Finally! The Iron Shirt!

"He who knows how to live can walk abroad
Without fear of rhinocerous or tiger.
He will not be wounded in battle.
For in him rhinoceroses can find no place to thrust their horn,
Tigers can find no place to use their claws,
And weapons no place to pierce.
Why is this so? Because he has no place for death to enter."

-Tao Te Ching- Chapter 50

In all forms of conditioning in Chinese martial arts the Iron Shirt is at the core. 

Body conditioning in boxing and Western Karate is what we regard as external exercises. To the monks of Shaolin and the priests of Mount Wudang, however, the Iron Shirt is an internal skill.

This means that in the old traditions toughening the body to fight was not just a matter of doing a specific set of physical exercises, but it is also a matter of cultivating the right state of mind and spirit in order to take blows in a fight without being impeded.

The physical exercise itself can take a couple of different forms. In Shaolin Kung Fu and Taijiquan this wire brush that is held by Sifu Yan Lei in the picture below is a good start. All areas that you are able to reach on the body is hit with this brush. As you become able to take harder blows you would naturally hit yourself harder. 

I don't have a wire brush like that, so I have always been using my knife hand and fists to toughen the ribs, abdominal muscles, sternum and chest muscles. I also gently punch my brow, sides of my face and jaw to get used to receiving face punches. The thing you don't want to do to your head, though, is shaking your brain. So- if you feel you are giving yourself a headache, you are hitting too hard. What you are going for is to feel pain that is only skin deep.

With the rest of the body, however, you want to work your way towards receiving hard blows.

I have had my ribs broken once during a full contact Mu Sool class. It was just plain embarrassing... Second time was during a Karate class.

Doctors tell you that it takes about 6 weeks for this kind of injury to heal and in some cases the damage can be permanent.

Still- you can't do martial arts training without this kind of contact. Whether you are doing Kung Fu, Karate, Taekwondo or Kickboxing you are going to receive hard blows.

With the body you are looking for 2 types of conditioning: toughening the abs and hardening the sternum and ribs. While the first concern for many of us may be getting winded by a surprise kick the thing that can cost you six weeks out of training is that kick that cracks or even breaks your ribs.

After recovery from the second fracture I have started to drop a 6kg kettle bell on my stomach and chest 10 times once a week. This is done while lying on my back. With my stomach it started out from half and arm's length away and has now progressed to a full arm's length. With my chest I have started a centimeter away. Now I am at 3/4 of an arm's length. The changes took place over about  3 years...

Something that I would definitely recommend is practicing Judo Ukemi (breakfalls) if you have a mat. A body that is tough enough to fall is definitely tough enough to take punches and kicks. At least its bones are.

That is it about what you physically do to train your body to become like armour. Now- very importantly- I have to tell you what has to happen on the inside- the part that somebody won't be able to see by just looking at what you are doing.

I think lots of Karate people will agree with me that it is one thing to take a blow during a conditioning drill and another to receive one during a fight. The reason for that is that many of us tense up the necessary muscles when we know the blow is coming. Now- trust me- the answer is definitely not walking around with tensed pecs and abs all day.

The answer lies in something much more balanced.

For one- you are not going to hold your breath. While you remain ready to receive a blow you should still be breathing. How your body must be while you are breathing is another thing...

Aikido students will know of this: When your wrist is grabbed, clench your fist and try to escape. Managed to do so? Okay- those who did not- you actually got your wrist grabbed by someone who is actually stronger than you. Try it again, but this time- open up your hand. Straighten those fingers and focus on letting blood and energy flow into your hand. I am sure that the person holding your wrist will feel the difference...

Now- get someone to grab you in a strong bear hug. Plant your feet and now get your whole body to do what your wrist did when you opened up your hand.

I have done this a couple of times and these days a bear hug from behind only means to me that my assailant was stupid enough to occupy both of his hands while leaving his ribs open to a merciless assault.

This is why we train...

One of the biggest benefits of this form of readiness is that it lets energy flow throughout the body to all the limbs and as a consequence- your posture also improves. The tensed-up, hunched over posture we find with boxers and MMA fighters (who most likely got it from the boxers) takes its toll on the body over a prolonged period of time and a lot of people who do this are often seen walking around with hunched backs and shoulders outside the gym.

In Wu Style Taijiquan (and Wenhsiuquan) the Iron Shirt as what I have described above is the state in which the body starts the Taiji form. In some styles of Karate (Definitely Shukokai and Kyokusinkai, but some time ago JKA Shotokan did not do this...) this is the state in which the body enters when you go into the Yoi posture and it is maintained throughout the kata and whenever you are in kamae.

Mentally it is a state of being ready to receive the blow, but not waiting for it. It is also the state in which one attacks.

An advanced form of the Iron Shirt is the Golden Bell Cover which enables the body to deflect attacks from bladed and piercing weapons. I am not going to cover that and have definitely not trained in it to be honest. Still- it is an awesome skill...

This is the last post on conditioning now. Hopefully, next Saturday, I will have a fresh idea of what to write about. To all of you who read and follow this blog-

A BIG THANK YOU!

It means a lot to me to see people taking interest in the things I enjoy so much in this life.

Stay well and enjoy training!