Shin hardening

Discussion in 'Tae Kwon Do' started by matt_991, May 19, 2004.

  1. Kenpo Kicker

    Kenpo Kicker New Member

    Thats all good but when you crash shins with somone it is a much harder surface.
     
  2. totality

    totality New Member

    um...yes, thank you for that. that's why you need to spar, although usually with shin pads.
     
  3. Kenpo Kicker

    Kenpo Kicker New Member

    I spar all the time without shin pads. I spar either bareknuckle, just gloves, or gloves and footpads. I consider an adult male wearing them a wuss. I do not see any males sparring with them and very few women. I think it is ok for women since they may not want to have ugly shins.
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2004
  4. Disciple

    Disciple New Member

    Ok, my shins are fairly strong and conditioned, and you know what? I think they look good.... so there....
     
  5. Kenpo Kicker

    Kenpo Kicker New Member

    I meant like bruises and stuff. That don't look all that attractive on women.
     
  6. Disciple

    Disciple New Member

    I was just making jokes, don't be offended. lol. :)


    Anyway, this thought has crossed my mind, how many of you have practiced kicking with you shins on roundhouse kicks?
     
  7. #1 Stutta

    #1 Stutta The New Boot

    Just play soccer while you're young. I played soccer from age 5 to 11, and my shins are hard as a rock. Well, maybe not that hard, but you get the idea. I also slid into some bricks a few times while playing football in my backyard. That hurt like hell. But, it made my shins so hard that when my friends or sister try to kick me, I just block them w/ my shins and they get hurt.
     
  8. Khun Kao

    Khun Kao Valued Member

    "Welcome to arthritisville, population - you. Don't do it. You'll feel like a rickety old sixty year old by the time you're thirty. At least I would. I'm 19."

    Um, just thought I should point out that arthritis is a condition that affects your joints, not your bones. Shin conditioning will not lead to arthritis unless you somehow damage your ankle (such as kicking targets incorrectly).

    Beating your shins with sticks and such is not an ideal way to condition your shins. The best way to do so is to kick a heavy bag, or kick targets. The impact of striking the bag or targets is what conditions your shins. Your body recognizes that the area (shins) are under stress and will cause the bone to grow more densely.

    And as far as killing nerves, that is not really what is happening. You cannot "kill" these nerves, per se (at least I don't think you can kill them). What you are really doing is raising your pain threshold. That is one of the major goals behind impact training in martial arts. You gotta get hit to be able to condition yourself to withstand getting hit. Or in the case of your shins, you gotta kick and block with them a lot in training to be able to withstand kicking and blocking with them in real life or competition.
     
  9. Khun Kao

    Khun Kao Valued Member

    Oh, and what is with this myth of Bone Cancer I hear bandied about all the time in regards to shin conditioning???? Who dreams THIS up?

    Further point regarding shin conditioning: Rolling objects up and down your shin does not condition your shin. It merely desensitizes your nerves. You are "falsely" raising your pain threshold without actually doing the impact training that conditions your shins. Therefore, you will be able to withstand the pain of impacting the shin, but your shins could potentially not be strong enough to withstand the impact.
     
  10. totality

    totality New Member

    one of the moderators here had a mate die of bone cancer soon after starting conditioning, actually. i remember seeing it on an old thread.
     
  11. LeadLegger

    LeadLegger New Member

    Yes, you are killing the nerves when you condition your shins.
     
  12. LeadLegger

    LeadLegger New Member

  13. acarpe

    acarpe Valued Ember

    yeah, you can kill nerves. when i say kill, it's actually crushing them- ie. they dont transmit pain (you might consider that a bad thing) but then they also dont transmit any sensation whatsoever. consider having a prosthetic leg- it would be a bit like that. some people with crushed shin nerves arent sure when they're putting pressure on their legs, so really can't walk properly- jolting up and down all the time. equally- pain is there for a reason! even agonising pain; it prevents further damage. if you touch a hot gas hob you pull your hand away- imagine the damage caused if you left it there on account of crushed nerves. at the end of the day a normal 'nerved' shin will prevent damage, so LEAVE WELL ALONE (imo)
     
  14. Khun Kao

    Khun Kao Valued Member

    Okay, I concede the point regarding killing nerves. I hadn't really thought that it could "kill" the nerves as much as merely damage them, which would desensitize them.

