[Boxing] Is it possible to raise your pain threshold ?

Wasn't sure where to post this question so thought i would post it here. Is there anyway that a person could raise their pain threshold?

I would imagine the same way everyone builds a tolerance to everything else. Doing it repeatedly/ a lot. So you'll probably have to stab yourself a few times.

I don't think you can alter the body's pain threshold but control how you perceive it

Practitioners of yoga go through perception alteration of pain, they still feel it, but perceive it differently. A mind over matter thing

Yes. Pain is in the mind. I liken this to drinking. I used to drink only mixers because when ever i had spirits I would gag, now i am shotting away like a mad alcoholic cause that gag reflex was all in my mind. Once I had beaten it down I wasnt bothered by it anymore. Pain is similar, in that if you really concentrate for long enough over a period of time stuff that previously hurt like hitting a table really hard or breaking bits of wood and juck with you hands doesnt hurt anymore. Of course if you drink then try do it it doesnt hurt no more either so i do that cause its easier.

im sure there was a point in there somewhere, if you find it let me know!

also you can numb the nerves so the pain receptors don't register.

Not endorsing, just informing.

Pain is a nervous system reaction. The brain processes the signals sent from the area that is damaged and you perceive it as pain. When very badly injured the body can release various hormones and endorphins which mask the pain so you can continue to function during the injury to protect yourself or help yourself.

If the body repeatedly gets injured in a particular area it will work to stop both the pain response and to strengthen that area to the type of damage you are doing. Muscle building is one such response. When you start training from the typical couch potato you get DOMS - this is the body saying - hey you damaged your muscles doing that - stop it. The body also rebuilds the damaged muscle tissue and reinforces it reducing the possibility of the same severity of damage the next time you train with the same weight/intensity. If you continue to train through the DOMS eventually you feel less pain after training.

Its the same for damaging the skin - scars form which are harder to damage, and you will eventually feel less pain if you damage the skin.

So yes its quite easy to raise your pain threshold - by damaging the body repeatedly and training through some of the pain you will feel less pain for the same damage. Kickboxers do extreme things so they don't feel as much pain when they kick each others legs etc. So set a goal and work towards it slowly.

I do Goju Ryu Karate and we do several conditioning exercises that I don't think raise your pain threshold, but teach you what you body can and cant take - or what pain you can ignore and what pain you need to pay attention to and stop training.

Some of the exercises include performing a regular block with your partner facing you and blocking in the opposite direction, so your forarms clash. If you do it hard and repeatedly it bruises, but after several sessions you will find you can take more punishment to the blocking part of your arm for longer and with greater impact.

Another example is both of you doing low kicks into shins or thighs. Don't do it fast with the intent to hurt your partner of course, but make sure it lands with a thud.

Basically keep up with training, doing exercises like these and hitting punching bags etc. This will not only build up muscle and an impact tolerance, but I have read that over time (a long time) it also encourages the body to increase bone density. This is why martial artists can break bricks, and rugby players can take tackles that would seriously injure a normal person.

The key, as with everything else fitness related, is to keep on training, and eventually the body will respond to the additional weight you are asking it to push, or the greater impacts you are asking it to take.

jmheal said:

I do Goju Ryu Karate and we do several conditioning exercises that I don't think raise your pain threshold, but teach you what you body can and cant take - or what pain you can ignore and what pain you need to pay attention to and stop training.

Some of the exercises include performing a regular block with your partner facing you and blocking in the opposite direction, so your forarms clash. If you do it hard and repeatedly it bruises, but after several sessions you will find you can take more punishment to the blocking part of your arm for longer and with greater impact.

Another example is both of you doing low kicks into shins or thighs. Don't do it fast with the intent to hurt your partner of course, but make sure it lands with a thud.

Basically keep up with training, doing exercises like these and hitting punching bags etc. This will not only build up muscle and an impact tolerance, but I have read that over time (a long time) it also encourages the body to increase bone density. This is why martial artists can break bricks, and rugby players can take tackles that would seriously injure a normal person.

The key, as with everything else fitness related, is to keep on training, and eventually the body will respond to the additional weight you are asking it to push, or the greater impacts you are asking it to take.

Click to expand...

What state do you do Goju in? I did it for a couple of months i wish i never stoped but work got to crazy.

jmheal said:

I do Goju Ryu Karate and we do several conditioning exercises that I don't think raise your pain threshold, but teach you what you body can and cant take - or what pain you can ignore and what pain you need to pay attention to and stop training.

Some of the exercises include performing a regular block with your partner facing you and blocking in the opposite direction, so your forarms clash. If you do it hard and repeatedly it bruises, but after several sessions you will find you can take more punishment to the blocking part of your arm for longer and with greater impact.

Another example is both of you doing low kicks into shins or thighs. Don't do it fast with the intent to hurt your partner of course, but make sure it lands with a thud.

Basically keep up with training, doing exercises like these and hitting punching bags etc. This will not only build up muscle and an impact tolerance, but I have read that over time (a long time) it also encourages the body to increase bone density. This is why martial artists can break bricks, and rugby players can take tackles that would seriously injure a normal person.

Click to expand...

We do similar exercises in Kyokushin. Do you study Okinawan Goju Ryu or the Japanese Goju Kai?
Also back onto pain threshold, the situation will make a difference - especially when adrenaline is released due to combat stress in reletion to fighting/competing/hard sparring. For example Ive seen guys get hit in the ribs and drop in training, while competing though they've had their ribs broken and still stood and not complained of pain until the nest day.

Adrenaline just makes me shake and takes my strength.