Shin Conditioning for MMA

After seeing that clip of Corey Hill breaking his shin I thought id start this post.

Whats the best way to condition the shins for mma? -

What kind of frequency should be used? number of kicks per day or do for specific timed rounds eg;3min x3 of bag kicking.

Should I use any special supplements during this time? eg; calcium,magnesium,vitamin c?

man i’ve never even thought of this…lol
if you kick constantly in mauy thai class…heavy bags, pads…your shins get conditioned from that. my shins are much better from just doing it for over a year.
Never thought of conditioning them, I just kick with shin as hard as I can and thats it.

No quick way to develop this… take it slow and easy… injuries and/or micro or even hairline fractures will cripple you in the long run if you at all try to speed up the process. High repetitions against a muay thai-like heavy bag or a sparring partner will surely toughen you up but again over time.

Eat clean and stay healthy. remember to balance your training. Moderation is the key; if you are so sore that it’s painful and then you can’t train well that’s pretty retarded.

yea seems like jus gettin in a good volume of kicking and having good nutrition in is the key. il start doing leg kicks every 2nd day on the heavy bag.

Yeah just tag the heavy bag and spar a lot. It takes time, there is only so much you can do to get used to being kicked in weird spots on your legs, so basically just work the bag without going overboard, and spar a lot. If you’re sparring at 60-70% your legs are going to get plenty beat up to work on conditioning them for abuse.

Starting out, even checking or being checked when being kicked/kicking hurts, but as you work the bag and spar you get more and more used to it. There’s always going to be some spot on your leg that hurts when it gets hit, but the more used to it you are, and the more conditioned you are to deal with the response mentally, the easier it gets to recover and keep flowing.

I think Cirey Hill’s leg was more of a result of him trying to fight at lightweight when he’s 6’4 and was probably weak from cutting to much and being in a state of starvation for so long.

Repetitions on the bag will work great and yes it takes a very long time to deaden the nerve endings and develop the callousing that makes your shins tough. However, there are a few more things that you can do. My favorite is to use a rolling pin. While you’re watching tv at night & just relaxing, take a rolling pin and roll it up and down your shin…no pressure is necessary; just do it for about 15-30 minutes on each leg…you can also use glass coke bottles.

We also use paint mixing sticks (I tape 2 together) to condition our shins. Hope this helps!

Roll a rolling pin up and down your legs.

[quote]The1andOnly wrote:
Roll a rolling pin up and down your legs.[/quote]

Nope. Deadening nerves is not the same as conditioning your shin bone.

Seriously,please stop advising rolling pins and glass bottles for CONDITIONING your shins. What’s the point in having deadened nerves if your shit is weak like chopsticks.

Heavy bag.
Thai Pads.
Sparring.
Ice.
Massage.
Rest.

There are no shortcuts.

The way to toughen up your shins is to follow a pretty complex training program it consists of

1 Get a heavy bag

2 Kick the heavy bag

3 Repeat

Big Bosses recovery tips may help cut the time between step 2 and step 3.

[quote]rasturai wrote:
man i’ve never even thought of this…lol
if you kick constantly in mauy thai class…heavy bags, pads…your shins get conditioned from that. my shins are much better from just doing it for over a year.
Never thought of conditioning them, I just kick with shin as hard as I can and thats it.[/quote]

I think you’re right on the money. I could go on for pages with all the stupid things I’ve seen people do over the years ( and yes done myself). From kicking telephonepoles…to kicking 2X4’s to rolling steel bars on the shins…man…those guys all have arthritis now…and bone spurs.

Pads and Bags are the way to go long term.

[quote]The1andOnly wrote:
Roll a rolling pin up and down your legs.[/quote]

I’ve heard this is very bad because it leads to bumps on your leg bones.
Also, if one does choose to do this, always roll it in the same direction, preferably towards the feet.

Half in agriance with big boss proper recovery is good, dead nerves & strong bones are not the same. Bones can almost be treated as muscle fibres, small microscopic breaks and compaction will thicken OVER TIME if uve been 2 a thai village (poorer 1s) youll C 1 of 2 things a heavy bag @ every door or a rope wrapped tree @ the back.

But for mma there is no reason to be fuckn up your leg that bad, your not going to CONSISTENTLY try and crack your leg over an opponents body…unless your fuckd up on coke and kickbox a tree…I was young and stupid go to hell all of ya!

Yes, Bag, pads and well mabey a rollin pin if your a pussy will do the trick yall gatto realize ya only get 1 body u fuck it up now and its with ya forever trust the 20 year old with 10% feelin left in his hands and arms that damn near fuckd up his 4 month old son with some boilin formula!

What the fuck?

Get one of those hard, glass Coke bottles and roll it (like a rolling pin) up and down your shins, increasing pressure and intensity over time. You might think I’m kidding, but I know a couple guys who did it and when I elbow their shins as hard as I can it doesn’t phase them. It hurts like a mofo at first, but it works man!

Dammit,why do you guys keep insisting on advising rolling pins and coke bottles??

If you’re training like you should,conditioning of the shins(and other limbs) will take care of itself. If it isn’t maybe that person should re-evaluate their training and/or your commitment. There are no shortcuts…especially when technique training is king. Train your technique…your shins get conditioned. Plain and simple.

Although,for MMA shin conditioning can be an issue…especially when it’s getting common for schools to lump in their striking with a mma class…and not having any dedicated striking arts classes/training. Not enough frequency to condition the shins with kicks. Still,bottles and pins are bad advice,imo. As its been pointed out numerous times already…yet people keep advising this.

HEY! A coke bottle is different than a rolling pin. It’s structure was made precisely for that purpose. It is kind of like an inside conspiracy, you know, like Wizard of Oz/Dark Side of the Moon. Cooky, I know, but just BELIEVE!

[quote]Big_Boss wrote:
Dammit,why do you guys keep insisting on advising rolling pins and coke bottles??

If you’re training like you should,conditioning of the shins(and other limbs) will take care of itself. If it isn’t maybe that person should re-evaluate their training and/or your commitment. There are no shortcuts…especially when technique training is king. Train your technique…your shins get conditioned. Plain and simple.

Although,for MMA shin conditioning can be an issue…especially when it’s getting common for schools to lump in their striking with a mma class…and not having any dedicated striking arts classes/training. Not enough frequency to condition the shins with kicks. Still,bottles and pins are bad advice,imo. As its been pointed out numerous times already…yet people keep advising this. [/quote]

I have to agree. People should be very, very careful how they approach these hardening techniques- you can do real damage to yourself if you do them wrong.

In Goju-ryu, we did makiwara training, and a kind of forearms training meant to toughen them. This was also the kind of place where they would have you get in a sanchin stance and break shit over you. These guys did it right. If you don’t, though, you’ll seriously fuck yourself up. And I wouldn’t be using coke bottles or rubbing pins- I’ve heard the same thing, that they don’t condition but do strange things to the bones.