Butt skipping is like a bizarre cousin of jumping rope – it involves bouncing up and down on your behind while twirling a rope underneath. The relatively lesser-known sport has gained prominence in south east Asia ever since a Japanese athlete took the world title in 2006. Now, Chinese gymnastics expert Yi Zhihua has set his heart on becoming the world champion.
20-year-old Zhihua wants to beat the world record of 166 butt skips in one minute and says he’s nearly accomplished the feat during training. “I’m up to 152 per minute – you have to get through the pain barrier but after that when your butt is numb you can really notch up the numbers,” he explained. “I am pretty certain I will have it cracked within the week and will start the New Year as the world champion.”
Zhihua, who is a junior-year student at Chongqing University, has been training for over two months now. He became interested in the sport after he watched a video of the record-holder’s performance in Hong Kong. So he decided to try it out himself, but the first experience resulted in two weeks of bruises and blisters on his backside.
“It still hurts as much these days but I seem to heal more quickly,” he revealed. “Now, if I get blistered, I apply medicine to it and it will form a scab the next day.” The skin on his butt is now tough as leather, his wounds heal faster and allow him to train harder.
Although he hasn’t broken the world record yet, Zhihua has already become a celebrity on Chinese social media. Reporters even visited his school to watch him jump 40 times in 18 seconds. He is all set to appear on a Jiangsu-based TV program in January, where he will be competing with another butt skipping enthusiast for the world championship.
via GB Times
