Shaolin monks hone their kung fu skills in the courtyard of the Shaolin Monastery. Murals in the White Hall of the Shaolin Temple.

Authentic Shaolin Heritage: Training Methods of Shaolin Monks

72 Arts of Shaolin: (4) Pulling out Nails

BO DING GONG 

Pulling out Nails | Brief Description 

Excerpt from the book: Jin Jing Zhong. Authentic Shaolin Heritage: Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin >

The Shaolin exercise "Pulling out Nails" belongs to hard external training, it is the hard YANG force. It is one of the Shaolin exercises which develop skill of hands, the locking force of thumb, forefinger and middle finger...

A full description of the training procedure is available in the book: Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin >

...If you are able to pull out nails with your hand, your skill has reached the highest point. It is a difficult exercise at the first stage, the skin bursts, blisters bleed, that's why it is necessary to wash hands with warm solution of lake salt with other ingredients after you finish doing the exercise. One may pull out 1000 nails at the last stage. In a fight you can make locks with three fingers for vulnerable spots (according to acupoints and channels) and heavily injure your enemy.

72 Arts of Shaolin: (4) Pulling out Nails

72 ARTS OF SHAOLIN | Brief Descriptions

(1) Diamond Finger - (2) Twin Lock - (3) Striking with Foot  (4) Pulling out Nails - (5) Ringing Round a Tree - (6 ) Four-Part Exercise - (7) One Finger of Chan Meditation - (8) Iron Head - (9) Iron Shirt - (10) A Series of Blows - (11) Sweeping with an Iron Broom - (12) Hand - a Bamboo Leaf (13) Jumping Centipede - (14) Raising a Weight of 1000 JINs - (15) Celestial’s Palm - (16) Method of Hardness and Softness - (17) Cinnabar Palm - (18) Lying Tiger - (19) Swimming and Diving Skill - (20) Sluice Shutter weighing 1000 JINs - (21) Covering with a Gold Bell - (22) Finger Lock - (23) Luohan’s Exercise - (24) Lizard Climbs the Wall - (25) The Art of Lash - (26) PIPA - (27) The Pole of a Falling Star - (28) Poles of Plum Bloom - (29) The Art of Stone Padlock - (30) Skill of the Iron Arm - (31) Fist like a Bullet - (32) Soft Bones - (33) Frog - (34) Piercing the Curtain - (35) The Force of Eagle’s Claws - (36) Iron Bull - (37) Skill of Eagle Wings - (38) Hand of Sun Rays - (39) Exercise for Groin - (40) Iron Bag - (41) Method that Reveals the Truth - (42) Skill of Tortoise Back - (43) Skill of Deft Jumps - (44) Skill of Light Body - (45) Iron Knees - (46) Technique of Jumps - (47) Palm of Iron Sand - (48) Pulling a Silk Thread - (49) Method of drawing in YIN - (50) Rubbing and Thrusts - (51) Stone Pile - (52) Neither Lances nor Broadswords Can Wound - (53) Gong Fu Flight - (54) Hand of Five Poisons - (55) Skill of Water Separation - (56) To Fly Up to the Ridge and to Walk on a Wall - (57) Skill of Somersaulting - (58) Pole of Cypress - (59) Ba Wang’s Elbow - (60) Pinching a Flower - (61) Pushing a Mountain with Palm - (62) Technique of Horse Saddle - (63) Skill of Nephrite Belt - (64) YIN Fist Method - (65) Skill of Sand Bags - (66) Piercing Through Stones - (67) Pulling Out a Mountain - (68) Claws of Mantis - (69) Gong Fu Bag - (70) Palm of Guan Yin - (71) Raising a Pot - (72) Rubbing Palms