I saw something a few years ago, maybe on ripley's believe it or not or discovery channel or something. These guys (and girls) in some dojo were "trained" to feel no pain at all (or at least show no visible sign of being hurt) no matter what happened to them. They said it was a mind over matter thing. It showed an average looking guy take a straight punch (hard) directly to the throat. It didnt hurt him. He also took a shot (a VERY hard football kick at that) directly to the gonads. He showed no sign of flinching. He was then blindfolded, and took FOUR shots to the neck, simultaneously, from front, back, and both sides. Though he knew the blows would come, he had no way of knowing exactly when (blindfold does that to you). All the shots were full force, powerful punches from guys larger than him. Still, no flinching, and you could tell he felt no pain. He even smiled a bit. A lot of people can FORCE a smile when they get hurt, but you can always see it in their eyes if they are really hurt. This guy didnt feel a thing. You could tell. Does anyone know what Im going on about? It was a few years back, but I remember what I saw. I doubt it was some kind of hoax, and I dont know too many people who wouldnt go down after those attacks. In fact, I thought a hard blow to the spine at the base of the skull could be a killing blow. And certainly having your neck attacked from all four sides at once would really mess you up, I dont care who you are. Enlighten me.
I saw it and it was complete horse pucky! Total BS! The punches were at full extension before they made any contact. They stopped right at his neck... but it's not like he got punched full on in the trachea and just stood there smiling. And with good reason... it's be physically impossible. Anyone punched clean in the trachea with go down like a sack of doo-doo. I wouldn't look to Ripley's BS it or not to find killer technique.
Hi There are various people who do this I've seen it in Jiu Jitsu, Kung Fu and Okinawan Karate. Personally I prefer to get the heck out of the way - It's very debatable as to if this is a useful skill - it generally needs set-up time so in a self defence situation (someone jumps out and takes a swing at you) it probably won't work. Also call me old fashioned but I can think of lots of things I'd rather do than stand still and let people hit me... All the best. Robert.
Thats kinda what I thought. But wouldnt it still hurt like hell? And what about getting kicked in the crotch? ... maybe he had a cup on.
Hi It doesn't have to be a trick - in the fake circus stunt way. There are people who take physical conditioning to extremes and then there is the old Sumo (I believe) trick of pulling the testicles up into the body (You probably don't want to try this). All the best. Robert.
actually it's true to an extent Conditioning has to do with having the ability to take hits. Now don't get upset i'm not talking about a 2 X 4 or anything. But it is true that when you take hits your muscles bruise slightly and when rebuilt they get tougher (Like wieght training slightly tears the muscles and then the get bigger) One of these is called iron shirt. Now i'm not suggesting that it's possible to completely cut out all pain. But, conditioning does have its place and does work. Just be carful not to take it over board and hurt yourself. you have to slowly build up your muscle toughness. Same thing with bone. When you punch touch bags and things like that it causes slight shearing i the bone and extra calcium deposits start to form. This allows you to strike harder and longer. This actually happens in most forms of MA (Sometimes its not called conditioning) As you get higher up in the levels of training your ability to take more and harder hits increases as does your ability to strike harder and longer against tougher material. I am currently taking Kung Fu (Baugua Zuang and Sip Pal Gee) and we do conditioning. Taking hits in the abdomin, chest, neck, legs and back. I like the conditioning and find that it really does work I've done it before and am enjoying it again. Disclaimer I will note however that I am not a master at any of this. I am also not saying you should go punching walls or hitting yourself with 2X4's or anything crazy like that.
These kinds of things tricks or whatever you want to call them are something many CMA guys are big into. The whole breaking chopsticks against the throat, leaning on a spear with the throat etc. The more d3AD133 it looks the more likely you are to see it at a demo. Last I checked they'd still get cut clean in two by a sharp knife/sword or still be skewered like a shishkabob if someone applied the spear to them in a real combat situation. So in short... it's pretty much a parlor trick. Funny enough when I was in India there were essentially street circus performers who could do the exact same tricks... and they didn't chalk it up to qi gong or mystical Chinese training.
I wouldn't call it "total BS" but probably a good percentage. You can surely train yourself for pain management, being able to take shots...however there are some places that I really doubt can be trained, you get hit just right in the throat, your screwed, maybe dead. On the whole tho, the body can be conditioned to be able to take pain by just doing it.
I do a demo where I get someone a bit bigger and heavier than me (say 20-30 lbs) to cross his fingers (the fingers you cross when you cross your fingers for luck) and then push (PUSH NOT STRIKE) me in the throat - It triggers the gag reflex... I then get him to do it again and this time I start walking towards him and I push him backwards a couple of steps... Is it a trick? Yes, but it's a physiological and bio-mechanical trick that virtually anyone can do once they have been told how. THAT'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!!!!! It's sooooo easy to forget the difference between what looks good and is fun and what might actually work in a real situation. All the best. Robert.
Not exactly. The process is called 'ossification' and it works a bit differently than what you've posted. It's worth reposting the article below... it's a good jumping off point for discussion about toughening bone... That's fairly digestable and in laymans terms. Which makes it easier for me to read!
