Iron Palm
Iron Palm or Iron Hand (Chinese: 铁掌功) is a body of training techniques in various Chinese martial arts. It is originally one of the 72 arts of the Shaolin temple. These conditioning techniques are typically meant to condition the hands to allow a practitioner to deliver very powerful blows without injury to their hands. Overview. Iron Palm is the vernacular for the results of serious training centered mainly on the palm of the hand, although other parts of the hand may also be targeted, and covers many different conditioning methods. Most Iron Palm systems are considered internal, utilizing  qigong exercises to train other aspects of development in addition to the external conditioning which ultimately alters the internal structures of the hand, such as the bones and sinews. However, martial artists who practice Iron Palm are not unified in their training and techniques. Some teachers treat their Iron Palm methodology as a valuable secret, and only share their specific techniques, training methods, and herbal remedies with a select few. Not all Iron Palm methods are a martial arts style unto itself, but rather form a special feature of specialized conditioning that appears in many schools of Chinese martial arts . Some non-Chinese martial arts styles, such as Muay Thai and many schools of Karate, also feature hand conditioning, but the term "Iron Palm" is not typically used to describe these types of training, as they tend not to focus on developing internal power when conditioning the hands for the bone-crushing forces encountered with the striking maneuvers evident in breaking normally "unbreakable" objects. General principles. Iron Palm training often involves three primary components: Direct and indirect methods. Schools of Iron Palm training are often divided into "direct" or "indirect." Both methods usually consist of striking progressively harder surfaces. Some  practitioners also refer to their training as Nei Jing ("internal") or Li ("external"), this deals with the Qi energy or type of force (jin) used. In the "direct" method the hands are thrust into buckets or containers of the medium; the hands come into direct contact with the substance. In the "indirect" method, the practitioner strikes bags or other containers filled with various materials. As training progresses, the bags or buckets filled with increasingly resistant substances starting with beans then sand, progressing onto gravel or rocks, then finally lead and iron shot. Practitioners can measure their progress based upon the  number of strikes performed in a particular training session or by the amount of clock time spent training. Relaxation while training strikes and use of good Dit Da Jow medicine is imperative to proper success. Proper breathing is also essential for maximum effect/success. Uses. The Chinese martial arts can utilize a wide variety of open and closed hand strikes. Hardening the hands is also considered by some to supplement speed and strength lost through aging. Iron palm practitioners often demonstrate their abilities by breaking hard objects such as bricks, coconuts, stones and boards with their bare hands or in  some cases forcefully hitting a steel object rapidly without sustaining significant injury. Techniques. Iron Palm—also called "Tie Zhang" in Chinese—utilizes five different striking techniques, they are as follows. These techniques are used when striking the Iron Palm bag which is filled with a variety of materials like, rice, mung beans, pea gravel or steel shot depending on one's level of expertise. Before and after each training session, an Iron Palm liniment is applied to the hands to prevent injury and condition the hands. "Tie Ba Zhang Yao" is a popular liniment used for Iron Palm training and  conditioning. (Wayback Machine copy)