Not Ju-Jitsu But Very Impressive!

Looks far more like kung fu than ju-jitsu

This 84-year-old Chinese man, named Zeng Guorong, recently performed some calisthenics that could leave anyone, even most folks in their teens or younger, green with envy. Simply fantastic. Not sure how he got the term "jujitsu master" attached to him though.

The pictures, each and everyone extremely impressive leaves no traces of the art of ju-jitsu as I know it after nearly 40 years of training it. They do however leave me thinking of kung fu or tai chi poses.

I'm pretty sure it all stems from the fact that the term ju jitsu, written with Japanese/Chinese characters basically means something along the line of soft, pliable, gentle, flexible ('ju') and art ('jitsu/jutsu'). It would indicate then that this esteemed gentleman is a master in his fitness art of being flexible - which he obviously is :-)

One extremely fit 84-year-old! - Image from peopledaily.com.cn

Martial Arts Themed Restaurant

What can be better than having a nice meal and at the same time having a good martial arts fight (or watching one)? Well, I suppose the fighting isn't quite there yet...

Any how, I guess we have to settle with a little less ... but something still cool, a martial arts themed restaurant in China no less. And being located in China, we are talking about a kung fu theme of course.

I really do wonder if they tech you to do some weird kung fu tricks with the chop sticks though... Catching flies and stuff? Would be a nice thing to know :-)

Torturer, Martial Arts Maniac

Illustration - From Flickr.com

Well, at least we've got another addition to the ever expanding Martial Arts Maniacs chronicle..

And this fellow, who's running a juvenile boot camp in China, is apparently a real nutter.

The former criminal used to run a martial arts school, and he was not exactly your regular Mr Nice or a guiding star of infinite wisdom and compassion there either, judging from the reports:

The founder of a boot camp for juveniles with behavior problems has been arrested for torturing and raping students despite charging them an annual fee of 50,000 yuan (US$7,940).
Teng Xiaohu, who runs the boot camp in Pujiang County, eastern Zhejiang Province to help youngsters get rid of Internet addiction and develop interest in study, allegedly forced three girls to offer him massage by turns every night and sexually assaulted them, local media reported.
Teng was jailed several years ago for a fight in a martial arts school and he threatened his students not to disclose his criminal past to their parents, the paper said.

Dear, oh dear, there are some really wicked individuals out there...

No Kung Fu for You!

No, it is not the "Soup-Nazi" speaking, just a father of a young Chinese boy realizing that it was probably not a master plan after all to send his son. Chinadaily.com.cn reports about the incident:

A 12-year-old boy sent by his father to learn martial arts at a Buddhist temple ran to police for help after a few days when he found the monks there to be in poor condition.
The boy, surnamed Lu, from Chenjiafang village in Shaoyang, Hunan province, said his father took him to the temple in nearby Yueyang on Jan 23 claiming he could become a kungfu master. Instead, Lu found the temple shabby and that the monks in ragged clothes were incapable of teaching anything.

Kung fu monastery - from Wikipedia.org

It may appear to the casual observer that a lot of places are trying to "cash in" on the current kung fu craze. Parents should as always do some preliminary checks before sending their kids to any martial arts school or institution! Agree?

Feel free to add your comments and experience into the matter.

"Wheel" Kung Fu

The above picture, from metro.co.uk shows what they describe as a Chinese "kung fu enthusiast" doing cartwheels for 3.5km straight (approximately 2.15 miles) through the streets of Changsha.

To me, a term like "martial arts enthusiast", or "kung fu enthusiast" is dangerously close to describing a full-blown nutcase or registered Martial Arts Maniac. But then again - what do I know...

Any who, I think it's summed up rather precisely by Metro: "(...) the 47-year-old who didn't stop or stand up during the whole event - although the reason for his hour of head-spinning is not yet known."

King of Upside Down

Here's something you definitely don't wan't to try at home boys and girls - you hear!

Also known as 'The King of Upside Down', Chinese kung fu expert Li Xin, can be seen here performing a headstand on top of a nail.

It has taken the man 20 years to master the feat, according to digitalspy.co.uk. I really can't help but wonder what a term such as not mastering the stunt entails...

Sanshou Athlete Died

China -- A 23-year-old Sanshou/wushu fighter, Shangguan Pengfei,has died in hospital, 42 days after he was knocked out during a competition in in Haikou, Hainan Province, according to english.cri.cn.

On October 31, the athlete was rushed to hospital after he collapsed following a blow to the head. The fighter remained in coma thereafter until he was declared dead on Monday, the paper says.

Questions have been raise how Shangguan could have passed the medical check given he had already been knocked out in the recent two months before the fatal competition.

Taekwondo Official Detained

China -- Just months before the upcoming Olympics, a 51-year-old Chinese taekwondo official has been held on suspicion of corruption, according to google.com.

Chinese officials have not released details of the accusations and the arrest, and the sports ministry said it did not know the reason for suspect's detention.

Major Kung Fu Fail

...Or why it is always a good idea to do some basic research prior to taking up a martial art, rather than after the fact.

The site avvo.com has a question from someone who apparently has had a run-in with an apparent "kung fuka".

First off - the individual claimed to have paid in the excess of 10 grand (holly smoke!) to be taught by a fake 10th degree kung fu black belt - only to find that the master was an obvious fake and that there's no Chinese governmental kung fu organization that awards black belts.

