Makiwara, Iron Penis, and the Legacy of Martial Arts Conditioning Methods
Take a look into some of the methods used in Pencak Silat Sharaf (Cara Mengeraskan Tulang) to condition the body to take pain and deliver it. You can see the entire training video in the TUS library.
Guest Article
Author: Ryan B, Karate and Vovinam Practitioner, Canada
Muay Thai and Silat practitioners kick banana trees, Kung Fu practitioners smash iron with bare fists, and Karate practitioners punch Makiwaras. Iron Body Training in Martial Arts is akin to forging and tempering a sword. With much pain, practice, and proper healing, the body becomes hardened into a fighting tool capable of dealing with the rigors of real combat. The mind is also conditioned to prepare for the intensity of human combat. This is achieved through both hard and soft conditioning methods shared by many Martial Arts. Many Martial Arts train in a 3-fold manner of mind, body, and spirit. Training the mind to accept the pain of conditioning and training the body to physically be prepared and hardened. Last but definitely not least, the spirit is trained as you overcome the personal obstacles that come with conditioning like acceptance of pain, consistency, etc.
Silat Siku 12 uses wooden paddles to train speed and condition the elbows for impact. The elbows are the specialty weapon of this Malaysian Silat style.
The tools used for Iron Body Training vary from sticks, coconuts, bamboo, makiwara, impact pads, and partner contact training to name a few. Each of these components makes up a plethora of available techniques to condition every aspect of the body for impact. Strength, agility, and stamina are built and improved through this conditioning. Conditioning must be done with extreme caution because the price of malpractice can be lifelong injuries and pain. Hitting the wrong spot on your partner can cause nerve and tissue damage or even broken bones. Using related training tools has its own obvious risk factors as well unless the user is trained to use them properly, monitored, and extremely focused. Muay Boran, the older more aggressive Martial Art that Muay Thai derived from, uses conditioning for the high-powered techniques that get exchanged during combat. As one trains, the instructor can aid the conditioning in many ways. They can use punches, knees, kicks, and sometimes elbows on all parts of the body likely to be struck during a fight. Sticks, coconuts, and medicine balls are also used during conditioning to ensure blunt force and snapping impact is conditioned. All this in various formats is used alongside vigorous full-body workouts to aid in mental and spiritual conditioning.
Traditional Karate conditioning uses other methods, both partner and solo. The use of the Makiwara (punching or impact board) can be used for hardening knuckles and parts of the foot. Many dojos have utilized Makiwara at different heights and shapes to target specific impact zones. Kote Kitai is known as the “Iron Body Training” and is usually done with partners to condition several parts of the body. Generally, one partner throws a technique and the other partner in response impacts with a strike or strong block to condition the impact points on both partners. These methods of conditioning along with, Sanchin Kata, condition the 3 components: mind, body, spirit. Sanchin Kata in Karate is trained in unique ways to create the Iron Body. Ibuki is the practice of deep diaphragmatic breathing that assists in training the body to take impact. The kata is practiced tense, with every muscle locked from the Tandon (center point ki) outwards. Nogare is the opposite of Ibuki breathing. Soft breathing in slower situations or less strenuous situations such as sparring and light training is when this is used. This is used to help condition the body to slow down when needed. It helps to drop the heart rate and bring you to a zen type state. It is “breathing from the stomach” rather than the lungs. Another interesting Iron Body method is Tegata (finger stab), which is practiced in many older karate dojos. It is usually practiced on a more stationary Makiwara such as a large block of wood or even a Wing Chun dummy. Stabbing the tips of the fingers over and over on a Makiwara until the fingers become solid and strong enough to act almost like a nail going through wood. But it is not popular anymore as the damage to the hands, if done wrong, is lifelong.
Okinawa traditional karate has a reputation for some of the hardest physical conditioning methods used in Martial Arts.
Kung Fu is known for its unorthodox methods to forge and temper the body. Conditioning for every limb is trained. Stance training lends to fatigue as the student is required to either stay in a Kung Fu stance for long periods of time or they are to switch in and out of stances repeatedly for a long period of time. Situps, push-ups, and stair running are also part of the everyday training and conditioning for Kung Fu students. Stretching is a foundational conditioning practice for Kung Fu students to be able to perform the physically demanding forms. Flexibility and acrobatic like techniques require a body able to move in any direction at any time. Stretching deep to a maximum only to have the instructor add their body weight is a way to push beyond the limits. Impact training on a Makiwara type device, board breaking, being struck with punches, kicks, and sticks, or other tools are all methods of conditioning. Considered almost torturous to Western people, conversely, it is considered the “old way” in China. Unorthodox methods make Kung Fu Iron Body training one of the most visually alarming, yet thought-provoking, forms of conditioning Martial Arts has to offer. “Pushing Hands” or “TuiShou” is traditionally a Chinese method of partner training and conditioning that is used almost universally throughout Martial Arts worldwide. The benefits of this training are second to none. It trains and conditions the body to read, absorb, redirect, and retaliate energy thrown at you. This training method can be seen a lot in T’ai Chi Chuan, Wrestling, Aikido, and Judo. It is the core flow of Martial Arts and will enable the entire body to become conditioned through body mechanics.
A Chinese Kung Fu master and his students have publicly demonstrated taking mighty blows to their private parts publicly to prove the effectiveness of their “Iron Crotch” training.