Iron Palm Training

Iron Palm/Iron Hand training has long been held within most Chinese martial arts systems as an advanced program of training. One that is rather specific: To develop the hands, the internal energies and the body, to deliver stronger penetrating strikes than a normal, untrained person. Many Chinese martial arts systems(CMAS), do not even offer said training to anyone who has not completed a certain amount of training in foundational material.

Breaking Demo

Breaking The Bottom Brick

No matter the system from hence it appears, the training system can be viewed as having the ability to condition not only the hands, but to develop the internal energy of the body and learn to move it and use it for defense or healing. As with most training within the Chinese martial arts systems, there is both a positive as well as negative manner with which to view applications of material.

Iron Sand Palm or as some refer to it, Iron Hand(T'ieh Sha Zhang) uses a systematic conditioning program consisting of exercises to warm up and strengthen the arms from the shoulders to the fingertips followed by various internal Qi Gong exercises to strengthen as well as move the Qi of the body. Next in the program would be the actual striking into some form of hard medium to train the anatomical weapons. Most systems use a canvas or leather bag containing anything from rice, all manner of beans(many insist on using only Mung beans), rocks/gravel, and metallic shot in the advanced stages.  Bags are used as training with open faced containers of any form of medium offers the risk of direct contact; this could lead to over absorption of said medium into the skin via the direct contact or the lungs if any form of dust thrown into the air from striking into direct training medium.  Be safe and bag all training medium to minimize any problems,

Not only are the physical aspects of the training important, but one must utilize the correct medicinal components to succeed as well as keep from seriously injuring oneself. Many of the programs offered on the market today offer some sort of medicinal aid in the form of pre-made liniments and/or the actual herbs to be made into Iron Palm medicine.


Many people make the erroneous assumption that basic Dit Da Jow and Iron Palm medicine are one and the same thing. Though one can use Iron Palm medicine as an injury formula in some cases, one cannot use a basic injury Dit Da Jow designed for simple injuries and expect to develop the true power potential within their Iron Palm training. Striking a bag of steel shot in the advanced levels of Combat Iron Hand© training, can produce micro trauma to the hands and the practitioner needs the highest quality medicine to heal any injuries that occur during the training regimen. Failure to do so increases the risk of serious injury and longterm damage.

The two formula are quite different in action and effect and contain different herbs designed to do different things. Most injury formulas are designed to kill pain, remove dead blood/blood stasis, and reduce swelling. They do not have many if any of the herbs which open the energy pathways of the body nor the herbs which actually help to move the Qi out of the Dan Tian(located three of your own fingers down below your navel, the "center" of your body) to your hands for healing and/or combat. There are also herbs to help tonify and strengthen the kidneys, in essence strengthening the bones of the hand as well as a host of herbs to strengthen the tendons and relax the sinews.

As a result over the years, many people have been taught incorrectly and have injured themselves or not developed their full power potential in Iron Palm training to the utmost. Combat Iron Palm Iron Vest Association© (CIPIVA)© was founded to further research, catalog and teach these ancient skills to interested students of the combative arts.