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Why condition our body to resist pain

One of the most basic aspects that a true martial artist should learn to manage / reduce is pain. We cannot panic or remain powerless at the slightest contact, no matter if:

Caused voluntarily (eg. a punch) or involuntarily (eg. the impact with a wall)
Caused by an active (an aggressor) or a passive (eg. a rock) element of the scenario

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

Pain is not such a terrible thing, it is just a matter of getting (gradually) used to it. It is only a signal that the body gives us to make us understand that our safety is (may be) at risk; if we interpret it as such and if we have a good knowledge of ourselves, in many cases we can simply decide to ignore its occurrence.

A note by Master Kongling – The Greek philosopher Epicuro was used to say that pain should not be feared because if it is too big, it does not last long and if it is not so intense then it is bearable; on the factual truthfulness of this thought (in everyday life) it is possible to discuss but as far as fighting is concerned (eg. in self-defense), this way of looking at things could truly make the difference between life and death.

How to address pain

In 6 Dragons Kung Fu, we work on pain in 3 ways:

Accepting it – A life too far from the state of nature has made us fear much more than what is really dangerous, making us “suffer” even for those sensations completely irrelevant and without consequences (read Acceptance and prevention of pain)
Reducing it – As ancient Shaolin monks taught us (read Ancient Shaolin monks vs modern ones), the human body cannot be made invincible but can be widely fortified (read Conditioning check for the impact)
Evaluating it – No one seeks pain but by learning to understand its meaning, we can instinctively choose whether it must be forcibly avoided or if it is not so serious

A note by Master Kongling – As in chess, there are damages that besides being bearable, can represent a useful sacrifice to achieve the final victory (or even only a decisive advantage).

Said this, the firstconditioning approach to physical pain must be:

Very gentle – We must not do anything that harms us
Totally safe – We must not leave on our body any kind of bad sign / feeling

Let’s see how.

Strengthen the body: the body slapping exercise

A good introductory practice is to simply slap our body:

We have to slap our body from toe to head
We can start with open and relaxed hands
We have to cover almost the entire body surface (we must not forget any safe area)
Let’s hit with rhythmic cadence at half-second intervals
Let’s perform the exercise for 10 minutes

Precautions and tips:

Graduality is the key to success
If we have never done anything like this we must learn to dose the force as much as we can
Let’s go gentle, haste is a very bad habit when we talk about conditioning for impacts
The first few times we should not hit 2 times in a row the same point
Depending on the point that we strike we should exercise more or less power
Let’s pay attention to sensitive parts like ears (let’s skip them), neck, eyes, breasts (for women) and genitals
If we find any kind of unusual sensation we have to immediately stop
Let’s never forget that it is constancy the crucial conditioning factor (hurting ourselves intensely just once is of no use because it doesn’t activate any strengthening, on the contrary, it easily weaken us)
…

The slapping conditioning path

The evolution phases:

Phase 1 (low speed and power) – We start by striking the skin to reactivate the superficial blood circulation; at this stage, the more our skin / structure is delicate, the more it is possible (in addition to the natural redness) to cause small bruises (it is absolutely normal)
Phase 2 (intermediate speed and power) – In the second phase we work on the muscles (striking slightly deeper); in this phase, if we are constant, from here on we should not see any more bruises (only redness)
Phase 3 (high speed and power) – In the third phase we work on the bones (advanced level) and (in part) on the internal organs; at this point, our strokes create a vibration that goes a lot in depth (normally a beginner is not able to make such powerful shots with a slap loop)

Given that (after phase 1) the conditioning exercises should never be done 2 days in a row, we can gradually give greater emphasis to the strength after 5-6 sessions. Let’s never forget, however, that this exercise must be performed:

Gradually, patiently and with intelligence
With an increase in intensity only after learning to preserve the delicate areas of our body
With the idea of strengthening our body and never damaging it
With the idea of being able to deal with a confrontation just after (not going to hospital)

A note by Master Kongling – Again: we have to be patient. When we start we shall not release any power, the first phase is not real conditioning to resistance to pain, it is more an exploration of our body.

What are the secondary benefits of this practice?

This kind of exercises helps us to know and improve:

Our strength and the control we have over it
The power we are able to express in unfavorable positions
An intuitive basic knowledge of the weak and strong parts of our body (and therefore even of the opponents’ ones)
A good part of the areas where we will identify the first pressure / pain points (more about this later)
Our speed (the more we improve the more the exercise turns into a vibration, read Speed: the vibration’s exercise)
Blood circulation and the vitality of our body (like a frequent high-quality massage)
…

Final notes

A few conclusive thoughts:

All the 6 Dragons Kung Fu’s conditioning exercises are not mandatory but they are important if we truly want to learn to fight in a real situation (in a self-defense physical confrontation, we will never end completely unscathed)
The slapping exercise we described is only a part of a serious impact conditioning path; if we aim at a not-amateur combat level, alone it is not enough; at the same time, skipping this practice can undermine the effectiveness of our resistance both psychologically and mentally (read Martial art: a secret to reach the highest level)
Last but not least, it is fundamental to say that no type of intelligent martial conditioning aims at the total loss of perception of the pain signal (that would be incredibly counterproductive); the idea is simply to decrease the damage and intensity of the useless signals, nothing more or less than that
…

In the next article of this series, we will see a second type of conditioning, slightly more intense (read Conditioning to pain: hitting our body).

In-depth video courses

Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu exercises – A video course about the basic training of 6 Dragons Kung Fu
Diamond Finger conditioning – A guided path toward the development of the Diamond Finger skill
Iron body: the development path – The complete path of impact conditioning of our school
Wellness: self-massage techniques – How to improve wellness and health with a self-treatment
Soft Qi Gong for wellness – A selection of practices to maintain active and healthy our mind / body

In-depth articles

Iron palm: the development path – The correct way to develop the Iron palm skill
Physical conditioning: how it works – All the types of conditioning of 6 Dragons Kung Fu

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Can you correctly dose the conditioning strength?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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