How To Develop an Iron Palm

Using The External Method

Disclaimer: Before you begin any Iron Palm Training, you should consult both your medical physician
(doctor) and a certified martial arts instructor before you begin. Your doctor can discuss some of the health
risks involved according to your current level of health & fitness. The martial arts instructor can illustrate
the proper striking techniques to prevent injury. If this training is done incorrectly, injuries to the tendons
and bones can occur. It is important that you have a solid body structure as a result of practicing traditional
martial arts forms as well as Qigong Standing Meditations. If you do not have these prerequisites, then you
are advised to stay away from Iron Palm training until you have done Qigong Standing Meditation for at
least 3-months and can stand still for a minimum of 30-minutes to assure your body structure is sound. This
training method is being presented as “educational material”. We accept no liability whatsoever if you
choose to follow this training method, i.e. train at your own risk and discretion. We must also warn you that
it is possible to unintentionally seriously harm someone after you have developed the Iron Palm. If you
strike, slap or spank someone in anger, after developing an Iron Palm, the result could be devastating!

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Iron Palm History: Iron palm training was primarily used for “Revenge” in the past. Historically for
example, if the student’s father was murdered, it was possible for Confucian Ethics to specifically require
that his son avenge the death. If this was the case, then the student was trained for 3-consecutive months, 3-
hours per day in the iron palm technique. Using standard graduated materials (rice, beans, sand, etc.) they
could produce a palm capable of discharging all of the accumulated energy that the exercises produced in
the palm itself. The palm was in effect like a two or three shot pistol that once discharged of the
accumulated Chi energy, would return back to a normal ordinary palm. However, if the student was trained
in Taoist Nei-Gung, “internal energy” work, such as a monk, then the Chi-energy could be called upon by
the student at will anytime since all of his energy channels would be open and accessible?

In most martial arts styles, the iron palm is done with a simultaneous coordination of a physical hand strike
coupled with the use and intent of the mind (Yi). The five traditional hand strikes used are:

1) The whole cupped hand (imagine that you are holding a quarter with the center of your palm)
2) The finger tips (tiger claw hand position)
3) The knife edge (The Karate Chop, see last page for more detail)
4) The bottom edge of the palm ( Lower section of the Palm)
5) The back of the hand

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The Warm-Up: Before you can begin to strike your target bag, you must first do this simple warm-up
exercise. Stand up straight with you feet shoulder width apart facing forward. Let your arms hand freely,
straight down at your sides. Now, begin to twist your waist left and right, causing your RELAXED arms to
be swung from side to side. You can control the hand position, so your palms are facing down, but do not
use any arm muscles to generate the swing. This must come from the hips. If the arm muscles are tight, you
will not get the blood to flow into the hands. Do this twisting for a couple of minutes until the hands are full
of blood. Sometimes, they will even tingle.

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Here is the way to start. First, you need to purchase a canvas bag or make your own striking bag by cutting
a pair of men's jeans off at the upper thigh. Make a second cut at the knee of the leg of pants you just cut.
Sew one end of those cut off jeans shut. Fill that space with six to eight bags of Mung Beans (or a
comparable bean, but NEVER use Pinto Beans). Other substitutes that work well include split peas, rice
and sand. Do not overstuff your bag. It absolutely must have some room to give a little. Sew the open end
shut also, so that the enclosed peas/beans are completely self-contained. You should now have about a
twelve inch long by six inch wide by three to five inch thick bag to work on. Place your bag on a striking
surface that is very well supported about waist high level lengthwise facing you. Raise your hand to just
about the top of your head, palm down and horizontal to the striking bag. Now look at the bag with focus
and let your hand free fall or gravity drop, your hand is leading the arm down to strike the bag. Rotate your
hand while dropping it so your hand strikes the bag perpendicular to your body when it lands. Your hand
always gravity drops (no muscular force) to strike the bag, using the natural weight of your arm only for
each of the 5 different hand strikes. You strike the bag five times with each of the five traditional hand
strikes mentioned above. First, complete all the strikes with your right hand in on session then perform the
water treatment on it before training your left hand. In one session you will do a total of twenty-five strikes,
one right after the other. Each strike starts with your hand held above your head, with you looking directly
up at the hand. You continue to follow each strike with your eyes until your hand completely strikes the
bag, simultaneously striking it with your mind also. Mentally saying something like “Ka-Boom!” and
picturing an explosion when your hand hits the bag is helpful in this regard. Now raise your hand above
your head and start again. After your twenty-five strikes are finished, go to a water basin filled about one-
third of the way with warm water. The water temperature should feel comfortably warm, like very warm
bath water and not scalding hot. Submerge only the hand you just used for your striking session. Now, with
the hand submerged, start adding a slow steady bead of very hot water directly into the water your hand is
soaking in. -WARNING-Please be very Careful that the water is not scalding hot, the intent is not to burn
yourself with this exercise. The purpose is not to test your pain tolerance or injure you in any way. The
purpose is to accumulate and amass latent energy in the hand itself. Ok, while adding this hot water bead,
slowly swirl your hand with the palm facing down going sometimes clockwise and sometimes
counterclockwise in the water. Visualize and imagine that your hand is glowing and emitting beams of
light. Close your eyes if needed. The energy is constantly flowing out of the fingers of your hand like rays

