Hello,
I’d like to ask about the traditional way of conditioning the fingertips for striking. It’s usually done by thrusting the fingers into a jar full of sand, beans etc., or doing push-ups on the fingertips.
But I read in some sources that this type of conditioning can be harmful to the eyes, because in Chinese medicine the points on the fingertips are connected with the eyes. In our school we do these regularly, without any additional “safety measures”.
So my question is this - does this type of conditioning really damage the eyes? And if it does, is there any way to prevent the damage? I’d be thankful for any comments.
thrusting the fingers into a jar full of sand, beans
First off it’s not good to use sand since it doesn’t expand when you hit it (not as much as beans for example), and therefor all the energy of your strike comes back to your joins - which may cause damage later on.
I’ve heard this before about the eyes. I don’t know physiologically, so I can only speak from experience. I’ve been doing various hand conditioning, including finger tips pushups for years now and it’s not affected my eyesight at all.
The reason why they say that you can damage your eyesight from hand conditioning is because in Chinese Medicine, pretty much all of the Yang meridians begin at the head region and some start from around the eyes and finish at the tips of the fingers and toes.
Basically a persons Qi, is very volitile at the tips of the fingers and toes as it changes from Yin to Yang and vice versa. This energy is more volitile in young children, than in adults though.
On a very basic level, the fingers tips are usually considered as exit points for Qi (both in projecting Qi for fighting or healing) so if you stagnate the energy at these points, then that stagnation can travel to eyes and eventually cause damage.
This is why most CMA use dit da jow, to prevent any Qi stagnation due to trauma.
Want strong fingers
Start Rockclimbing
Strong Forearms ,tough Hands
Become a Brickie
All Body Conditioning
Start Rugby Yes I am serious,and best of all you won’t have to Bow to anyone
Eyes Unfortunately,your’ll get dirt in them when RC,everything in them while being a brickie,and other people’s fingers when playing Rugby.
Thanks for input.
So basically if I use beans instead of sand, the finger thrusting exercise becomes less dangerous?
Also, what jow do you use to prevent the damage to the chi
flow?
All CMA’s have there own particular brand of Dit Da Jow. Obviously most of the herbs are common from Jow to Jow, but it usually different in the preparation.
If you want to purchase Dit Da Jow (Iron Strike Wine / Fall & Hit Wine) then ask your Sifu for a bottle.
Other than that, you could go to a Chinese Medicine shop, and ask for a patent brand of Dit Da Jow - something like Shaolin Osteopathic Wine… plus there some other brands as well.
Or you can try Arnica which is good for bruising, but may not have the same Qi and Blood moving qualities as Dit Da Jow.
