Forging

Some mistakenly believe that the prime objective of striking a forging post is to build up the calluses of the punching knuckles. When a violinist practices to play better a side effect is developing callus "pads" on the fingers of the left hand, as a result of constantly pressing against the strings. The pads do not make the playing better; they are simply a result of the constant practice. When punching a forging post, the wrist and the rest of the arm that are being conditioned to make a more effective technique and the calluses on the knuckles are merely a side effect of the training.

When punching a forging post (or heavy bag, for that matter), a few things should be considered that may make the punch slightly different than that of air-punching. First of all, if you try to rotate your fist at the very last moment, you may injure your wrist and/or hand. You may need to change the timing of the rotation slightly or leave out the rotation altogether.

There is a tendency to tense and expand the body to "push" the punch while punching an object. Pushing with brute strength is of little use while punching. Pushing is not the same as power. Keep in mind that power is created through a combination of speed and transfer of mass (Force = Mass x Acceleration). As you learn when punching an object such as a forging post, speed is not in itself sufficient; but neither is just pushing power. A would-be attacker is harder to "push" than a bag, so the forging post is a more realistic training tool since it doesn't move (except to absorb some of the shock so as not to injury the user).

Other common mistakes are: trying to "hit" the forging post , trying to hit the forging post too hard, "reaching' for the forging post , bracing for the anticipated impact, taking too big a breath, and failure to hold the focus long enough to feel what you are doing. To avoid these problems, refine your body motion and muscular contraction, using the forging post for immediate feedback.