Conditioning skin (yes skin) for fighting and getting hit

[chocolatebrownie]

This applies to the unexposed areas of body that are naturally covered most of the time

So the underarms, obliques and chest

I'm not unfit but not ripped either

If i stand up and ready myself for a hit yes then I can take it, but that's not the issue

The issue is when in a relaxed postion. Yes it's baby skin so to speak and never saw to much sun or whatever but it actually undoes the good work I do with my training

Its like this, slap the watch facing side of your arm.
Now slap the opposite side.

Notice the difference (I hope you do)

Now like i say if im sitting there not expecting it and i get hit in any area like this my eyes would water like a baby

Preferably looking to do something i can do myself. I know you could get something to slap a much as possible but not wasting other people's time

 

[JowGaWolf]

I'll start by saying that there are just some places you aren't going to be able to condition which is ok for the most part because many people don't strike those areas any way in a fight.

1. The entire arm can be condition to the point where it feels like wood or steel to someone else.
2. If by underarms you mean (arm pit) then it can't be conditioned. Everything else can be conditioned.
3. Obliques can be condition to an extent. Lost of core work and body hardening will do. However, there will still be places that will bring you down even if it's conditioned. Some people just hit or kick really hard and it's best not to take a direct shot from people like that.

The issue is when in a relaxed postion. Yes it's baby skin so to speak and never saw to much sun or whatever but it actually undoes the good work I do with my training

There's nothing you can do about this. You body goes through relaxed and tense states. You couldn't function if you were tense all the time. The best way to avoid strikes is footwork and body movement.

Hard body conditioning has to be done correctly or you'll injure yourself. I wouldn't do it unless I had reliable training from someone who knew what they were doing and what they were talking about.


In short what you are pointing out are the weak points. Biologically the weak points of a human are all on the back side of the entire boy and towards the center of the body. It sounds as if you may be a little over concerned

 

[chocolatebrownie]

Cheers thanks

I'll continue on with my core work anyway. What's not broken don't need to be fixed that will take care of itself

If I can end up being somewhere in middle between where I am now and, I suppose, a bit of an unrealistic goal I will be happy

Nobody though wants to see a grown man cry from a hit lol

 

[Dirty Dog]

So... let me see if I have this straight. You're worried that an assailant might slap you in the armpit?

 

[chocolatebrownie]

There's still flab there but it's not excessive. Plus obviously it being one of the "baby skinned" areas it will take a bit of time.
I'm not ripped as i say but also not looking to be either

 

[chocolatebrownie]

So... let me see if I have this straight. You're worried that an assailant might slap you in the armpit?

Not specifically. I was only highlighting that and the other areas for description of the skin itself (yes not exposed)

The other areas I speak about they can be conditioned way more and people may not have a clue what I mean.
Slap yourself there if you want to test it :-D
Now see if it similar anywhere else on the body???

There's our thesis

 

[chocolatebrownie]

If the armpit can do what i;m looking for, trust me the rest should be a breeze

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I don't think that you can condition skin the way you described. Your chest/obliques yes, how jowga already pointed out. But never heard of skin conditioning...and not sure why you'd really need it for any of those locations besides the armpit-someone punching you in the stomach isn't exactly going to cause your stomach to rip. What you're describing sounds more like weak core muscles.

Actually...you can condition by building callouses, but the only areas those would really be needed are the striking points (knees, elbows, feet/toes, hands/knuckles). Even then you're exchanging other functionality of your toes/fingers for the callouses.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Its like this, slap the watch facing side of your arm.
Now slap the opposite side.

Notice the difference (I hope you do)

I did this. Removed my watch and tested-felt no difference.

Now like i say if im sitting there not expecting it and i get hit in any area like this my eyes would water like a baby

This sounds more like regular conditioning is needed than 'skin conditioning'.

Preferably looking to do something i can do myself. I know you could get something to slap a much as possible but not wasting other people's time

If getting slapped as much as possible works, why do you need someone else to do it? You should be able to easily slap your stomach, chest, armpit, back of the knee, etc. without needing assistance.

 

[chocolatebrownie]

Yeah was just smacking myself DIY style here lol.
Definitely needs to be some core work done but I will be adding that to my work

Body hardening is the term yes.
Sorry skin conditioning was just my term to break open the conversation

 

[Buka]

Welcome to MartialTalk, Chocolatebrownie.

 

[chocolatebrownie]

Lol like I said just walked outside there now and tried it. But yeah "body hardening" has put my mind to ease on it.

I've only seen it in the movies or training videos and it always had a trainer doing it so

Yeah my arm test probably not the best, bit of a difference for me but probably not much in it either because the arms gets much regular work and training day to day than the core. So it's not as noticeable either

 

[chocolatebrownie]

Welcome to MartialTalk, Chocolatebrownie.

Thank you Buka

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Yeah was just smacking myself DIY style here lol.
Definitely needs to be some core work done but I will be adding that to my work

Body hardening is the term yes.
Sorry skin conditioning was just my term to break open the conversation

Gotcha. That makes a lot more sense than skin conditioning, had a feeling it would be something like that.

Most of the methods I know sadly involve two people, or are things I wouldn't recommend doing without someone who has done it before. Hopefully someone on here has beginner friendly options for you

 

[chocolatebrownie]

At least the idea isn't as silly as I first thought. I will continue to make do with what I have for now as I'm not one for paying out on personal trainers apart from the basics

 

[JowGaWolf]

This sounds more like regular conditioning is needed than 'skin conditioning'.

I agree. I didn't bother with the test just for the simple fact that I hit my arms (more specifically,the bone) with a padded stick for conditioning, I still fill the impact but the pain is minimum. Compared to when I had unconditioned arms I'm not wincing in pain. Pinching my skin still hurts lol. Having the hairs on my arm pulled hurts worse.

But if the OP is going to do something like that, then he should start gentle and accept that it takes a really long time to do any type of body hardening correctly. A lot of people condition, get bruised, and then continue to hit the bruise tissue and other try to kill the nerves both are really bad ideas

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I agree. I didn't bother with the test just for the simple fact that I hit my arms (more specifically,the bone) with a padded stick for conditioning, I still fill the impact but the pain is minimum. Compared to when I had unconditioned arms I'm not wincing in pain. Pinching my skin still hurts lol. Having the hairs on my arm pulled hurts worse.

I was just thinking exactly this. I get conditioning naturally through kali and general padwork, and don't wear a watch when I train for obvious reasons. The test may actually come out the way OP says if we take a non-martial artist, and have them do it.

 

[drop bear]

I don't know. It isn’t any more silly an idea than those ice baths I suppose.

OP. You could get a whip. Catholic style.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I don't know. It isn’t any more silly an idea than those ice baths I suppose.

I'd say less silly than soaking in pickle juice.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I don't know. It isn’t any more silly an idea than those ice baths I suppose.

OP. You could get a whip. Catholic style.

This post made me look into ice baths. I never looked into them before but assumed they were useful. Apparently they make people feel better but don't have a distinct improvement on recovery.