Fundamental Iron Skills: Tempering Body and Limbs with Ancient Methods

This is okay content. I like that the author always states the fact that you have to avoid injuries and think of this as a marathon and not a sprint.

Great book! Very informative. Lays out the info really well. Subject matter explained very well in a way thats easily understood. Dr Dugas knows Iron Skills. His kung fu is stronger than your kung fu!

There's a lot of books on conditioning out there. I've bought one or two which seemed to offer something useful based off the cover, only to be disappointed.For a subject shrouded in mystery and mostly lost to history, not only has Dale managed to create a practical and direct form of conditioning which gets measurable results and doesn't damage the body when done exactly, he manages to give direction I could understand easily despite the very specific actions exercises I was being directed to do without cluttering the book with over use of diagrams.To give you an idea what I mean, rather than seeing something like, "cultivate your chi and expel it through the palm when you strike," this may be something some master in a temple understands simply enough, but then he already knows how to do all that, so of course it's simple.Dale goes over breathing drills and visualization exercises to have in mind as you do the exercises which actually leads to a tangible result once you've practiced.The habitual practice, daily will yield incredible results from this simple, concise volume.My only suggestion is to have an empty mind on the whole thing, don't insert arbitraries you may be dragging along in your conditioning from previous instructors who really don't know what they're doing or why. Even if you've already studied conditioning in the past and worked on your Iron Skills before, come to this book as a child full of interest and without any previous education and follow it exactly and your body will thank you for it. To the degree you run into any trouble at all in your iron palm or iron shirt training is the degree you've deviated from this book or short-cut the drills inside.

Thanks so much for this great book Sifu Dale.So much of Kung Fu has been mired in esotericism that it can be hard to puzzle out the effective from the mystical, and those from the fabrications.In this textbook Sifu Dale lays out everything you need to know to train safely and effectively. I was impressed by comparing his methods to the iron methods of my own school and seeing many of the same techniques. I also learned a great deal of new material that was consistent with the principles that I have learned as a martial artist and healing artist.To properly train, you need to understand anatomy and physiology, Qi, herbalism, and safety, and Dale Dugas lucidly lays all of these elements out for the reader.He even includes fighting arts applications which utilize one's iron skills training.The only reason i only give 4 stars instead of 5 here is that i wanted MORE!

This book approachs the body conditioning in a concise methodical manner. Anyone who trains in self defense or martial arts would benefit from using the techniques in the book. Even in training stiles and blocks can bruise or cause injury whether just doing heavy bag work or sparring. Just like any other training you have to condition your body, you have to condition the body to take the impacts. I really like the fact how the author stressed control and careful progression to higher levels of training. This will not only help prevent injury, but help establish the neural pathways for even better control on your strikes and kicks. The only issue I saw was the lack of partner based training.

The best modern book topic. I have a number of books on Iron Skills, some are cited in this one others not so much. He does a great job at what most don't even try to do, demystifying the subject matter without disrespecting it. I recommend this book to my own students.

Dr. Dugas' book brings in an easy to access training method that clears away any mystic aspects of iron palm training and condenses it into a way that a complete novice can work with. It's really simple in its approach and provides you with all the info you need to get started. I reached out to Dr. Dugas before I bought the book because as a massage therapist I want to train my hands for strength and martial applications, yet be able to be sensitive to the body work I give. He reminded me that he needles people everyday and still has full dexterity and sensitivity to do so.If you've ever wanted to delve into this aspect of martial training, this book represents an honest and approachable way to train your hands and body (spirit as well.)!

I've been reading Dr Dugas' material online for some time. And using his dit da jow products for almost as long.. . . I had a long review written, but I kept getting off point.If you have an interest in martial arts training without injury, or the 'iron skills' which enhance ANY STYLE'S PRACTICE (that includes boxing, jiu jitsu, Muay Thai, right along with kung fu and karate), then you owe it to yourself to get this book.I'm getting his DVD stuff next. And trying to figure out a way to take a few weeks off work so I can go get a crash course in his martial methods.

I've been aware of Mr Dugas for some time, and his approach comes recommended. I found this book to be a very small overview of the subject, that has a small chapter on every aspect of it. Overall I liked the book.I appreciated the brief history of Iron Skills in the States, and of the discussion on each aspect of the practice. I was also grateful to Mr Dugas for actually including some of the herbal formulas used within his method.The book loses one star because it really needs a better editor who will actually proof-read it properly and correct the numerous errors in grammer, spelling, the bad English that occurs, and the sentences that appear to have been written for a different edition than the final book. While certainly not the worst book I've read with these these issues, it was enough to drop a star from the review.The book loses a second star because unfortunately, like a great many other books of this kind, the descriptions and attempts to illustrate certain methods and techniques are quite poor. Mostly in the qigong and martial application sections. This issue is always an issue and I'm well aware of the problems that come with trying to impart such things through the written (and pictographic) medium. However, the book is targeted at being a practical book, rather than simply discussing history and theory, and I felt a much better job could have been done to honour that. Given his background I really felt the qigong section would have been better. As for the martial application chapter, I can appreciate why there was felt a need to include one, but in all honesty, such things are nearly always pointless. I'm sure Mr Dugas feels the work is sufficient given the medium, and that it is intended to be used alongside his DVD's as well as teacher-student insttruction.

Sober, interesting, and rings true. No "flaming chi balls" or shortcuts here. If you're going to do it from a book, this is a smart choice. The author gives good advice on assembling the gear and ingredients you'll want, so you can choose what feels best to you. I like that, and it exemplifies the spirit of shared wisdom and experience that suffuses the text. Plenty of pictures mean that you won't be left wondering how to interpret the instructions.

It’s to many pages in this book and very complicated, if a doctor explains something simply than he knows what he is talking about, and if it’s complicated than he does not have a clue that’s my opinion, a book for iron body should not be more than 10-20 pages

very practical

Great book on the subject- must have