For Gerry, "The EYE-talian Rapscallion": Conditioning

     You see what you get, Silat-Boy? You see what you get when you mess with the Orphans? Uh, I mean, "When you post photos of your equipment on Facebook?" (I'll refrain from offering to "rain" on you, as I'm fairly certain that you could kick my ass without breaking a sweat.) 

     In all seriousness, this is as fancy as I get.
     The bag is canvas, filled with navy beans. I made it myself, but at the time, I wasn't skilled enough at sewing to add certain features I'd now like to have. When the beans are reduced to powder, I'll add pintos and so forth, until I work my way up to steel ball-bearings. It's good for conditioning all surfaces of the hand, and the elbows, as well.
      I'm already using the carbon steel bar for shin- and forearm conditioning, rolling-pin-style, as well as for light impact against the forearms. Some time ago, I read an article in which Pan Qing Fu opined that steel was better than other materials for conditioning, and given his decades of experience, I'll assume that he knew what he was talking about.
      The other items are insurance against overzealousness. Well, the jow (same formula Baron von Grouchenstein sent me ten or so years ago -- it's probably better for me than the absinthe, but I was equally happy to receive it) is something I use every day, before and after, but the tieh ta wan and zheng gu shui are for the occasional, serious fuck-up. (Call me a superstitious, Irish peasant, but I've found that qigong likewise augments the training regimen very nicely.)