October 19, 2006: Getting hit with a log festival
 

http://cellar.org/2006/wushu.jpg

"Participants perform during the second World Traditional Wushu Festival in Zhengzhou, China," says the official caption on this xoB/WaPo shot.

Wushu, which I had not heard of before, is a sport in China, according to its Wikipedia entry. Getting hit in the abs with a telephone pole does not appear to be one of the major events though, so perhaps this is only an exhibition for the festival.

I guess the lawyers made them cancel the "Getting hit in the face with an ax festival"

Why does this look like the winning entry from "China People's Most Very Humorous Videos" program to me?

Maybe it's a team building exercise...hope it doesn't catch on with corporate Anycountry. :unsure:

That rings a bell. Chinese, I think. Any translations??? Billy?

Talk about getting owned...that tree took that guy out.

Yeah that's also from China ... the newscaster is saying, "You have to be well prepared for this activity ... two seconds and it's over."

Wushu: more commonly known as gong fu or kung fu, although those terms tend to encompass more within martial arts.

BN, did you think that was for real or just a put on? I like the polite applause at the end.

http://www.neatorama.com/images/2006...kicks-monk.jpg

From Cellar's archive: http://cellar.org/iotd.php?threadid=5410

You know, I really can't tell. I think the video looks a little fake - the guy seems to "disappear" right as the tree is falling on him. If that were me, I would have just called for a stunt double.

The log in the gut exercise is an ancient kung fu training method. A log was suspended from each end such that you could swing it parallel to the ground. The point was to swing it then stand in front of it allowing it to strike the abdomen. This exercise was combined with specific breathing techniques and practiced several times a week for years.

You can imagine the results.

OK, I gotta say it, then everyone can boo and hiss me:

Why are SO MANY of the pics of people doing weird (read: stupid) things pictures of Asians? There are exceptions, but there are way more from asian countries than other countries.

Hey I'm not gonna say anything ... asians are fucking weird people.

For the record, most of that weird shit goes on in China. We here in Taiwan live a more civilized lifestyle.