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of brilliant sunlight. Continue to do this until the rest of the water feels as hot as the beginning stream of
hot water you added. The energy swirls in your mind, travels into your hand, and then goes outward as it is
released into the water. Now, take your hand out of the water and whip your arm back and forth rotating
and twisting your waist so that the arm just gets flung around like a club attached to your body. Do this
until the hand is completely air-dried. Now, repeat the entire procedure for your other hand. After both
hands have been trough a round of training, you absolutely need to massage them completely. You can
use the traditional Chinese “Dit Ja Dow” liniment or you apply “Tiger Balm” or “Icy Hot” heating liniment
to each hand. When you start to feel the heat building up in the hands, close your eyes and mentally picture
your hands glowing and radiating with tremendous amounts of energy. This should only be a short
meditation, lasting only 3 to 5 minutes. Another good visualization trick is to purchase a Black Light, and
wear all black clothing, except for white gloves. The rubber ones used by medically professionals work
very well. They are inexpensive and very form fitting. Then, simply go into a very dark room with the
lights off and turn on your black light, then stair at your glowing hands while the heating liniment is
working. Focus your mind on the idea that your hands are glowing and radiating with tremendous energy!
This will help ingrain the correct mental image in your mind for future use, such as a breaking competition
or even personal defense. While you are staring at your hands, you can also mentally repeat an affirmation
over and over to keep your mind focused on your hands without wandering off. An example would be: “My
hands are filled with tremendous strength and power, the energy of the entire universe flows through them,
God has truly blessed me with an awesome responsibility; with it, I can hurt and I can heal, I will use this
power for the good of all. God has willed it and thus it is so.” (Feel free to create your own affirmation if
this one does not suite you as it is only an English translation of a Taoist approach).

Do this workout everyday, three times a day for 4-months and you will accumulate a tremendous amount of
Chi-energy in your hands that can be used to heal or hurt another person. Please use your Iron Palm with
the same care and respect you would have for a loaded pistol. Once you charge them up, they are literally
loaded weapons that go wherever you go. You cannot leave your hands at home, so be mindful of your
emotions or else you may do something you will regret for the rest of your life.

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 Cupped Hand Strike Finger Tips (claw strike)

Knife Edge Strike (karate chop) Bottom Edge Palm

Back of Hand Strike.

(illustration for bottom edge of palm strike)

(illustration for Knife edge strike or Karate chop)

Warning: Do not attempt the exercises in this report before consulting your physician and a certified
martial arts instructor! The Author and Distributor of this information will not be responsible for any injury
incurred while training this method and cannot advocate the use of the specific training drills. User assumes
all risks on their own accord. All information is presented simply as educational material. What you
actually do with this knowledge and informational material is entirely up to you.

