B
Battousai
Guest
From what I've seen this strike, done with the tips of the fingers, does not get the attention it deserves from students. Many probabily think that its not a real strike at all, or that it hardly does damage. Both of these opinions are wrong.
If a student has been taught a kata with a nukite strike in it, that student should be training to be able to really strike in that manner. This includes Pinan II, III, Gojushiho, and many other katas.
How to practice this strike? The basics involve a pot of something like pinto beans. Striking the beans every day for about 5 minutes. After about 2 weeks the beans will become non-optimum training. After that move on to harder materials like sand. These things strengthen the muscles of the hands. To harden the tips of the fingers, hitting a wall for a couple of minutes a day does wonders (hitting softly at first).
After a month or 2 (maybe 3) of good training with these methods I would estimate that most students would be able to break a normal sized board with the strike. Breaking a board with this strike does not take as much force as breaking a board with a fist.
Why? Imagine hitting a board with an object only slightly smaller then the board, say a square poker. Then decrease the size of the poker, until it is the size of a fist. Which size will take more force to break the board? This is why the smaller the board is the harder it is to break, the larger the board the easier. The less the surface area of the strike, the less force needed to break. The greater the surface area, the greater the force needed.
So as not to break any fingers, I would recommend hitting the board gently and increasing force over an interval of strikes rather then just hitting it as hard as you can.
It takes alot of training, but the nukite strike is a powerful strike that should not be overlooked by the student looking to make a lifelong investment into the martial arts.
If a student has been taught a kata with a nukite strike in it, that student should be training to be able to really strike in that manner. This includes Pinan II, III, Gojushiho, and many other katas.
How to practice this strike? The basics involve a pot of something like pinto beans. Striking the beans every day for about 5 minutes. After about 2 weeks the beans will become non-optimum training. After that move on to harder materials like sand. These things strengthen the muscles of the hands. To harden the tips of the fingers, hitting a wall for a couple of minutes a day does wonders (hitting softly at first).
After a month or 2 (maybe 3) of good training with these methods I would estimate that most students would be able to break a normal sized board with the strike. Breaking a board with this strike does not take as much force as breaking a board with a fist.
Why? Imagine hitting a board with an object only slightly smaller then the board, say a square poker. Then decrease the size of the poker, until it is the size of a fist. Which size will take more force to break the board? This is why the smaller the board is the harder it is to break, the larger the board the easier. The less the surface area of the strike, the less force needed to break. The greater the surface area, the greater the force needed.
So as not to break any fingers, I would recommend hitting the board gently and increasing force over an interval of strikes rather then just hitting it as hard as you can.
It takes alot of training, but the nukite strike is a powerful strike that should not be overlooked by the student looking to make a lifelong investment into the martial arts.