Zhang Sixuan, a 9-year-old girl from China’s Henan province, bested some of the world’s most elite kung fu masters to earn the title of “Shaolin Kung Fu Star” at this year’s World Shaolin Games.

There are millions of Shaolin Kung fu practitioners around the world, and every year tens of thousands of them compete for a chance to be invited to participate in the World Shaolin Games Finals. This year, an international cast of 124 kung fu practitioners was invited to show off their skills at a Shaolin temple in central China’s Henan Province, in front of respected kung fu masters and an audience of kung fu enthusiasts. Among them was a 9-year-old girl whose incredible flexibility and mastery of tong zi gong (a form of Shaolin kung fu) stunned both the judges and the crowd, earning her the coveted title of Shaolin Kung Fu Star.

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A Chinese woman is asking 40,000 yuan ($5,500) from a work colleague and accusing them of slapping her on the back using a kung fu technique that left her unable to work for 12 months.

The woman, surnamed Zheng, recently told a television network in her native city of Hangzhou, China’s Zhejiang province, that she was working as a security guard at a metro station in the city last summer when a colleague ruined her life with a simple slap on the back. She was allegedly napping with her head on a desk during an afternoon break when a male colleague named Lu slapped her on the back to wake her up. Zheng recalls that she felt a sensation she could only compare to an electric shock before feeling her arms and neck go numb. She claims that a photo taken by another coworker clearly showed the mark of five fingers on her back. One thing is for sure, though, Zheng could not work for a year after the incident and now she feels like Lu owes her financial compensation.

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A 65-year-old kung fu master is practicing an ancient technique known as “iron crotch”, which involves ramming a large wooden pole into his crotch to build-up the resistance of his private parts.

Wang Liutai is the curator of the Martial Arts Museum in Juntun Village, a small settlement on the outskirts of Luoyang, one of the four ancient capitals of China. He is also a kung fu master, but not the kind you’re used to seeing in old martial arts movies; Liutai specializes in a rare technique specific to Juntun known as “iron crotch”. It involves swinging a 2-meter-long, 40-kg-heavy wooden log with a steel plate cap straight into his crotch, while using qigong breathing techniques to steel himself.

A father-of-two, Wang has been practicing iron crotch for half a century and claims that if done correctly, the kung fu technique does not hurt and does not affect fertility. The technique is just one of many devised in Juntun to help practitioners resist pressure, pain or hits to various sensitive areas. Other similar techniques involve iron throat, iron head, iron chest, and iron back, but iron crotch is definitely the rarest, with just 5 practitioners still around in the village.

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A unique tourist attraction in southeastern China’s Fujian province lets wuxia fans fulfill their dream of experiencing the flying techniques of the kung-fu masters they used to watch on TV growing up.

If you’re a fan of popular wuxia films like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” or “House of Flying Daggers”, you’ve probably fantasized or even tried reenacting scenes where protagonists soared through the air or battled their rivals while defying gravity. Not the easiest thing to do without the right props, but luckily there is now a place where you can reproduce all your favorite kung-fu movie techniques to a stunning backdrop of traditional Chinese architecture and waterfalls.

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For centuries, Buddhist nuns have been banned from practicing the deadly martial art of kung fu, but a few years ago the Druk Amitabha Mountain nunnery in Nepal became the home of the world’s first first order of kung fu nuns.

Traditionally, the inherently patriarchal Buddhist monastic system has nuns performing only the most meanial of domestic tasks, while the monks can lead prayers and occupy powerful positions. Nuns are perceived as inferior to monks and usually spend their time working in the kitchens and gardens of Buddhist monasteries. Learning ancient martial arts is definitely off limits for them, so how did the nuns of Druk Amitabha Mountain nunnery come to practice kung fu up to two hours every day?