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 How to Develop Cosmos Palm
Internal Method
Disclaimer: Before you begin your Internal Training, you should consult both your medical physician
(doctor) and a certified Qigong instructor before you begin. Your doctor can discuss some of the health
risks involved according to your current level of health & fitness. The Qigong instructor can illustrate the
proper posture for energy flow. It is important that you have a solid body structure as a result of practicing
Qigong Standing Meditations. If you do not have these prerequisites, then you are advised to stay away
from Cosmos Palm training until you have done Qigong Standing Meditation for at least 3-months and can
stand still for a minimum of 30-minutes to assure your body structure is sound. This training method is
being presented as “educational material”. We accept no liability whatsoever if you choose to follow this
training method, i.e. train at your own risk and discretion. We must also warn you that it is possible to
unintentionally seriously harm someone after you have developed the Cosmos Palm. If you strike, slap or
spank someone in anger, after developing an Iron Palm, the result could be devastating!
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Cosmos Palm Qigong is an ancient style of energy cultivation used for martial power, health and spiritual
growth. The origin of this art is most likely Taoist. It was introduced into the Shaolin Temples long, long
ago. Although it was not the mainstream qigong taught to the Shaolin monks, who mainly practiced
Eighteen Lohan Hands instead and the shortened version now known as the Eight Brocade; Cosmos Palm
Qigong, like Sinew or Metamorphosis (also known as the Tendon Change Classic), was only taught to elite
students. Shaolin monks who had knowledge of both Cosmos Palm and Red Sand Palm (external method)
normally practiced and preferred Shaolin Cosmos Qigong. Those who had obtained Golden Bell (also
known as Iron Body) normally practiced the Shaolin Cosmos Qigong along with Sinew Metamorphosis.

Because of its long history, Shaolin Cosmos Qigong has evolved differently in different lineages. Therefore
the variations of Shaolin Cosmos Qigong practiced by the different lineages have slightly different
practices. But the main underlying principles and characteristics of this method are all the same.
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Shaolin Cosmos Palm Qigong is gentle, relaxing but very powerful. It is a standing meditation, where
practitioners tap into the universal energy from the Cosmos (Sun, Moon, Stars, Planets and the Void), and
as a result, mainly operates at the level of the mind. It is a form of Intelligence Qigong that gives the
practitioner radiant health, phenomenal internal force, select breaking ability through focus and spiritual
fulfillment. In its original form, Shaolin Cosmos Palm Qigong consists principally of Reverse-Breathing,
where the practitioner adopts a wide Horse-Stance (double shoulder width) and employs the reverse-
breathing, which is “breathing in deeply into the chest, while sucking in the stomach and breathing out into
the lower dan tian”, while relaxing the stomach muscles allowing the lower abdomen to expand during the
exhale. The breathing is always inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth.

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 Cosmos Palm Qigong
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1) Stand relaxed, feet about shoulder width apart for 5-min with your eyes closed. Mentally repeat: “I
am in the universe, the universe is in my body, the universe and I combine together, we are one.”
Repeat this several times during the 5-min stand. See image

2) After your 5-minutes of standing in the void, lift your right leg and widen your stance to double
shoulder width, known as horse stance. At groin level, bring your hands together in prayer hands
position, Raise the prayer hands up to chest level with fingers pointing up and then rub your hands
together several times until warm. Now, push your warm palms forward and hold them out in this
extended position for the remainder of the exercise.

3) With your eyes still closed, imagine your hands absorbing and accumulating cosmic energy from
the Sun, Stars, Full Moon, etc. As you inhale, visualize the energy coming into your palms while
sucking in your stomach. As you exhale, relax your stomach, allowing it to expand. During your
exhale, visualize that the energy is traveling from your palms, into your arms and then down into
your Chi-Point just below your belly button. Picture it as a glowing orange ball, just like the Sun
at sunrise or sunset.

Note: In the early stages, you may only be able to hold this position for a few minutes, but you
should try to add ½ minute each day until you can do this exercise for a full 15-minutes.

4) End this position by repeating the affirmation “My hands are filled with tremendous strength and
power, the energy of the entire universe flows through them, God has truly blessed me with an
awesome responsibility; with it, I can hurt and I can heal, I will use this power for the good of all.

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 God has willed it and thus it is so.” Pull your hands back in towards your chest and then just allow
them to comfortably relax at your sides. Return to normal breathing. No more reverse breaths.

5) Now, lift up your right leg and return to the starting position (standing in the void). Stand relaxed
here for 1-minute and then hold your hands with palms facing towards you over your Chi-Point.
Men should have the right palm touching the body, women should have the left hand touching,
with the opposite hand stacked on top of the other. This concludes and closes the exercise.

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