Conditioning Exercises

[Bill Glasheen]

Laird

My ideal scenario would be having PETA members as "guests" on a National Geographic documentary on carnivors. Yea, tiger bait - that's the ticket!

We sheltered humans really can lose touch with reality...

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

Along the line of animals and experimentation and anecdotal evidence...

I did research on dog models (for 5 years) in the field of cardiology. Among other things, we would sometimes insert special catheters in the juglar vein (and route it into the heart) to measure cardiac output. This is very similar to what is done on ICU and CCU patients in the hospital.

The vast majority of the dogs made available to me were "death row dogs" from various county pounds. These dogs got an extra few months of life while the animal supply companies wormed them, fed them, tested them, and generally brought their health up to a minimum standard. Our experiments were under deep anesthesia (pentobarbitol), and the dogs knew nothing more than deep sleep for their final few hours.

Now think about the population of dogs that end up in a county pound where nobody wants them. Most were there because humanity neglected and/or abused them. A few were there because they bit someone (lots of Rotweilers, Dobermans, Shepherds), or perhaps chased too many cows on the farm. In setting up for and performing open heart surgery, it's easy to tell the general health of the animal.

There was a common problem I had with some (very few) dogs in terms of finding the jugular vein. This is normally VERY easy to find. But now and then I'd find an animal with a thick layer of grizzled tissue around the neck. Why? Likely the animal spent its whole life chained up in someone's back yard. The daily stress of the chain on the neck caused the body to develop all this tissue around it that protected the underlying muscles and vital blood vessels from damage. In some VERY extreme cases (one or two out of about 1000), the tissue was so thick that I never could find that jugular vein.

Anyhow, you get some ideas about the body and how it responds to stress after doing enough surgeries.

- Bill

[uechiwoman]

I have been practicing acupuncture for the past year and I have discovered that Uechi practitioners have the toughest skin. I have worked on people of all ages and backgrounds and Uechi people are still the most difficult to poke. What I find most interesting is that ALL their skin is tougher, not just the skin that is usually conditioned. I end up using smaller gauge needles and a bit more hijiki. The sensation of the needle once it is in does seem to be within the normal range, meaning that my Uechi clients feel the tingling, traveling warmth, or dull ache that my other clients experience. I plan to research this phenomena further and I will let you know what I find out.

Heather

[Bill Glasheen]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote

What I find most interesting is that ALL their skin is tougher, not just the skin that is usually conditioned.

This is very interesting. Considering that the body often releases a number of hormones into the bloodstream as a response to various stresses, I find this...plausible.

[Adam]

Have you noticed if the skin where the conditioning is applied being tougher than on the rest of the body? Even if the whole skin seems to be thicker.

Adam

[raulf7]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by uechiwoman:
I have been practicing acupuncture for the past year and I have discovered that Uechi practitioners have the toughest skin. Heather <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Compared to whom?

Shotokan, Gojuryu, $hitoRyu, WadoRyu etc etc practitioners?

How many people and schools did you make this analysis on?


Note...editing by Bill Glasheen to prevent the "big brother" editor from nixing the name of a perfectly good style.

[This message has been edited by Bill Glasheen (edited January 25, 2002).]

[uechiwoman]

I do not claim this to be a wide nor definitive study. I have needled about two hundred different people since I started acupuncture training 4 years ago. I observed that when I needled my brave uechi dojomates who have been training at least a year that I had a very difficult time piercing their skin. I have also treated people who run, bike, do tai chi, etc. and I have not had this same experience. I think it is highly likely that other martial arts practitioners who practice some form of body conditioning would have similiar "tough" skin. I just have not had the opportunity yet to treat them.

In answer to Adam, what was so suprising to me was that the skin over the arms of a conditioned person was no more difficult to needle than the skin on the abdomen or back. Both places required "punching through" verses the slipping between feeling I usually experience. The dense muscle on the arms is hard to get through, but that is a whole nother story.

Heather

[Bill Glasheen]

Perhaps George Mattson, when he gets a chance, can ask Patrick about his experiences. Patrick has needled many a Uechi martial artist at the camps, along with probably many other martial artists.

- Bill

[paul giella]

My own idea about why kotikitae makes us stronger is fairly prosaic. I know nothing about the cellular level and histological changes people are talking about above. Just like learning to focus or grip or clench the abdominal muscles for a hard sanchin test, and learn it so well that it is an automatic reaction to an incoming strike, I believe we develop a controlled flinch or automatic clenching of the muscles of the forearms and legs. When we then block we automatically and thoughtlessly (mushin, that is)use a focused arm. Whether we have altered our bone density or our meridian lines is beyond my pay grade!

[gmattson]

I emailed Pat, but the mail was undeliverable. He either changed addresses or is no longer on the web. I'll give him a call tomorrow though and ask.

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GEM