Roughly 26 years ago, members of the of the 800-year-old Drukpa order rebelled and formed the Druk Amitabha Mountain nunnery, a place where women are treated with the same respect as men. “When I was very small, I was already thinking that it was not right to suppress women in our society,” His Holiness The Gyalwang Drukpa, leader of the Buddhist sect, says. “But then when I grew up, I started to think what can I do for them? Then I thought what I can do is to build a nunnery and then give them an opportunity to study and practice spiritually.”

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Who needs a boat when you’ve got incredible core strength and balance? Two simple bamboo poles will do if you’re anything like this 51-year-old Chinese man who is able to cross a large river standing on one pole and rowing with the other!

A video of Fang Shuyun’s unique commute has recently gone viral on Chinese social media and millions were left baffled by the ease with which the middle-aged man navigates the waters of Fuchun River, sailing smoothly and swiftly on a 23-foot bamboo cane. He was reportedly traveling at a speed of 100 to 164 feet per minute.

Fang, a native of Hangzhou city, first tried out the feat one night in 2014 after he missed the last boat ride home from work. He spotted a bamboo pole floating in the river and decided to use it to get to the other side. He failed in that first attempt, but came away with the feeling that he could complete the ride if he worked on his sense of balance. So Fang spent the past two years practicing, and it appears that he has finally managed to master the skill. “The leg you put forward carries the center of the body weight so you should use it to step on the bamboo pole evenly,” he explained, speaking to local media. “Then you use the big toe of your other leg to stop the stick from rolling in water. As long as you achieve a balance and stop the bamboo from turning, it’s possible to cross a river on a single bamboo pole given you’re fit enough.”

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Ganxi Dong, a small village hidden deep in the mountains of Tianzhu in central China, is gaining worldwide attention for its unusually skilled residents. Apparently, everyone who lives in the self-sustaining village is a martial arts expert!

The Dong people, one of the 56 recognised ethnic minorities in China, pride themselves for having shunned the outside world in favor of local tradition. Apart from farming, every villager is well-versed in the art of kung fu, each one pursuing a different style of the ancient Chinese martial arts. They use a range of weapons including sticks, pitchforks, and their own fists.

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Chinese martial arts expert Li Liangbin probably has the strongest neck muscles in the world. They are so strong that he can actually support himself and even breathe while hanging from a noose!

The 49-year-old from Lizhuang village, China’s Shandong province, said that he’s been practicing kung fu since he was a young boy. “Although I am now a kung fu master, I’m always looking for new challenges and new ways to discipline my body,” he revealed.

“Kung fu is my life and it’s important to have a challenge. Everyone knows about kung fu masters that can chop up concrete blocks or leap off tall buildings, but surviving a hanging is something new.” So he decided to toughen his neck muscles to such an extent that he would be able to survive even after being hung from a tree.

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Kung fu master Ho Eng Hui doesn’t need any fancy weapons, because nature has given him a pretty awesome one – his index finger. His incredibly powerful finger can pierce coconut shells, releasing a burst of sweet water from inside. He proudly declares: “This finger of mine actually helps me raise my family.”

Ho has been performing his amazing ‘finger feats’ twice a week at a special spot on Jonker Street, in the Malaysian State of Malacca. The government assigned him this spot in the year 2000, and he has been entertaining tourists and locals alike, ever since. Every Friday and Saturday, he travels to the spot from his home in Johor Baru city, to perform between 8 and 9 pm. Prior to his gig at Jonker Street, between the years 1991 and 1995, he performed at Bugis Street in Singapore.

Over the years Ho has been setting records and breaking them himself. On Feb 2, 2001, he made it to the Malaysia Book of Records, by piercing three coconuts in 1 minute and 10 seconds. In June 2009, he pierced four coconuts in 30.81 seconds – a feat that earned him a Guinness World Record. And in 2011, he broke his own record by piercing four coconuts in 12.15 seconds flat. Ho is mentioned as one of the highlights of the Jonker Walk Night Market, in the Lonely Planet guide.

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Remember those awesome action sequences from the movies like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, where kung fu masters would float through the air, skim on water and do battle through tall bamboo trees? A Chinese resort is now giving martial arts enthusiast the chance to perform these impossible feats themselves with the help of special effects equipment used on the big screen.

