Problems with hardening

[BillyK]

Yeah don't be banging your head off things. You said it yourself, you are getting negative results from what you are doing, and there will be more of that to come if you continue.

As for being resilient, I have found that hard training, and by that I mean serious, strenuous training, challenging training, gives that result. By going through things like long practices, holding stances, using heavy weights, etc, you develop a strength in the mind as well as in the body that is able to take/absorb pain. While I'm certainly not saying that I am un-knockout-able, I've taken some hits in sparring matches and didn't really feel it at all. I'm sure people on here have the same experience.

And hey, a better thing would be to develop good footwork and get the hell out of the way from those head shots so you won't be taking them.

Harden the Fuck Up! (but don't bash your brains out)

that's totally correct, iirc, mas oyama wrote something like "if you do the basic exercises for a long time, the body will become like steel."
i just wonder if there's a different way. chinese martial arts are over 2000 years old, so i like to think that they came up with some clever way to protect your head. there's methods for the body, the legs, the arms, the hands and so on, so there must be something for the head.

[DeusTrismegistus]

What are you hitting your head with?

Most of the shaolin stuff I have seen is head stands and using sand bags. I would start doing basic head stands and avoid hitting the head. This will also strengthen your neck which is good.

[BillyK]

What are you hitting your head with?

Most of the shaolin stuff I have seen is head stands and using sand bags. I would start doing basic head stands and avoid hitting the head. This will also strengthen your neck which is good.

i thought about headstands... but will they harden the whole head? also, how do i posture my head? a tcm doctor once told me (and various yoga books confirmed it) that the head should be slightly tilted, basically NOT a straight line down from the feet to the crown.

EDIT: i hit my head with just my palms. probably hit the wrong spot, but i'm not gonna slap myself around until i find the correct one.

[Ian]

well... huashan pips, aka yours truly, says that messing with the head is a no no. full stop.
only allowed to change hairstyle.

No offense Billy, but this is one of the most unintentionally funny threads I've read in a while.

Whenever I try it on my noggin', even lightly, I get memory loss, a queasy feeling, etc.

Please stop banging your head with/against inanimate objects!

1. what am i doing wrong?

Erm... I'd say mashing your brain around in your skull is what you're doing wrong

i know it's stupid without a teacher...

No comment

i thought about headstands... but will they harden the whole head?

You can easily break someone's face with a headbutt WITHOUT any hardening. Just hit with the right place, at the right angle.

hm ok... but how do you deal with getting hit in the head, then? it's not so much about headbutts, i just want to be resilient all over.

Dissolve / offer no resistance.

[shawnsegler]

I thought this was a viagra ad or something.

[Ian]

I didn't want to go there, but..

I can't get it to work on my head
I tried it with rubbing instead of pounding, which is a bit better, but it's still not a good feeling.

Sorry, Billy. You made it too easy

[DaDa]

BillyK,

Go lightly with the head training. Don't expect results within a year. Just do taps on your head, very lightly. Do it around your jaw lightly too. Etc.
It's like a droplet of water upon a stone. Over time there will be progress.

By light, I mean, just take your hands and pat your head. Don't smack it hard.

Eventually, you can train harder, but very light and over a long time.

Edit: Well I was taught not to hit the head, but I do know that one of my Kung Fu uncles does do it.

[Chris McKinley]

Chris McKinley dislikes this.

[TaoJoannes]

Master Liang used to do headbutts on the heavy bag.

I used to dent lockers back in high school and bang my head against concrete walls. Never conditioned for it. Taken some pounding from some tough folks, but only went woozy when a little weightlifter kid grabbed my necklaces and pulled me into his punch. Had folks try to knock me out with a headbutt.

I guess if you're doing it lightly and building up, you can increase your resilience to head shots, at least learn how to keep your equilibrium, but I think you'd also run the risk of starting to sound like Muhhammed Ali in his later years.

[wiesiek]

use baseball bat ...
seriously
but first - learn reverse breathing and basic iron shirt skills
for refference check out Liang and Wu book- Qigong Empowerment
there is detailed descripton of hard qigong shaolin style
i use to train it once or twice a week as suplemental exarcise.
follow the book:
you need 3 years of every day training for full "iron bell" /level one of c. /
you get also health benefit if doing it correctly
not only a memory loss or queasy feeling,

e.:
i sow show where "internal" master demonstrated his skills by breaking 10 meter high pile of ice
he broken couple of baseball bats elrier i suppouse

P.S. it was Leno`s show from 1997y. or 96?
sorry i don`t remember date.

[yusuf]

little taps to start with.. very very light... don;t resist and feel which way the head would go if you had to yield to that force...


..and find either a iron everything teacher or a good sex worker

[mrtoes]

Or just keep your guard up at ALL TIMES

[BillyK]

penis jokes

haha, yeah, i guess i had it coming

thanks for the hints, y'all.

[D_Glenn]

You are using your palms I hope and those are only really for the top. Fingertips for the whole face and jaw, light fingers for back of head and into the neck. There's no reason to hit the sides and the only real goal is to hit/tap the different meridians and follow their natural direction of flow- basically top of head 'baihui' area should leave you feeling good and invigorated then go down the face. Most important is doing the paidagong 'opening' patting when you start and for sure always end with the same patting to 'close'. You have to bring everything back to where you started. Patting is actually a very good qigong and a really good way to self treat your own injuries and pain/stagnation but if you hit too hard on any part of the body you will cause stagnation/damage over time. The whole practice stems from watching a mother pat her child's back. Think 'healthy' not 'hardening'.


.

[Chris Fleming]

Oh yeah it's time for clips.





http://www.rpfsys.com/ironhead.htm