Knuckle toughening is it worth it?

Question

In my school of martial arts we don't break boards, and only in some classes depending on the instructor do we do press-ups on the knuckles. So as we do very light contact sparring, which requires masses of skill, do we need to bother with creating big ugly lumps on our hands. I would ask my instructor this is I every could remember to do so at the class

Answer 1

It is not necessary even if you wanted to hit something with your full strength. As was suggested above, Palm strikes are good. Palm strikes can even be stronger than a punch as well as they are able to "sink" into an opponent. That and they take relatively less time to train and condition. There are other areas of your hand as well that you can use to strike full strength. That's the part on the outer edge of your open palm. The muscle/meat, not the bone of the hand. Just by making a fist and tapping this regularly or striking gently a bag or something solid, it will get stronger and you will (provided you have the technique right) be able to strike with a formidable amount of strength. Two to Three months it takes for my students to be able to use this move "Hammer" effectively and without any damage to themselves.

Answer 2

Boards i don't think are an indicator in this topic....i love them though, not sure why people hate them. If you take your time, set up, and can't break it.....then you know for sure not to use that technique.

You can toughen your knuckles without making them lumpy or gross.

Your bones are porous. The more stress that is applied causes your body to react by making them less pourous (adding more of the hard stuff). Its not gonna add another layer, of "bone", but will make the holes smaller.

Well you can also do things like breaking your knuckles and yeah, they will get lumpy and have extra layers..and also be hard.

Realize the process takes tame....just love tap somethign hard through out the day. Your knuckles might get sore, but don't do it enough where you have trouble opening your hands. You'll probably notice some difference in a year.

Answer 3

i studied in a "street "style school that was meant for self defense so i may have a different take on it. in general board breaking is a stunt and a confidance builder and is unnecessary otherwise. pushups on the knuckles do strengthen the wrists and forearms and is useful. full contact against a makawara board is also good and will cause enlarged knuckles but once you get good enough the lumps will go away since they are caused by improper focus. i would guess that you are studying in a school that goes to lots of competions so lack of full contact is no loss there. in the real world it may prove a problem in self defense. full contact is a different world from light contact and must be learned if your skills are to be useful for defense

Answer 4

Depends on your goal.

If you are looking to be a good bare knuckle striker, then of course it is worth it, it stregthens your hand as your hand and knuckles are easily damaged unless you do harden it.

You could learn alternative ways of striking or fighting, focusing primarily on using more power with a muai thai style clinch attack to the elbows and don't focus so much power in your hands, or learn to utilize palm strikes more than you do now.

Also throws and grappling require less (if any) knuckle hardening). Obviously if you do train hard then you need to realize that limiting the power you deliver with your fists will have an effect on your fighting ability, but it's a trade off with what your main focus in life is.

Truthfully it depends on what your goals are, if you are looking to be a pro-fighter it won't matter. but if you walk into an office or job interview with "fighting knuckles" you are likely to have a negative impact on whoever is going to hire you.

Answer 5

I guess it depends on why you are training. If all you want to do is the light contact sparring that you do in class, then you don't need to strengthen your knuckles. However, if you are training for full contact, or self defense you'll be glad you built up those knuckles.

Answer 6

I would avoid punching a lot on a canvas bag bare knuckled. This will tear up your skin. We for insurance reasons make wraps a requirement for heavy bag drills for any extended period of time because as you tier and punches get sloppy you can cause wrist damage leading to carpal tunnel syndrome. I personally like to go bear knuckles a little to keep my hands tough. I try not to overdo it. Wrist need to last a lifetime.

Answer 7

Ask yourself what you want to gain from your training.

Answer 8

no.boards are for hitting people not hitting on.