Martial Arts Tricks

[mrhnau]

I am reading "Essence of Ninjutsu", but Masaaki Hatsumi. In one section, he discusses and debunks a few martial arts tricks. Some of the examples discussed included standing on a sword, piercing the skin w/ a needle, things along those lines...

I was just curious... have you ever seen demonstrations of martial arts tricks that are simply explained but at first glance look fantastic/awe-inspiring? How many people, percentage wise, do you think were deceived? Ever seen "Tricks" that you can't yet explain or think are true?

 

[Steel Tiger]

I am reading "Essence of Ninjutsu", but Masaaki Hatsumi. In one section, he discusses and debunks a few martial arts tricks. Some of the examples discussed included standing on a sword, piercing the skin w/ a needle, things along those lines...

I was just curious... have you ever seen demonstrations of martial arts tricks that are simply explained but at first glance look fantastic/awe-inspiring? How many people, percentage wise, do you think were deceived? Ever seen "Tricks" that you can't yet explain or think are true?

I have seen the old "spear in the neck trick" which relies on the spear bending and taking the pressure off the point.

My teacher was in China and saw a man demonstrating levitating. He said this man was sitting on a large scale and through concentration was able to get the indicated weight to drop by a few grams. Its not much but its impressive. My teacher never could figure out how he did it.

I have seen plenty of footage from the Philippines of guys being whacked in the stomach with razor sharp parangs and machetes and coming away without any marks. Interesting.

 

[ChingChuan]

I don't have seen 'real' tricks yet, but I was very impressed when my teacher demonstrated a kind of punch that would make someone stagger backwards with little effort. I'd always thought that it had to do with chi and stuff but it's all about the plexus solaris .

 

[Catalyst]

I don't know if this is the type of thing you're looking for, but I came across this a while back.

It's a series of videos of some Chinese Monks performing some Martial Arts feats, followed by an explanation by a University Physics Professor as to the Science involved.

http://www.exn.ca/Stories/2003/06/09/51.asp

I've never seen any kind of feats, like these, personally.

Hope this helps.

 

[CuongNhuka]

Only "trick" I've seen is breaking 16" of wood in one shot. Explained away by spacers.