Muay Thai Knuckle Conditioning
In the movie ‘Kickboxer’ starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, the main character’s rival ‘Tong Po’ can be seen kicking a solid brick beam with his bare shins. This supposedly toughens up the bones and the skin in that area by continuously subjecting it to constant pain and abuse. Eventually, the human body protects itself and makes the necessary adjustments.
The same is done with the knuckles. Muay Thai practitioners for years have been pounding concrete with their bare fists in order to ‘sharpen’ the contact point on punches. They also made knuckle push-ups popular in Thailand. It’s a brilliant idea if it actually works. There is no proof however that it really does.
At the very least it provides a mental edge. I mean, bashing your bare fists against concrete would make punching guys in the face seem easy.