The person managed to get a third of the truly insane tuition fee back from filing a lawsuit through a small claims court.

A few minutes of research could have saved the individual of being royally taken for a ride ... kung fu style.

Forms on the Platform?

I suppose that letting some aggression out on the platform can be a good idea after all - in any case I am quite certain it is far better to do it there - on something solid - than on people inside a crowded subway carriage.

Perhaps that was the idea behind a well known sports brand being given the go ahead to install padded punching bags at the Xujiahui subway station in Shanghai?

The idea behind it is allegedly to allow stressed out commuters punch and kick the bags to let off some steam.

And who knows, perhaps you could even do your next workout while waiting for your train to arrive? Just don't start doing form though ... that would look totally uncool :-)

Kung Fu Cards

China -- A 23-year-old man named Bai Dengchun is using his training in kung fu to forcefully hurl playing cards like throwing stars.

And may I boldly add: This is so much cooler than the somewhat childish 'ninja' shuriken... ...unless you're talking about the real deal, used by someone who actually knows how to handle these weapons properly and effectively.

Dengchun can allegedly throw playing cards with such accuracy an force that he can slice a cucumber from a distance of 16ft.

Bai , who was taught kung fu from childhood, claimed he could hit any target with precision within radius of five meters.

Kung Fu Noodles

China -- Combining traditional Chinese hand pulled noodle (called la mian), with traditional Sichuan hotpot cooking and kung fu? Sure, why not?

Here's a clip from the Xujiahui district in Shanghai showing how it's done. Probably nothing to try at home :-)

Since the above video seems to be offline, I've added another one about "Kung Fu Noodles":

Hong Kong Fu Airline

China -- (Hong Kong) In order to deal with unruly - and most often drunk - passengers, Hong Kong Airlines is set to have all its cabin crew take kung fu classes, according to google.com.

The airlines has said that all staff have been invited to participate in wing chun training, but that this training had been made compulsory only for their cabin crews.

The company's deputy general manager of corporate communication said they had on the average of three incidents involving disruptive passengers every week on board their aircrafts.

On a recent flight from Beijing to Hong Kong, a crew member reportedly had to put her martial arts training into practice.

Even More Kung-Football

China -- Dailymail.co.uk has an article which touches upon an issue we have heard of before - how the Chinese are setting out to improve their rather trite and low performing soccer/football sport with the help of Shaolin monks. And hey, why not?

Wanna Show Your Kung Fu?

China -- If you're interested in a place to show off your kung fu skills, it appears that working for a Chinese company in China may be just the right thing for you :-)

In this well-written and entertaining post from hypervocal.com, a Western female employee describes how her company is attempting to have her participate in what is being described as an "athletic games competition", a very Chinese thing according to her coworkers.

A text message sent to her was like this:

"Hi there, anybody are good at dancing or Kongfu? We're recruiting some talents performing at the opening of [company name] games."

So again, if you're into kung fu - or would like to get into the art - and you like these sort of after-hours get-togethers (quite similar to karaoke), well then perhaps working in China is the thing for you?

"Calligra-Fu"

China -- Adding another dimension to martial arts, a Chinese man named Ba is here seen combining kung fu moves and calligraphy in front of onlookers at a park in Kaifeng, Henan province.

The 60-year-old man - dressed in traditional robes - is using a long and heavy (2 metes - 5kg) brush and water to create his intricate calligraphy. The signs can only last a few minutes before they vanish in the sun, according to metro.co.uk.

As in Japan and Korea, there's a deep cultural relationship in China between calligraphy and martial arts. Warriors and martial arts masters are expected to balance their lives by also being schooled in aesthetic practices like calligraphy.

Gone Fu...

Another 'oh dear' - and a major one this time... read and weep.

China -- A 60-year-old male resident in Jilin recently cut off his genitals, according to news.asiaone.com. Why, you say? Allegedly all for the sake of mastering a type of kung fu.

The man said his kung fu sifu (master) had come to him in a dream that and said he had to cut of his genitals in order to advance the martial art - a type of Qi Gong.

Now that's what I call dedication. Takes some balls to remove them... Ouch!

Cop-Fu

China -- 48-year-old Mir Zhang, a Chinese police officer in the Hei Longjiang province, has studied kung fu techniques rigorously for more than 20 years, according to metro.co.uk. These studies has allegedly left him invulnerable to pain and injury.

In any case, he does seem to take a lot of it, and it may seem like criminals and thugs on his shift had better think twice.

Below, you can see him shrugging off bricks smashed on his skull with a sledgehammer. Other feats include a steel spear being forced into his throat and breaking heavy stoneware pots to pieces with his head.

Taekwondo Row

Taiwan -- Chinapost.com.tw reports the Taiwanese sports officials has filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne (Switzerland) regarding the controversial and disputed disqualification of (taekwondo fighter) Yang Shu-chun at the recent Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

The Sports Affairs Council (SAC) in Taiwan said their move show its resolution to "fight until justice prevails".

She Pulled it Off

China -- In Beijing recently, 53-year-old female Shaolin monk Zhang Tingting, shamed several men who had tried, and failed, to pull six cars - weighing in excess of nine tons.

The kung fu master, who reportedly learned the art from her granddad from the age of three, pulled the cars 50ft outside the Tanzhe temple, according to thesun.co.uk.

The picture below shows a visitor attempting, in vane, to pull the cars.