Knuckle conditioning

[Patcherson]

anyone have any tips on knuckle conditioning bar doing knuckle press ups?

they are kinda working but my hands ache

[Kuma]

Training as an individual those are really the best way to go. The makiwara is great too but I don't recommend that unless you've had some serious instruction in it for a while.

[Patcherson]

ya I don't want to mess up my knuckles I'v seen one guy who uses makiwara and his knuckles are square I don't want to do anything like that i just want to avoid my bones breaking when i have to use em you know?

[JCavin]

How often do you do the knuckle pushups?

It usually helps to take a few days off to let your hands fully heal.

For instance, I use makiwara, but not every day. I usually hit it for a few days, then take a few off. Your body needs the time to heal the damage that has been done to it.

[Patcherson]

well i do them every day but i'll belt em heal for a bit.

how exactly does conditioning harden your knuckles or will i ever see the benefits or know i have them.

[pittbullJudoka]

Heavy bag work will alson help toughen the knuckles. But the makiwari work will work the quickest. You will built calicum deposits making the knuckles thicker and naturally tougher. Also working the makiwari will desencitize the them. You'll notice it it working when you are striking harder with lees pain on the striking post. Kinda works the same way when one conditions the shins.

[Kuma]

Keep in mind though, the makiwara is first and foremost a tool for learning how to focus your punch and for impact training. The secondary effect is the knuckle conditioning. I still stick by my old Goju Ryu sensei when I say 3 days of conditioning a week with a day in between each is more than enough. Any more than that you'll just be prolonging the process as you won't be fully healed and will be more susceptible to injury. You also want to start at about 50% and progress from there. Try doing your knuckle pushups 3x a week, but since your main focus is conditioning, do them out on your sidewalk and really focus on the first two knuckles. Make sure to leave at least one day in between.

[Patcherson]

ouch but i'll do it thanks

[bushido_man96]

I agree with the bag work, or the makiwara. I like to work the bag without gloves, and it does a pretty good job.

If the knuckle push-ups are too much, then use a wall, and do wall push-ups to get a bit more used to the feel. Then, do some on the ground.

[Seija]

I make what I call “Pocket Makiwara” which is just a small, hand sized piece of plywood wrapped with military 5/50 parachute chord that I get from the Army surplus store. I keep one in my work truck and do 100 knuckle conditioning strikes on it per hand every other day. I don’t have deformed looking knuckles like I have seen on some people, but the skin is thick and calloused like an old baseball mitt.