Are fighters allowed to harden their knuckles?

Hard knuckles won't stop your metacarpal from sticking out of your hand. The only hand unjuries I ever got boxing were a dislocated finger and a sprained thumb.

You're probably right. I should have said boxing and martial arts is differnt. I don't think in martial arts they punch as much as in boxing in a contested match. some martial arts are very close to boxing - especially bare knuckle boxing. the main chinese boxing art i study uses the fist mostly and specializes in power punching. that is why i also occasionally post on the training forum. my teacher has training in boxing as well, and wrote an article comparing the two arts. a good deal of our sparring is close to your boxing style sparring. u can check my profile blogs to learn more. but basically, punching is punching. it comes down to what you know about punching and how u train punching. that is the real difference is people who are punchers and people who are boxers.

that is, respectfully, rediculous! this is a different practice than what boxers do. and pan qing fu does a different practice than the safer ones i know of. even pan qing fu says it takes about only 30% power to knock someone out 'cause his hands are so hard. but, there are different ways to attain the same benefit than the way he uses. you don't have built up calcium deposits if u do it right! does kostya tszyu look like his hands are messed up and need surgery? guys, why not talk and listen to someone who has experience in the martial arts instead of going by rumors and heresay? You're probably right. I should have said boxing and martial arts is differnt. I don't think in martial arts they punch as much as in boxing in a contested match.

Most all boxers that have trained for years expecially the ones since they were kids have big knuckles. I once meet Calros Palomino and his knuckles looked three times bigger then mine.

http://www.heavyweightcollectibles.com/newlly2614.jpg Louis' fists seemed to have been pretty hard. :)

Where is the evidence that this works. If you measured bone density before and after doing this training, then you might havre a point. Until then it is indeed heresay and conjecture.

for those who missed it, finally, you can't really see too well in this pic but you can some his knuckles in it.. http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/images/mzine/2000-2story1.jpg Pan Qingfu "In the mid-1960s, gangsters in China were a major problem. Pan was asked to capture Triad leaders and ended up nabbing 23 of the worst, some single-handedly."

This guy is right. I almost bought into the bullshit i was reading then Shawns post reminded me that fighters actually have surgery to remove calcium build up which is bad for boxers cause it cause them pain in a fight. that is, respectfully, rediculous! this is a different practice than what boxers do. and pan qing fu does a different practice than the safer ones i know of. even pan qing fu says it takes about only 30% power to knock someone out 'cause his hands are so hard. but, there are different ways to attain the same benefit than the way he uses. you don't have built up calcium deposits if u do it right! does kostya tszyu look like his hands are messed up and need surgery? guys, why not talk and listen to someone who has experience in the martial arts instead of going by rumors and heresay?

Hardening your knuckles is bullshit, and calcium deposits are bad news. The whole point of padding on the knuckles is to prevent that. This guy is right. I almost bought into the bullshit i was reading then Shawns post reminded me that fighters actually have surgery to remove calcium build up which is bad for boxers cause it cause them pain in a fight.

damn! i don't know where to start.... i dont see the point in trying to strengthen your knuckles. There are so many fighters out there, why not spend the time doing some skills training or cardiovascular, why waste it trying to be bruce lee first, bruce, afaik, didn't do a lot of or any conditioning of that sort. second, it is not wasting time if u box as a pro or serious amateur. now I know the amount of padding the glove provides would absorb most of the hardness of the knuckles, but it HAS to have a significant effect than if the knuckles were ordinary no? yes, it has an impact. imagine boxing without having to worry about the condition of your hands. and in streetfights, the fist is more like a big hammer than a fist. either way, it can make a big impact. i condition my hands almost everyday, i have a cinder block that i wraped with carpet, but it's the underside of the carpet, so it has a rough texture, i punch that, and i also do edge of hand chops on it, it's amazing how fast they toughen up, only thing is, if you hurt you hand it is extrtemely important to let it heal fully before doing any more conditioning. u are doing it wrong. that is closer to a karate way of conditioning - which may lead to hand problems. also, u didn't mention any topical recovery medicine that goes hand in hand with conditioning practices of this sort. another point is it is not punching into something as hard as u can, or even hard. it is a softer process that takes a bit of time to allow your hands to adapt. from what i know, in 3 months u get a certain hardness. one full year gives u a real understanding of what u can eventually achieve down the road. it is a gradual process that eventually hardens the skin and bones of the knuckles. it also helps u learn about hitting something with better alignment depending on the method. as i said, there are dozens if not more different programs. always learn from a competent teacher dammit!!!

