Zhang Longxiang, from Luong Son district, Shandong province, is the 17th-generation inheritor of the Long Ho school's iron sand palm technique. This traditional martial art, part of the 72 ultimate techniques of the Shaolin Temple, focuses on hardening the hands to increase striking power.

After 20 years of training, Zhang's right hand has reached a thickness of 8 cm, double the size of an average person's hand. The back, palm, and finger joints are covered in calluses.

Although passionate about martial arts since childhood, it wasn't until 1998, while working as a security guard in a company in Shandong, that Zhang met martial arts master Yang Xinchuan. Impressed by the master's hands, he requested to become a student. He spent 7 years as an apprentice and 8 years as an official disciple.

Zhang Longxiang's right hand is many times thicker than an average person's after 20 years of iron sand palm training. *Sina*

The training method combines hard qigong with striking hard materials, helping martial arts practitioners increase bone density and pain tolerance. Each day, Zhang dedicates two to three hours to repeatedly striking and chopping steel-pellet-filled sandbags. Each movement is repeated 1,000 times, gradually increasing the total daily repetitions to thousands. Harsh winters often cause cracked skin on his hands. During injuries, practitioners apply traditional medicated wine to protect the skin, improve circulation, disperse bruises, and stimulate muscle growth.

"I strike the sandbag 6,000 times daily, but I never dip my hands into hot sand pans as depicted in movies", Zhang stated.

His training has given Zhang the strength to shatter multiple bricks and drive iron nails into wooden boards with his bare hands. He won national martial arts competitions for 5 consecutive years, from 2006 to 2010.

In 7/2017, at the first Shaolin Temple Wu Jia Congress selection competition for the 72 ultimate techniques, Zhang used one hand to break 8 bricks, surpassing his previous record of 6 bricks and outperforming 40 opponents. In his first year of martial arts training, he could only break 3 bricks.

Martial arts master Zhang Longxiang, from Luong Son district, Shandong province, is the 17th-generation inheritor of the Long Ho school's iron sand palm technique. *Sina*

Chinese traditional martial arts circles consider Zhang among the influential masters of iron sand palm. His passion has kept him dedicated to martial arts for over 20 years. "Iron sand palm trains the internal qi flow and the external sinews and skin," the 17th-generation inheritor explained.

Currently, Zhang teaches iron sand palm to his disciples. He recounts always reminding his students of Master Yang Xinchuan's teachings on martial ethics: Do not use strength to bully others; practice martial arts for self-improvement and to preserve traditional culture.

Minh Phuong (According to Chinadaily, Odditycentral)