Forearms

[LeaF]

I find after every sparing or drill my forearms ache. They are always bumped and bruised up. I found they have gotten a little by doing drills which envolve strikeing them against a hard object or someone elses arm. Does anyone know of any other less painful exercises, drills etc. that will help strenghten forearms.

 

Thanks alot

[cowboystu]

Try doing bicep curls with your palms facing down rather than up - seems to work for me.

[Bretty101]

I find after every sparing or drill my forearms ache. They are always bumped and bruised up. I found they have gotten a little by doing drills which envolve strikeing them against a hard object or someone elses arm. Does anyone know of any other less painful exercises, drills etc...

 

Probably not what you want to hear. But if you keep doing it the pain will go away.

 

I used to do a lot of drills with my karate friends. You gotta block hard and quick else you get hit. This used to give me monster bruises and hurt a lot. But you get used to it and now my forearms are like metal bars.

 

I wouldn't be suprised if conditioning your forearms carried the same dangers as shin conditioning!!

 

Bretty

[ckdstudent]

Learn to deflect rather than block, a lot of martial arts teach you to block hard, trying to avoid being hit by brute force. A better method is simply to shift your bodyweight (putting you beyond the reach of the technique anyway) and block in a smooth circular motion, redirecting the force rather than trying to stop it.

[KickChick]

Forearm conditioning ... (kote kitae) is important to develop strong blocking techniques. There are a variety of exercises which involve the striking of the forearms of training partners. The purpose toughen the forearms which are heavily used for blocking (especially in Okinawan karate).

 

Three areas of the forearm are the focus for this exercise. The areas which are used for blocking include: the inside of the forearm, outside of the forearm, and the back of the forearm. You should have a training partnet and when doing these drills you should start slowly and work up your speed and power as you improve. A far too often people start out too strong doing these conditioning exercises and then wind up causing injury to themselves or partner. Just like gaining flexibility, it is not something that happens overnight ... so give it time and work up to it slowly.

 

These basic contact blocking drills will provide options for forearm conditioning while at the same time work on improving your blocking skills, offensive and defensive movement, stancing and balance, and overall coordination and timing. These also are what one could call "self-teaching drills", as if you do not perform them correctly you get hit ... and will learn it is better to block with the forearm than with the face, ribs or groin.

 

The first drill works off a single lunge punch by one partner which is blocked by two inside blocks and then cleared by a downward block as the defender steps in to become the "attacker" and the drill repeats itself.

 

The second drill focuses on a punching attack involving three different targets - head, chest and groin. Here the defender works their upward, inside and downward blocks before their turn to attack.

 

In the final drill, the concept of shifting to the outside of an attack is presented. Here the attacker punches to the face and then to the low body of the defender. The defender will be shifting to the outside and using only one arm to block both punch attacks).

 

These drills may be the source of your bruises and forearm pain but like I said you will not develop this conditioning overnight!

 

When you see these drills performed by seasoned martial artists moving in a blocking frenzy with power and focus... it is truly a sight to behold!

 

 

 

I bruise very easily and can understand your "discomfort". There are forearm guards you can wear but that 'defeats' the whole conditioning process now doesn't it? (however I do wear when I spar .... bruised arms are not pretty :pony:)

 

As cowboystu suggested you can also weight train to develop forearm strength, but that doesn't prepare the forearm for hard striking blows either delivered or received by you. So a little of both would do wonders ... these conditioning exercises and lifting.

 

An excellent way to isolate the forearm area and should be done with the palms facing up and the palms facing down. Lay your forearms across a bench or chair with the barbell in your hands (you can use dumbbells as well)

 

and let your wrist extend over the edge. Let the weight drop until you get a good stretch in your wrist then curl the bar up. Maintain the tension on your forearms and go for that "burn". Make sure you stretch your wrists out thoroughly after each set.

[LeaF]

I understand what you mean kickchick...I do drills simular to the ones you mention alot they are considerably longer and are done for considerable lenghts of time. The pain I feel from doing these drills is painful by all means but it is also kind of a high and I enjoy continuing the drills. The only problem I have with them is that I am concerned with the damage they may be placing on my forearms, this is why I wanted to seek advice for alternative methods to strenghten the forearms. Thanks for all your advice, keep it coming

[TKD_McGee]

Knuckle Pushups

 

Forearm Curls

 

Pullups

 

Bag Work

 

Forearm raises with weights

 

All work great....

[CTpizzaboy]

This is a sign of a good school, because you are learning to kick and hit with full force. My moto in sparring, "No holding back." But I keep it under control or there's no learning involved.

 

You can be blocking wrong. Don't be reaching for a block. With the downward block meeting a frontkick, some new students hammer down on the shins of their partner, hurting the partner's shin and their forearms. With a front kick, don't meet the shin but the side of the leg where there is meat not bone. With a roundhouse kick, don't reach for it but wait until it comes near and tense your blocking arm. With a side kick, never get hit with a side kick. It hurts alot, and can even break your ribs. Bring your elbows down to meet a side kick, and bounce backward to lessen the blow, if you can't avoid one. Blocking is the building block of any style, because its the first thing they teach you. Learn to block right and it won't hurt you, but lessen the hit so you can counter.

[ckdstudent]

We learn to block and attack with full force, we just don't get injured while doing it.

 

When you block you should not be directly opposing the technique, any technique, but redirecting it. In ten years I have never received any real bruising or similar during class (sparring outside of class is a different matter). Neither has anyone else I know.

 

Before people start telling me that this type of training is useless on the street, it doesn't work, and so on, I'll say now that I know from my own and other's experience that it does.

[Bitseach]

Knuckle Pushups

 

Forearm Curls

 

Pullups

 

Bag Work

 

Forearm raises with weights

 

All work great....

 

Agree apart from knuckle press-ups, which shouldn't be done (unless you're keen to end up with crippled hands)

 

If it's bruising that's a problem too, ice the areas after your training (reduces swelling and therefore pain and reduces the chance of scar tissue, unless that's what you want!) and rub Arnica ointment onto bruises to speed their disposal (you can usually get this cream from pharmacies or health food type places). I know that some people condition their shins by biffing them gently with sticks and then building this up so that they can take harder knocks (does it actually increase bone density locally, Kickchick??) so I guess you could do this with your forearm bones, though I've not tried this technique and so cannot recommend it personally.