im not suggesting it, i was just curious if something like that would ever be allowed. I was just making a general comment, not replying to your topic as such :)

i dont see the point in trying to strengthen your knuckles. There are so many fighters out there, why not spend the time doing some skills training or cardiovascular, why waste it trying to be bruce lee. im not suggesting it, i was just curious if something like that would ever be allowed.

I remember watching this show on ancient Martial Arts on the history channel about 5-6 years ago. They did a segment on some dude who worked as a Police Enforcer in the 50's and 60's either China or Japan. I dont remember which one but guns were banned and even Police weren't allowed to carry them. He was a 1289128190890380 degree black belt in Kung Fu and practiced the Iron Body discipline. He would slightly punch small metal slabs for at least 1000x's a day to harden his knuckles and hands. Calcium started building over his knuckles and started to grow bony points on them. He said that he would knock out all the perps with just one punch. Dude arrested over 1000 organized crime violators apparently. Would a boxer be allowed to do the same? If they started developing calcium deposits that hardened the hands a knuckles, would they be allowed to fight on? I cant remember that guys name but the only thing I can find close to what resembles what he had on his knuckles were like this dude's http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/2954/doomsdayww.GIF i don't think that there is anything saying that you can't condition your hands, it wouldn't make sense to not let a fighter prepare his body. plus like someone mentioned it's not like someone is fucking with the gloves or the wraps. i condition my hands almost everyday, i have a cinder block that i wraped with carpet, but it's the underside of the carpet, so it has a rough texture, i punch that, and i also do edge of hand chops on it, it's amazing how fast they toughen up, only thing is, if you hurt you hand it is extrtemely important to let it heal fully before doing any more conditioning.

now I know the amount of padding the glove provides would absorb most of the hardness of the knuckles, but it HAS to have a significant effect than if the knuckles were ordinary no?

i dont see the point in trying to strengthen your knuckles. There are so many fighters out there, why not spend the time doing some skills training or cardiovascular, why waste it trying to be bruce lee.

finally, you can't really see too well in this pic but you can some his knuckles in it.. http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/images/mzine/2000-2story1.jpg Pan Qingfu "In the mid-1960s, gangsters in China were a major problem. Pan was asked to capture Triad leaders and ended up nabbing 23 of the worst, some single-handedly."

Put the link up! There's a program in the UK called 'Mind, body, and kick ass moves'. It was packed with detail of strength and conditioning techniques like that

this dude who was doing it would do the conditioning on his down time when watching TV or reading books. he would just be sitting with a small metal slab next to him slightly punching it. im sure some of you saw this special. im trying to find it right now. r u talking about pan qing? the guy who worked for the chinese police and brought down groups of gang members single-handidly. he is nobody to fuck with.

this dude who was doing it would do the conditioning on his down time when watching TV or reading books. he would just be sitting with a small metal slab next to him slightly punching it. im sure some of you saw this special. im trying to find it right now.

Punching hot sand is supposed to be a greater way of strengthening the knuckles... It also makes the skin turn hard like leather! Boxers should be allowed to, but here's why they don't: It consumes a lot of time when they can be doing other useful training! Also this only helps with martial arts with no padding and bare knuckle boxing, it would hardly benefit a professional boxer!!!