Kung Fu Do

A little body hack that could also earn you some $$$ as a sucker bet... If not, always a good laugh to do this with your friends.

The Fingerlock Sucker Bet - The funniest videos are a click away

The set up - part 1
Ask your victim to bring their two hands together, fingertip against fingertip, then get them to bend the middle fingers of each hand towards the palm.

The set up - part 2
Next place a coin between the tips of their ring fingers, and hold their ring fingers (and the coin) with your fingertips.

The challenge...
While keeping this position, ask them to successively separate the tips of their thumbs, index fingers, and pinkies...
They should manage this fairly easily.

The bet...
Now bet them they can't separate the tips of their ring fingers, enough to drop the coin...
If they still feel confident they can, let go of their ring fingers and watch them struggle... They will get the feeling their ring fingers are locked or glued together...

Why is it so? The muscles of the ring fingers are the least developped of all of the 5 digits. Our use of the ring finger is largely dependant on the two fingers on either side of it.

A few people do occaionally manage to separate their ring fingers however... to make the challenge harder for them, ask them to attempt it while holding a tennis ball between the palm of their hands

Yet another one of the strongman's classic tricks , this is a variation on the 'iron body'. The effect is perhaps even more striking than the original 'iron body', and eventhough it looks somewhat painful and dangerous, it is actually quite safe, and relatively easy to perform...

Lie in between two chairs, and get an assistant to place a large stone or piece of concrete on top of you... Equip them with a sledgehammer, and ask them to break the stone. Think you couldn't withstand their blows? Think again...

Iron Body - Part II. Breaking Stones And Concrete - More bloopers are a click away

Safety precautions.
If your assistant is going to break a stone or or a piece of concrete which they have placed on your chest, make sure to wear safety glasses, as fragments could easily fly into your face.
The chairs you are lying on also need to be sturdy enough, so as not to collapse when you are hit.
Also, if the stone or block of concrete is heavy (it should be, we will discuss why later), make sure your assistant lift it correctly, so they would not damage their back.

setting it up.
Simply lie between the two chairs, maybe using a third chair to support your weight initially.

The effect.
Get your assistant to place the block of concrete or the stone on your chest, then to break it with the sledgehammer.
It's that simple!

How it works - weight distribution
Just as for the original iron body, correct weight distribution is one of the reason you do not double-up and collapse under the weight of the stone...
Simply have the stone placed on your chest rather than on your stomach.

How it works - inertia
So why are you not getting hurt by the blow of the sledgehammer?
One simple reason: inertia.

Do this simple experiment to understand it:
- place a small stone in your hand and try to break it with a hammer.
- now repeat with as large a stone you can hold in one hand.
Which hurt?

The larger the stone or block of concrete placed on your chest, the less you will feel the blow, as it will simply absorb the force of the impact.
Do make sure however your assistant does not drive the sledgehammer straight through the stone, and into you. They should only be using enough force to break the stone.

Luckily for us, the bigger the stone placed on your chest is, the more impressive the trick will also look to the audience!

One of the classic tricks of the strongman, I call this one the 'iron body'. The effect is quite striking, eventhough it involves very little else than simple physical and mechanical principles.
Lie in between two chairs, and get an assistant to climb on top of you and stay there... Think you couldn't do it? Think again...
Here's the video:

Iron Body - You Can Too! - The most amazing home videos are here

Setting it up...
Position 2 chairs, facing each other, about 15 inches less than your own height apart.
Place a third chair in between, facing at 90 degrees to the other two.
Sit on the middle chair, then lie between the two side chairs.
get an assistant, or a member of your audience to remove the middle chair (or even, do it yourself, though this will prevent you from getting it well out of the way).

You should be able to hold this position quite comfortably.

Climbing on...
When your helper is about to climb on (s/he can either use the spare chair for this, or you can simply offer them a hand), make sure s/he does not place his/her weight directly over the centre of your body. If s/he does, you will double up like a jack-knife.

Weight distribution is the key to this trick: place one of their feet on the centre of your chest, and the other one just above your knees.
You should be able to comfortably withstand the weight of a full grown adult doing this.

Climbing on...
When your helper is about to climb on (s/he can either use the spare chair for this, or you can simply offer them a hand), make sure s/he does not place his/her weight directly over the centre of your body. If s/he does, you will double up like a jack-knife.

Weight distribution is the key to this trick: place one of their feet on the centre of your chest, and the other one just above your knees.
You should be able to comfortably withstand the weight of a full grown adult doing this.