something to do

[opabinia]

Sometime in October-... Wait, I have the invoice here. On 10.09.2009, I ordered a zippered heavy canvas pouch designed for iron palm (1) conditioning. The shoulder bag had popped a seam, and it was too floppy, anyway.

Right! The speaker stand had to go, too.

Much better. I think that plywood is a leftover from the (2003? 2004?) aquarium stand project.

Okay, so in mid- to late October the beans went into the fancy new bag, and my secret training facility looked like this:

Once I had this setup, I started practicing daily.

Today, after five weeks of whack-a-mole in the basement, I've swapped the navy beans out for 3mm quartz gravel. Tomorrow I'll practice on that (gently!) and see how it feels. Hm. I'm getting one of these, to prevent silicosis. In the meantime, I'll put a sheet of vinyl over the whole setup.

The dit da jow I got from bottleimp is freaking magical, so I ordered herbs from the same company. On 11.08.2009, I set up my own batch in a 2-gallon glass jar.

I sealed the jar with plastic wrap after taking that snap. The mixture has been extracting in the dark. It should be ready in early January. Every few days, I stir everything up. Those floaty bits sank within a couple of days, and the liquid has darkened. The solids have swelled a great deal, so I might add another handle of rotgut (2) soon. Oo! Maybe I'll try a double-soak.

1. Iron Hand, technically. Whatever -- it depends on who you ask.

2. I tried a shot of Kappy's Vodka before pouring it over the herbs. You know, it was surprisingly OK.

Comments

ummm

[sephardic.livejournal.com]

> On 11.08.2009, I set up my own batch in a 2-gallon glass jar.

1. will it explode
2. does it smell horrid
3. is it potable

p.s. dear strongbad: how can i tell when a person is a mad scientist? signed: avoiding the basement

Re: ummm

[bottleimp.livejournal.com]

Sweet jesus no it is not potable. I believe that this particular formulation contains Sichuan Aconite.

It won't explode more than regular vodka will.

Re: ummm

[xenoglaux]

but does it have cockroach in it?

Re: ummm

[bottleimp.livejournal.com]

No, the aconite killed them so they got fished out.

Re: ummm

[goat.livejournal.com]

that's not cocjroach, it's chai hu! (cicada moltings)

(not that i actually know what;s in this dit da jow)

Re: ummm

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

I think they're actually talking about Tu Bie Chong (http://www.yinyanghouse.com/theory/herbalmedicine/tu_bie_chong_tcm_herbal_database). Mmmm!

Re: ummm

[goat.livejournal.com]

Oooh, we haven't gotten to herbs that invigorate the blood yet!

My favorite yet: Silkworm poop!

I am envious of your herbal mixing ways. I need to get on that, soon and make some salves.

Re: ummm

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

It smells great*, it probably won't explode, and it's poisonous as hell.

* (To me.)

[locriansax.livejournal.com]

I <3 the jow we have at our school. It smells like a mix between meat tenderizer, Worcestershire sauce and something you add to Bloody Mary drinks.

;)

[industrialsteve.livejournal.com]

i have 22 years of machinist vice conditioning. opening and closing a vice by hitting it with my palm. :) i would actually be afraid to hit someone with the same motions i use for this.

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

I push a pencil for a living, so... Every time I shake hands with an auto mechanic, I feel wimpy. ;P

[panzerkunst.livejournal.com]

Remind me never to high-five you.

[jhimm.livejournal.com]

I find this fascinating because it is basically the complete exact opposite of the kind of training I do.

When I was still in RI and studying with John C. he had a lot of ex-gong fu guys as students and they talked about how back when they were learning all this body hardening, if they were ever waiting in a line somewhere, they would re-claim the time by banging their fingers straight down into the railings or banging their toes into the ground. Done right, to most observers it looks like an impatient nervous habit.

Of course, once they started taijiquan, they had to begin the process of -undoing- all that hardening. :)

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

My understanding is that iron palm training, when performed correctly, increases the density and strength of bones, connective tissue, and skin while conserving the appearance, dexterity, and sensitivity of the untrained hand. Several other hand conditioning systems, some of which are (incorrectly?) called "iron palm," are too harsh to avoid fractures, scars, and calluses.

I'm just parroting what I've heard, though.

Anyway, here's what I DON'T want to do (and what I assume you mean by the "opposite" kind of training):



The dude can punch through an elephant, but he has hands like bowling balls.

Here's what I like:



Skinny guy, normal-looking hands, casually slapping through half a friggin' patio block. (The shorter the span, the harder the break.)

[jhimm.livejournal.com]

Definitely an important distinction! But, it is all "opposite" in the sense that a taijiquan practitioner would have no aspiration to break a patio brick unless the patio brick were about to break the taijiquan practitioner. And even then, they would break it through re-direction rather than resistance. Taijiquan isn't from the "soft fist" end of the spectrum by accident, after all.

Hardness of any kind is generally treated as an impediment because it can mask the use of muscle and force when one should be using leverage, twisting and chi.

Granted, taijiquan guys tend to have -serious- bias about this stuff, and I'm sure there are "soft-hard" schools (such as some of the Shaolin sub-styles) that would insist you can incorporate both.


Glad to hear you don't aspire to bowling ball hands, in any case.

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

Bricks are docile creatures, but breaking them can provide feedback on the proper execution of technique. I've read that when the strike is performed correctly, the brick makes a particular sound, and the hand feels very little resistance.

Hardness... can mask the use of muscle and force when one should be using leverage, twisting and chi... [T]aijiquan guys tend to have -serious- bias about this stuff... [T]here are "soft-hard" schools... that would insist you can incorporate both.

True. I think this boils down to a spectrum of different approaches for solving the problem of self-defense.

[jhimm.livejournal.com]

While I was joking about being attacked by the brick, there is a genuine truth under it rooted in the instruction I have been given.

In taijiquan, there would be no such thing as a "correct" way to strike a stationary object, whether that object is a brick or a person, because it runs counter to the underlying philosophy of our instruction to produce energy to attack something which is itself at rest.

I'm currently reading a book by a student in Vancouver (published in the '70's) who did a lot of the earliest work in translating taijiquan instruction into English. This is what he wrote of the taijiquan mindset with regard to being attacked:

"The person who attacks me is a living human being. He exudes life force. When he attacks me, it is his life force that is concentrated and swiftly bearing down on me. Life force does not oppose life force, therefore, I do not oppose the attacker's force. Those who love do not destroy. So I step aside and permit the attacker's life force to pass through. As he comes flying by, I give him a nudge to help him to get where he is going more quickly."

Now, that's a bit more hippie dippie than either of my teachers have put it, but the upshot is there. We borrow, and being a conscientious borrower, we return with a tiny bit of interest. But, we are lazy, and we produce no work of our own, being content to borrow and return with the minimum of additional effort.

Which is entertaining to recall when, during the course of learning the forms, teacher says something like "so at this point you root your energy and then break his pelvis".

The upshot being I wouldn't know the "right" way to strike an opponent, or a brick, unless it was moving.