I know I have touched on this subject before but I love it. People that are like me grew up feeling like Martial Arts Movies weren’t exactly real, but the Martial Artists in them were something more than human. They did amazing things. It had me constantly trying to do the things they did. I started taking Martial Arts at a young age just to build my skillset, but I also secretly wanted those super powers that the guys in the movies seemed to really have. I couldn’t imagine Bruce Lee losing a fight to anyone because of how readily he handled a whole dojo full of black belts then beat up their master like he was a 3-year-old. I researched Martial Artists who have unexplained abilities and will try to see whether they are fact or fiction. There are a whole bunch but for the sake of this blog, I will probably use a few. If it is interesting enough, I’ll continue it into next week.
Ho Eng Hui has “hand of stone,” the ability to harden his hands (and fingers) to break boards, bricks, or anything else you might put in front of him. He is Malaysian and has taken this discipline to a whole new level. He focused his weapon into the index finger on his right hand and is so good with it that Hui can pop a hole through a coconut with it. Have you ever tried to crack open a wild coconut? Hui can do it with a single finger. So, is this magic? I heard through further research that you can bring him a coconut and he will pop through it. He does charge a fee which is honorable in my opinion.
My opinion on this one is that it is completely legit and he is not super human, but super practiced.
I think this one can be taught and perfected by anyone with the fortitude and practice to get there. He can probably pop a hole in someone’s head or sternum if he had the chance. They should put him on that show where they test weapons of certain martial arts and see exactly how much damage they do. I’m curious. I’ll keep researching this guy to satisfy my own cravings for knowledge.
I’ve actually seen this one done as a serious skill as well as a huge pool of jokes about Martial Arts. A gentleman by the name of Zhou Chengli can take a direct shot to the, well, testicles without being phased one bit. Mr. “balls of steel,” Zhou Chengli’s is a 70-year-old retiree has been practicing Martiial Arts his entire life which he claims has left his groin virtually immune to pain.
Known as the Tie Dang Gong, this technique was advertised to make users completely unbeatable on the field of battle by toughening up a man’s most vulnerable point.
Chengli takes to the streets to practice his skills in public, battering his poor gonads with hammers and bricks to inspire other people to follow his path in pain ignorance. I’m good with this one. I don’t know how this is medically possible. You see, actually, medically it is possible but he has to have ruptured both testicle a very long time ago. That type of injury requires surgery. I don’t want to see it, but I’d be interested in hearing from a doctor that inspected his man-parts and gave a synopsis of what is going on down there. This one doesn’t seem like magic, just years of ignoring pain and probably long-term damage to his genitalia.
Kanazawa is the Crocodile Dundee of Japan. Now, I may have just dated myself on Crocodile Dundee but if you don’t know who he is, he is an Australian Crocodile Hunter that had the power to put large animals to sleep just by staring at them and making a weird humming sound. Oh, I forgot to mention, it was a movie so it isn’t real. Or did the writer of the movie see Kanazawa in action and was inspired to add this ability to Crocodile Dundee’s arsenal? Chicken or the egg… Kanazawa claims that he can focus his internal energy to make animals fall asleep. It’s a strange boast, but there’s quite a lot of footage out there of him applying his trade to great effect. He claims to “exchange energy” with the animals, lending his inner peace to their wild souls to make them drowsy. Kanazawa has been observed doing his technique on ostriches, buffalo, cows, and even elephants. He’s also capable of inducing speedy healing in animals under his influence. Is this one real? Does it work on any animal? Is he confident enough to try this with a live wild lion? This one seems kind of weird. I want to research and see if he knows these animals personally and if he is some type of animal trainer. Animals can be trained to bring in the mail, so “playing dead” is not a stretch. Research on this one to determine. He does claim it is through his Martial Arts that he can do this, so hopefully if it doesn’t work on a crazy animal, he can defend himself.