This deadly (well almost) kung fu do technique demonstrates how to break a beer bottle with your bare hands, so that only the bottom of the bottle will pop out. The secret to this trick is all around us, yet you cannot see nor touch it.
Fill bottle with liquid Fill the bottle with water (or any other liquid) up to about two inches from the top of the bottle.
How to hold the bottle... Hold the bottle with your weak hand (in my case, it's my left hand) just under the collar, with your top two fingers... This is to prevent the glass from cutting you in case the entire bottle shatters.
Hit it! Hit the bottle with the fleshy part of your strong hand (the palm). I have also seen it done with elbows by kung fu masters.
Voila! If you hit it hard enough, the bottom of the bottle will pop right off due to the air being trapped and compressed inside the bottle.
Some beer bottles are harder to break than others... start with Becks, then progress to Budweiser. I have seen footage of kung fu masters performing this trick with bottles of wine!
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...
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:
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.
Rolling up a frying pan might seem like an impossible feat of strength. Yet, the trick was commonly performed by strongmen at fairs, at the beginning of the century, along with bending iron bars and pipes, and tearing phonebooks and decks of cards in half. However, the rolling up of a frying pan normally necessitates more strength than tearing a phone book in half or breaking bricks, but technique is important too.
The technique This feat of strength requires a combination of strength and technique (with a good deal of strength, depending on the pan used!). The preferred technique is to grip the top of the pan (with the handle on one side) with the thumbs at the back, and the pan being braced against the thighs. This requires a fair amount of grip, arms, pecs, and abdominal strength..
Make your life easier... Of course, not all pans are equal, and a cheap frying pan (such as the one I purchased for around $4) is much, much easier to roll up than a Teflon one. For the purpose of showing off to your friends however, it looks and sounds almost identical. The question remains: what do you do with your eggs afterwards?
A hard-to-believe restraint technique used by special forces in WWII, the "grape vine" is being demonstrated here for information purposes only. Do not try this unless under the supervision of a qualified person. The secret to this restraint comes from chosing an appropriate tree or post, and from correct body positioning (the prisoner is less likely to escape if forced down). Here's a short video explaining the technique:
Safety information If you are even going to attempt this, it is suggested you do it under the supervision of a qualified person. It generally suggested that two strong adults be present in order to extricate the captive from the restraint position. After 10 to 15 mins in this position, the captive's legs will cramp up, which will cause them to throw themselves backwards. This may kill them!
I'm not sure I understand the physiology behing it well.... But after a while (10 to 15 mins), you start getting cramp in your legs, which become unbearable... The natural reaction is to let go off your hands to relieve the pain, which forces you to fall backwards. This unnatural position places pressure on your ribcage, and your breathing is restricted. Eventually, you pass out, and your lungs may collapse if you are not pulled out... I haven't tested this though. Colonel Fairbairn, who first described this technique, actually writes that this "will" (not "may") kill them. I assume he was speaking from experience... not a nice thought...
THE PREVIOUS VIDEO SHOWS HOW EFFECTIVE THIS TECHNIQUE IS. IT ALSO SUGGESTS A SAFETY RIG THAT YOU CAN SET UP BEFORE ATTEMPTING IT. IT IS STRONGLY ADVISED YOU VIEW IT TILL THE END. A short history of the grapevine The Grape Vine first appeared in "The American Boy's Handy Book", a sort of boyscout manual published in 1890, but it was Captain W.E. Fairbairn that widely publicised its military use in: GET TOUGH! How to win in hand-to-hand fighting - As taught to the british commandos and the U.S. armed forces", a manual published in 1943. Fairbairn writes: "Normally, the average man placed in this position would get cramp in one or both legs within ten to fifteen minutes, when it is not at all unlikely that he would throw himself backwards. This would kill him. Caution. - To release your prisoner: Two persons are necessary, one on either side. Take hold of his legs and lift him up the tree; then unlock his legs." Purchase 'Get Tough' at amazon.com:
Three ways to escape the grapevine The video below details three ways to escape the grapevine, if you find yourself in this restraint position. They are: 'brute strength', 'strip and pull', and the corkscrew':
If the restraint is applied correctly- none of these 3 ways is as straightforward as it sounds. Here's a short example of what happens when things go wrong:
An example of the grapevine Jeff from Hawaii demonstrates the grape vine, and he manages to prove it is no easier barefoot and in board shorts! Darn Jeff, did you put sex wax on these palm trees? Thankfully, Jeff's little sister is here to help:
