On the xingyi website emptyflower.com there is a picture of a guy striking a tree! That seems like a pretty rough excercise for an internal style in my opinion, as I’m a former T’ai Chi practitioner ( only practiced 1 year, though…).
Comments?
I hit a tree a couple of times a week while walking Ba Gua circles around it. I use my forearms, both sides of my hands, my feet, shins, knees, calves and ankles. The training was a part of the curriculum at the school I trained at, and I understand it’s quite common with most other Ba Gua Zhang schools. Not to mention the fact that you’re hitting trees/posts when you practice Nine Palace stepping (I don’t only because I don’t have Nine trees or posts in the proper position handy).
It is a good recomendation to wrap rope around the tree first, for it will take up a lot of the shock and make the surface a little easier to strike. 2 it will protect the tree’s bark if you use the same tree over and over. So be good to your self and to nature
The strikes on trees are not delivered in the same manner you strike your typical sandbag. They are more like a “push” kind of striking, sending your weight to the tree. Also, you need some experience and conditioning after doing such excercises.
And follow ED’s advice 
Depends on the style and what you’re training for IMHO.
I used to do this quite often as well as other things using trees.
The trouble I think is that it tends to dull the sensitivity of the arm. I would imagine it would depend on what was more important in the context of your style and thinking.
Another exercise of this type is to get a weight bar and allow it to roll back to your elbow and then pop it up catching it on your wrist allowing it to roll back over the arm to the elbow. Repeat the process or practice with a partner popping it up and catching it.
as the others said be carfule you only get one body in this life.
if your playing something like TC i would say this really would be a bad idea to presue.
Striking a tree
Wouldn’t it be easier to use an ax?
Best Regards,
Rick Matz
Tree training is an integral part of Bagua and Baji training in our school. You learn very quickly if your alignment is not correct. I personally don’t spend much time hitting the tree with my hands or limbs but rather using the whole body. Bamboo, we used to use a roller the way you described, in my old Llama school in Chicago. But it was more for building up the cartilage and not so much for building up internal power and alignment. I would agree with what has been said though. Start slowely and increase gradually. Let a good teacher show you what you should be doing and don’t just start smacking a tree, and have plenty of dit dow on hand. And nothing beats a living body to train on and anyway, the tree can’t defend itself and hit back.
I agree RickMatz, i too would agree about the ax!
Cough, but all jokes aside, you all use pakua as an example, but pakua would use a palm strike on the tree,but this guy striked it with a fist!!
I agree RickMatz, i too would agree about the ax!
Cough, but all jokes aside, you all use pakua as an example, but pakua would use a palm strike on the tree,but this guy on the picture striked it with a fist!!
woops!
I feel like I have to ask this. Why not hit the tree? Are there any possible downsides to ths type of training? better yet what does this type of training accomplish if anything?
You will just end up pi.ssing the tree off as they practice TreeKwanDo by dropping branches on your head:D 
Hitting trees is like using makiwara…it’s real benefit is in developing solid alignment. I use trees for sidekicking.
If you guys want to be nicer to nature you could get big PVC pipes and fill them with sand/concrete and put them in the ground.
Hmmm… or maybe not, as I have a piece of 8 inch diameter (8.6 inch outer diameter) and it cost me $35! And finding it took 2 weeks!
Would thinner, more common PVC work, like the kind they sell at most hardware stores (up to 5 or 6 inch inner diameter) work?
Hmmmm…
Good luck, guys!
IronFist
Hitting a Tree
This is a good question and,for what it is worth, hitting a tree is beneficial, especially, in iron palm training. You use a tree as you would a mook jong. Practice slapping the tree using “intent” and “visualization”, as if, fighting an opponent just might be a good training exercise. Also using a tree as an alternative method of hand conditioning is good but I would not do this without having, previously, conditioned the hand, at least six months to a year. I would not put a rope around the tree because you want the full effect but it is your choice. Train hard.
Damian
I hit trees.. mostly closed fist, but tiger too
only full force
Kristoffer - Hitting a Tree
Kristoffer -
May I ask if your hands hurt? Seems to me that when you hit a tree full force with your knuckles something should give. But you did not mention what part of the fist you use when you train your hands. I hope it is your knife hand. Train well.
Damian
wait a minute here, i thought only external styles have iron hand training or any kind of body hardening trianing where you stike hard and or rough/ objects. i always though the internal arts don’t have those kinds of body or striking limb conditioning .
don’t internal art practitioners harden their bodies and limbs by using chi kong or chi cultivation and development?
wolfkiller
Very good question Wolfkiller. Speaking for myself, I trained in the Iron Palm before taking Chen Tai Chi Chuan.
Iron palm and Iron Body skills and their development are considered “internal” practices even though they make extensive use of external materials such as the bean bags, sand bags etc etc.
The chi kung and Nei Kung exercise are also used.
Chi Kung and Nei Kung by themselves cannot do the whole job. Just as striking and self striking cannot get the job done by itself either.
Iron skill practitioners in CMA have much less damage to their bodies than iron skills development in non cma.
Except for the fist callouses that Pan Qing Fu sports. I never did understand why that occured with his practice.
peace
peace