Steel hand, drumming, brick laying and pulse taking.

[rhayden]

I was also told that guitar and pulse are mutually exclusive, but I still don't see it. (on my callused hand I find that just off the edge of the guitar-induced callus is actually more sensitive for touch than my non-callused hand.. which is the bit I use to take the pulse)

As a long-time mandolinist practicing meridian therapy, i agonized over this for years. I quit playing for long periods while learning the style. When i was doing the summer school in Tokyo one year, i met a long-time Toyohari member with one hand. How does he take pulses, how does he do oshide? He adapts.

Not playing made me very anxious and depressed -- a sort of soul loss which affected my treatments much more than any (perceived) loss of sensitivity in a few tiny areas of the fingertips of one hand.

In any case, i certainly can't say i'm any kind of expert in pulse diagnosis, so take my comment FWIW.

p.s.: I played congas professionally for years in Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Cuban bands, but i stopped playing before i went to acupuncture school. I don't remember calluses being a real serious issue, but then i used to tape my fingers (mostly to reduce stress on the IP joints). I've known some excellent players who have pretty soft hands -- they're really good at pulling out the sound.

[Tim Cleary]

Tabla players probably increase their sensitivity..

I actually think that the biggest part of any loss of sensitivity in these kind of hand-injuring activities is due to localised Blood Stasis, more than to a mechanical stiffening of the skin- so if you do/take/practice stuff to keep the circulation happy it's less of an issue IMHO. (but I think that pulse-taking is a two-way interaction between patient and practitioner anyway- so you only get out what you put in... Press your fingertips tightly together for about thirty seconds and see what you feel- how does this relate to your pulse taking?)

Robert- I've also heard about a couple of Toyohari practitioners missing a few fingers- and I know of at least one here in Sydney who's lost part of the nerve supply in at least one hand.. I think these things can be worked around without too much trouble..

Acupunk (and Mark)- I'm not sure that Iron Palm training is all that necessary in these relatively safe times when we don't really have to fight much (and rely on our conditioning to keep on going)- a large proportion of the people I've known that have done a lot of conditioning of the hands have developed trouble later on as a result of it.. But it certainly would be fun to be able to smash rocks with the fingers... I wonder how much of that can come from the internal without external conditioning.. I'd have to ask to be sure, but one of my mates who I don't think does any external conditioning has given me the most powerful strikes I've ever received (and totally relaxed- some of the best looked like he was picking up a teacup.. Felt like being hit with a sledgehammer- just beautiful..)

Acupunk- On the other hand, I believe from what a past student has told me that the Yang Mian Steel-whatever-body-part training is different from everything else anyway.. I was told about one student who knocked bricks out of a double brick wall with shoulder barges... he liked the noise it made.

(Robert- if you get a chance, check out the mandolinist that Fiona Apple has been touring with for a little while- he is absolutely the wildest mandolin-wielding demon that I've ever seen.. )

Tim.

[dragonmonk]

When I think of things like training yor hands to smash through rocks, it reminds me of what I once heard about training the abdomen to be impervious to attacks......it does not matter how tough your hands or abdomen are....if someone pokes you in the eye, it is still gonna hurt.

[Acupunk]

Yes a poke to the eye can be bothersome! Steel body and hand are just tools a martial artist has, there is an engine/car but there is also the driver.

Just a quick addendum I recently met a very good practitioner in Double bay ,acupuncture and tui na are excellent!, who is a seasoned tai chi practitioner. He had done an extensive steel/iron hand program and his pulse taking is some of the best i have seen.
One of those guys that tell you what is wrong with you based upon your pulse. Very confident and i have witnessed him be spot on numerous times, without questioning.
The hand conditioning is one of his secrets to his strength and endurance in the tui na department. A prophylactic against wear and tear. He can do an fa for two hours without stopping, which was part of his training.(mind you he built himself up gradually and has a flexibility program for his fingers)

Personally i have found i never get sore hands and can penetrate deeply with just the index and middle fingers alone.Chin ups, grip training, and the steel hand training i have done i think have been my aid.That being said he has done his hours practicing pulse and he is taking the pulse every day. Balance is good. I am trying to do the palpatory exercises such as feeling hairs under the white pages, as well as pulse and just listening with my hands over the body in order to balance the yang activities that strengthen the hand.

IN martial arts strength is nothing without flexibility, and it would seem in the manual arts , strength is nothing without sensitivity. So I think for longevity in the tui na trade we must train our hands more than the average person or even athlete. I am aware of an old lady in china who gives three hour sessions who did a lot of carrying jars(a la eagle claw) to get to the point where she is today. Mind you grip strength is an indicator of bone strength in old age as well as benefiting the entire body.

[MelissaBaker]

I remember in college that Alan Jansson said that Masakazu Ikeda said that you shouldn't play golf. How's that for third hand information?... particularly given that it was about 8-9 years ago.

PS. Since googled Alan and found his site at: http://www.worldacupunctureblog.com/ (just added this because I was curious, completely off topic!)

[Acupunk]

Thanks melissa, i am no golfer, but i thought that it would be more the palm than the tips being used, but i suppose the whole hand is used in palpation. Been checking out chaitows palpatory literacy great book with the extended notion that palpation can be visual, or energetic a la chakras, qi gong etc.