Don't hit with your meat?

[joeuser42]

I just started MT training 2 weeks ago and have a question about the thai roundhouse. When kicking the heavy bag sometimes I hit flush with my shin bone and have no pain. Other times if I turn my hip over a bit more, I make a lot of contact with the muscle that runs along my shin bone and have some pain and bruising. I've read shin condtioning takes time and you just have to deal with the pain. I have no problem with that, but I just want to make sure I'm not doing it wrong.

I asked my instructor if I was supposed to hit with the bone or the meat that runs along the shin. He said, "don't hit with your meat but we'll worry about that later. Just work on form now".

Is the muscle that runs along the shin the part that needs conditioning?

[Khun Kao]

You are supposed to strike with the shinbone, not the shin muscle. The bone is what needs conditioning, and the flesh covering it. As you kick the bag, the body will recognize that the shinbone and surrounding tissue is under stress. Your body will then start growing the bone to be thicker, more dense, and the skin will thicken and toughen up as well. You will raise your pain threshold, too.