UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT CONDITIONED SHIN MEANS
One of the most common questions from beginners in the gym are:
“How to condition my shins? It hurts so much when I train. How do I make my shins harder?”
First, you must realize that a conditioned shin is one with deadened nerves. The shin is already hard and will unlikely get much harder. The key is to deaden the nerves so that you wouldn’t feel the pain upon impact. However, you must also realize that you should not damage the shin bone while trying to deaden the nerves. This can be done only by practicing on pads and bags. The pads and bags are softer than your shin bone while hard enough to damage the nerves on the skin above your shin bone with repeated impact. This process can take a while depending on how hard you train and how frequently you train. You must accept that in the beginning, it will be painful. You’ve just picked one of the most demanding sports in the world. There will be pain to go with it. This is only the beginning. The first time an opponent lands a hard kick on your legs, you will get a wakeup call more painful than shin conditioning. Mentally tell yourself that this is the initiation process. In time your shins will be properly conditioned.
THE DANGER OF YOUTUBE GURUS
One of the worst things to see is some individuals following youtube gurus and try to take a shortcut at shin conditioning by using hard objects like wood or bottles. I was shocked to hear that some people were actually told by their trainers to take this route. If your trainer tells you to beat your shins with sticks or roll hard bottles on them, this is a good McDojo indication and I recommend you to seek another gym. This is what will happen if you take these drastic measures: You will at first feel that your shins are conditioned fast. Why? Your nerves have been deadened fast so that you now feel little pain. But by using an object harder than your shin bone you’ve just damaged the bone too. Guess what will happen later in life? That’s right, you will have to see a doctor for bone problems. This crazy method probably started from the myth that Thai boxers in Thailand kicked trees with their shins.
The truth is long ago before the availability of pads and bags, Thai boxers kicked banana trees. The texture of a banana tree is rubbery and is softer than a person’s shin. It is not like the wooden oak tree sitting in your backyard. The only thing as hard as or harder than your shin bone that you may one day hit are the shins, knees, and elbows of your opponents. And if you end up hurting your shin bone as a result of kicking into your opponents raised knee, then you may still suffer an injury. Just try to minimize injuries in training and save your luck for the ring.
THE SOFT SHINS MYTH
There has been mention of the popular myth that in old age, Thai boxers shins become soft. Believe me, this is NOT TRUE! I had the chance t0 speak with some older, retired Thai boxers, none of them have experienced any detrimental health issues concerning the conditioning of their shins and legs. I also spoke with a medical professional, and to the best of that person’s knowledge, the only likely explanation would be if someone had osteoporosis, where the body leaches calcium from the bones when there is not enough in the diet.
The only problem with the above method is that because we don’t start training combat sports as early in life as the Thai-boxers do, we are playing “catch up”. Thai’s start training usually by the time they are 12 years old. They kick the bag literally hundreds of times per day. They often actually live at their camp, so they have the “luxury” to train like that.
TRAINING SHOULD CORRESPOND YOUR LIFESTYLE CONDITIONS
For most of us though, we have jobs, school, families, responsibilities… All kinds of distractions that prevent us from training like the Thai’s do. That’s why some try to find easier and cheaper way and use tools such as rolling pins, Coke bottles, broomsticks… It’s like steroids – one gets faster results but at the cost of one’s health. It’s your health, your life – don’t try to cheat on yourself. The only correct way of shin conditioning it through kicking heavy bag and pads.
THE KICKING TREES MYTH
I had student who watched some videos came to me and asked, “When will I be ready to kick trees?” And he was serious. For many of you (I hope), this is might a silly question, but to others this part of Muay Thai mythology is real.
As is the case with most myths, the belief that Thai Boxers train by kicking trees is based on fact. Thai boxers are known for their rigorous physical conditioning, and in particular, their extremely hard shins.
But contrary to what many believe, this is achieved through the use of very modern equipment. Todays Thai boxers use the finest boxing gear found in the world designed specifically for the rigorous use of Muay Thai. As they condition their bodies with pad drills, sparring, or exercise, they toughen their shins on the heavy bag. Most Thai boxers begin training between the ages of 8 and 12, then being competing professionally between the ages of 16 and 22. After 8 years of kicking the heavy bag every day, their shins are like iron! However, Thai boxers have not always had access to equipment such as heavy bags, hence, the banana tree.
A banana tree is not hardwood like most trees found worldwide. Banana trees have a softer, more plant-like trunk, which will give a little when kicked. Additionally, beginning Thai boxers would not start off by kicking a tree with full force, rather they would start kicking slowly without much power until the shins would eventually toughen to withstand the punishment. Trees are sometimes still used today for training. Thai boxers kick them with minimal power in order to improve speed and accuracy.
Though, in all honesty, there are those who are capable of kicking trees without any real harm to themselves (I have actually met quite a few of them), this is largely an old practice rendered obsolete by the use of modern boxing equipment.
So in conclusion, please remember THE ONLY CORRECT WAY OF SHIN CONDITIONING IS THROUGH KICKING HEAVY BAG AND PADS.