    But I am unconvinced that shin conditioning caused the bone cancer in Yoda's friend. It is a tragedy that this occurred, and I'm very sorry to hear about that, but is there any data to back up the conclusion that the cancer was actually CAUSED by the shin conditioning, as opposed to it being a very unfortunate coincidence?

    The reason I ask is because having trained in Muay Thai for over 12 years, I have trained with hundreds of fighters. The absolute WORST thing that has happened to anyone as a result of shin conditioning is one of us getting a rather large and painful knot on our shins which lasts a few weeks. I have trained directly under two Thai coaches, and have met and had the opportunity to work out with fighters from all over the world. I have NEVER met anyone who has encountered this, much less HEARD of this (aside from rumors).

    I hope I am not appearing disrepsectful regarding this topic as it is not my intent, but until I am presented with REAL MEDICAL DATA to support the claim that shin conditioning leads to bone cancer, I will continue to believe that in the case of Yoda's friend, this must have simply been a very unfortunate coincidence.

    I just find it very difficult to believe that if this type of conditioning truly caused such a serious medical condition, it would be a lot more widespread of a problem, and that it would not be limited to martial artists. Soccer players would be common victims of this as well.
     
  15. totality

    totality New Member

    khun kao, am i correct in believing that you don't condition your shins by smacking them with sticks and such?

    that's what this thread is about. personally, i believe kicking pads, a heavy bag, and other people is sufficient for conditioning.

    read more of the other thread for the reasons causing bone cancer and calcification, among other things.
     
  16. Khun Kao

    Khun Kao Valued Member

    "khun kao, am i correct in believing that you don't condition your shins by smacking them with sticks and such?"

    You are correct. I condition my shins by kicking heavy bags, pads, and people. Whacking my shins with stuff is foolish, IMHO.

    I followed the link referring to bone cancer posted earlier in this thread, but I did not see anything real facts posted linking shin conditioning with bone cancer, just a single anecdote. But I will reread the thread, 'cause it won't be the first time I've missed something.
     
  17. sean

    sean THOR!

    As said before by people with more experience than I, Pain serves a purpose, if didnt hurt to have a hard impact to the shin, then you would break it. But off topic, my shins have a high pain thresh hold due to mountain biking, which causes uncountable impacts of metal to the shin :cry: Sean
     
  18. stlin

    stlin New Member

    No. You are all wrong.
    It's true that just hitting your shins with a wooden block is bad for you because it deadens the nerves and will have negative long-term effects. However, there are medicines such as Dit Da Jiew that help with external and internal wounds. Rubbing the medicine onto the damaged areas will allow the nerves in your shin to recover properly. Also, the repeated hitting will callous the skin and increases your shin bone's density and will reshape its bone structure so that it can handle the stress better. It's scientifically proven too, Wolff's Law.
    Just remember that you have to moderate how much force your shin bone can handle because you don't want to start out banging the bone, you start with baby steps by tapping it until your skin and bone gradually gets use to the friction and force.
    Also, pain is more of a psychological factor than a limiting factor. When you feel pain your body is telling itself that it is at its limits. NOT that it is actually at its limits.
     
  19. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    You become insensitive to pain because the nerves surrounding the tibia and fibula eventually go dead. You also develop poor blood circulation and take longer to heal from injuries (cuts, bruising, etc.) to that area. You may even develop bone tumours.

    When I trained with Benny "The Jet" Urquidez in 2004 he told me he gets very cold feet in winter due to the poor circulation in his legs as a result of shin hardening exercises.

    Be smart and do Tae Kwon Do - use yer feet, not yer shins!

    Regards,

    dan
     
  20. Moi

    Moi Warriors live forever x

    Kick a bag or thai pads. Don't need anything more severe.
     

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