Senseis’ Corner

The conditioning of hands and feet was a practice with practical value during the feudal times in Japan and in ancient China. The purpose was to allow a fighter, whose only weapons were hands and feet, to be able to immobilize or penetrate the armor of an enemy combatant. In modern times, its only use is for spectacle. It really doesn’t have a practical combative use in any peaceful society. And the less peaceful ones are so mechanized, automated, and computerized as to make hand and feet conditioning irrelevant.

Today hand and foot conditioning is mainly taught for spectacle, displays of macho prowess, personal spiritual development (occasionally), and trophies. But it can also have adverse consequences on those conditioned areas, such as calcification, arthritis, loss of flexibility, loss of sensitivity, and etc. For that reason, and others, Aikido (whose forerunners were Aiki Jujutsu, Go Shin Jitsu, and many other empty-handed arts, all of which the samurai used when their bladed weapons were not available) does not teach hand or foot conditioning.

Some would argue that foot and hand conditioning is necessary. They will argue points like:

· A swordsman needs a sharp weapon or it is useless.

I’d like to point out that the master of sword masters, Miyomoto Musashi, is reputed to have given up steel and only fought with wooden practice swords from the height of his career on. So, in the hands of a real master the bluntness or sharpness of a weapon is irrelevant.

· Without the ability to hit hard, you are not truly practicing combative martial arts.

We are not fighting with armored soldiers, with the possible exception of a rogue policeman in Kevlar (in the movies). And combat in a war zone is so high tech as to make hand and foot conditioning irrelevant. And the idea of “one punch, one kill” is for the combat zone, not home, work, or school, not to mention that it is completely anachronistic.

· Without hand and foot conditioning, it’s not a real fighting martial art, where one learns to fight and win, and that only hand and foot conditioning will prevent damage to them.
        
If one is going to punch, then the proper formation of the fist prevents damage, as all boxing instructors (both Western and Eastern) drone into their students.
       
Also, it only takes 16 lbs of lateral pressure to break a knee, and much less to break some other joints.) And that doesn't have to be with a knuckle punch; palm heels and elbow strikes are far more effective and less damaging to the person using them). And none of those requires any more conditioning than you’d get during your normal class practice (and nothing extreme).

These arguments come from those who endorse extreme macho spectacle. Contrary to their assertions, conditioning does not improve ones technique, fighting ability, or chances of success in a self-defense encounter.  What does help is relaxed, aware calmness and well practiced technique, with the ability to blend with and lead an attacker’s aggressive energy, dissipating it.

Why Don’t We Condition Our Hands and Feet? — Liam Eddy