Bare knuckle Boxing?

[SteffiCurdy]

Hand conditioning is a pretty vast topic--it's been the topic of countless books and videos, nevermind all the arts that teach it. There are lots of ways to go about it, but how you do it is dependent on how you are planning to strike; punches, small-surface strikes, palm strikes, slaps, etc.

Since this thread is pretty much about punching, I'll assume you're wanting to condition your hands for punching. The first step is typically knuckle planks or push-ups. The key to these is to focus on making your striking knuckles bear your weight, since most people will let their fists collapse flat onto the ground.

Hitting the heavy bag without gloves or wraps is also a good starting point, but you have to work up to hitting hard. Hitting too hard, too soon, will result in injury and will set back your conditioning, rather than accelerating it. You can also use a maize bag (a head-sized bag filled with corn, beans rice, sand, or some combination of those things), since it will have more give than the heavy bag.

Karateka tend to jump straight for the makiwara when discussing hand conditioning, but I want to stress that the makiwara is NOT meant for hand conditioning! It does toughen the skin and bones through impact, but that is a side-effect. Its real purpose is strengthening the entire structure/power chain of your strike, and giving you feedback as to where weaknesses are in that structure/chain. Be careful with the makiwara, and be sure to start out slow--I usually have people start by just putting their knuckles in the pad and pushing the board back. Once they are comfortable with this, they can start striking it lightly, and work their way up over time. Too much power, or too many repetitions, will lead to injuries and setbacks.

Thank you its very informative.