A few months back in my practicing, I aquired the idotic idea that it would be a good idea to punch hard wood to harden my knuckles and make them bigger...my right hand knuckles survived the dumbness with only a little enlargening and not much damage, but my left middle knuckle got round and huge, and is still painful from time to time.

Will rest and ice return it to a normal human knuckle size? Or is that tissue/cartilage swollen up for good?

itll prob go down, but if its the knuckle adjusting to your habits then itll be big for along time i think anyway

A few months back in my practicing, I aquired the idotic idea that it would be a good idea to punch hard wood to harden my knuckles and make them bigger...my right hand knuckles survived the dumbness with only a little enlargening and not much damage, but my left middle knuckle got round and huge, and is still painful from time to time.

Will rest and ice return it to a normal human knuckle size? Or is that tissue/cartilage swollen up for good?

I advise that all injurys from makiwara training should be fully healed before continueing. In your case if you still wish to condition your seiken get a proper makiwara with proper target and give in the post.

regards maki

If your hand is still giving you pain, have a doctor check it out to make sure everything is ok. I've got a matching pair of "big" knuckles acquired during board breaking demos, not makaiwara training. After twenty years, they are stlil enlarged, but have not caused me any pain nor have I lost any dexterity. I worry that arthitis might be a problem down the road. I'll let you know in another twenty years.

btw, I do lots of knuckle push-ups and when I have the urge to hit something, hit a heavy bag if a training partner is unavailable. If you want to train with a makiwara, do it under proper supervision or don't do it at all.

Ok, thanks for your help everyone