Training Equipment

I am sometimes amazed and the innovations I come across sometimes regarding equipment to develop and build strength, endurance, fitness and health. Today, reading an article Kowakan blog I noticed a piece of training equipment that caught my attention, the "New Grip Dumb Bell" by Eugene Sandow, i.e. a early strength body building type from late 1800's. (http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/S/Dumbbells/dumbbells.htm)

Read Kowakan's post here:

It was one of those "ah-ha" moments when the article mentioned that the dumb bells were used while performing sanchin. I said to myself (I don't really talk to myself - often ;-) this is an excellent idea, why didn't I think of this.

Since the equipment is not available, at least not commercially unless you consider the exorbitant costs on eBay commercially available, I thought that other hand strengthening equipment could do the same with solid results. I was thinking of the putty/rubber like materials where you could have resistance while gripping without releasing, etc.

The one I use for hand strength is similar to this one on Amazon:

I figure, and I am going to start trying it out today, if you squeeze it hard then perform sanchin it will work. I also do sanchin in an alternating dynamic tension model so would also squeeze with body tension then release the hand device when relaxing into a positive relaxed state then back to dynamic tensioning, etc.

It might be the best way to begin and after some time to be conditioned you could then perform dynamic tension in the kata from start to finish while holding tension on the gripper the entire time. I suspect this would initially be grueling on the hands and forearms. I will make an addendum post to this one as I try it out and use it as a means of hand strengthening.