A martial arts theme-park in Kunming, China, has invested around $800,000 in high-tech special effects equipment that gives kung fu fans the chance to perform the impossible stunts of their favorite movie icons. From skywalking to skimming on water, anything is possible at the Wild Duck Lake Resort, thanks to a computer-controlled wire system almost identical to the ones used in blockbuster films. This is apparently the first time people outside the movie business get the chance to live their dreams of becoming legendary kung fu masters, even if it’s just for a few minutes. According to a theme-park spokesman, the computer controls how fast and how far visitors travel on the water and through the air, once they are connected to the wires. So all they have to do is strike a nice pose as their friends and family take photos. Fees for the realistic martial arts experience start as low as $15, so if you’ve always fantasized about starring in your own kung fu flick, this is one chance you don’t want to miss.

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Zhang Feng, a 23-year-old man from Zhengzhou, China, has apparently mastered a unique kung-fu technique he calls “Shaolin Sunshine Hand”, which allows him to generate enough energy with his fists to put out candles up to three meters away. This you gotta see!

Remember those cheesy Chinese kung-fu films we all used to watch during the 80s and 90s? I used to love seeing kung-fu masters blowing stuff and enemies away with their punches, but I kind of always knew it was just theatrics. After looking at this video that recently went viral in China, showing a nerdy dude throwing punches at a row of 15 candles and extinguishing them with air or energy generated by his flying fists, I’m not so sure anymore. I know, you’re convinced it’s a fake, and you’re not the only one, but the guy actually invited a couple of reporters from the Zhengzhou Evening News newspaper into his home to try the feat themselves and then film him doing it. The two journalists gave it their best shot, but were only able to put out one of the 15 candles set 10 cm apart, and even blowing air didn’t kill all the flames. Zhang Feng, on the other hand, put them all out just by throwing punches. Needless to say the reporters were in awe and couldn’t explain how he did it. If they were in on the trick, shame on them, but maybe there is something to this uncanny Shaolin master.

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When you’re a deadly martial arts expert, traditional dating just doesn’t cut it, so you have to take special measures to find your soul mate. In the case of sisters Xiao Lin (22) and Xiao Yin (21) we’re talking about a martial arts tournament for suitors.

The two young sisters, from Foushan, East China, said they’ve tried dating agencies, but the men they met were too weak, and they could easily beat them. Since they want their special half to be stronger than them, they decided to bring back an ancient tradition called Bi Wu Zhao Qin – a tournament in which the warrior princesses of old found their men.

The three-day tournament will take place in their home town, and will have challengers compete in an archery event, carry weights over sharp bamboo spears, and finally, beat one of the sisters in full contact combat. I take it this isn’t a challenge for gentlemen…

The two kung fu sisters will give their opponent the chance to choose between open hand combat and any weapon, but they warn everyone that they won’t be holding back: “If they can’t beat us they aren’t worthy”, said Xiao Lin. Only after they’ve beaten one of the sisters can the suitors take off their masks to see the face of the one they’re going to marry.

A combat tournament for a girl’s hand in marriage sounds pretty honorable, even fairytale-like, but in this modern day, I doubt too many suitors will go through these challenges for a girl whose face they can’t even see.

via Metro.co.uk

Shi Liliang, a monk from the Southern Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou, has performed the popular kung-fu walk on water.

If you’re a fan of old Chinese kung-fu movies (I know I am), than you must have seen the kung-fu flight on water at least once. A kung-fu master would cross vast stretches of water by making long leaps and barely touching the surface of the water with the tip of their feet. It seemed impossible, and it actually is, but that didn’t stop a Shaolin monk from trying it in real life.

Shi Liliang has been practicing his flight on water for years, and last year he even set a record for the longest walk on water. Using a number of thin planks, loosely tied together, Shi Liliang beat his own record and moved 28.7 meters by quickly running on his toes. Unlike what you see in the movies, he eventually ended up in the water.

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