm sure that's a by product. What they are doing is progressively making their bones stronger and denser, which will prepare them for taking hits. Same principle as any training, it needs to be progressive.

[Jon Douglas]

Yes, this is a rapid way to kill the nerves in your hand. You will also need to marry as it is extremely likely you will be unable to tie your shoelaces by the time you are forty.

We've done a couple threads between myself and Joshua Naterman on basic hand conditioning. Concrete is just a terrible idea as a regular feature; even on forearms I would recommend against it.

If you just want to do support on knuckles, why not train that? Front support for time. Yes, you will lose some skin. Yes, it will hurt and probably bruise.

It won't however ruin the small bones in your hands which punching a non-giving surface regularly absolutely will.

[Ivan Pavlovic]

Muay thay fighters punch hard objects with legs and arms to make his bones stronger. When hitting wall with bone hard enough bone fractures to some point and then when it recovers it is much stronger. Im not sure how safe is doing this without professional coach advice since you dont know how much is enough.

[Ryan Libke]

My cursory understanding of Muay Thai is that abundant pad and bag work constitutes a majority of conditioning of tissue, such that the fighter's limbs can withstand giving and receiving the blows.  Undoubtedly, the sport/art requires resilient bones and connective tissue, that does not register much pain on impact.  Before pads were accessible, I think there is good evidence of other materials being used, the classic example of a relatively flexible tree (no oaks; I think banana).  There are other examples of body hardening, I am sure, as are found in other "fist" traditions in China and Okinawa.  (The book Hojo Undo has some good examples of Okinawan methods.)  "Knockdown" karate also requires considerable toughening.  All very interesting, but one does wonder about the long term effects for some of the tissue, especially the more delicate tissue in the hands.  I used to have some ugly knuckles from makiwara and bare knuckle bag work that thankfully has not resulted in any arthritic process.

 

Also, I could never be convinced to do that kind of thing with my head; I would be too worried about the noodle inside it.  

[Jeffrey Fialko]

the term "progressive " can't be stated hard enough here. Remember that connective tissue takes something like three times as long as muscle to regenerate? Bone takes longer. Also, many of the very traditional Chinese styles use herbal salves to condition their bodies. Without these mixtures, you run an even greater risk of permanently damaging your body. The monks you see hitting concrete didn't start by hitting concrete. Like everything else we do here, they started soft and worked their way up over a looooong period of time. Years and years most likely.

[Chris Hansen]

It sounds like even the Shaolin monks don't necessarily do this safely. In the book American Shaolin, the author describes some of the monks he met and the horrible disfigurations caused by their body hardening methods. It sounds like the iron crotch guy was doing all right though.