Magic in Kung fu

Shaolin monks perform demonstrations of their skills that seem almost superhuman. The monk breaks a sharpened spear by putting the point in his neck, the other end on the floor and then pushing forward until the shaft snaps. Kung fu master breaks several bricks with bare hands .Other master demonstrates how much he hardened his body ,assistant hits him with a thick wooden board over his back, the master not only can withstand a direct blow in the body but board breaks .Qi master sends his opponents on the floor without even touching them …and so on… there are a lot super power demonstrations in kung fu , some of them really weird and and some really breath taking , but…

Many kung fu styles use exotic training methods that should enormously enhance certain physical and martial characteristics of the practitioner. Most of these training systems have no effect while a small number do really "works" but ... It must be understood that in the past martial arts were just that-fighting systems developed with only one goal, to kill or incapacitate the enemy. Martial arts were developed for professional soldier and accent was on efficiency, everything else was of no importance . The wellbeing of the soldiers then, as it is today was not first priority of the military leaders and combat instructors , it was only important to train soldiers to be effective on the battlefield .

Usually "special" training was concentrated to various methods of strengthening the body. These methods, besides purely physical part of exercising often use various herbal or mineral products which can be taken orally or applied on the skin. We can see today people who possess an amazing skill and powers , people who can withstand a blow that would send average man directly to intensive care but no one ever talks about other side of this ability because nobody praises negative things

What is important to know is this: there is no SYSTEM OF STRENGTHENING THE BODY WHICH DO NOT DAMAGING THE BODY TO VARIOUS DEGREES. We ARE genetically predisposed to function within certain parameters, our body can be conditioned by long-term preparation to function outside the usual parameters, but there is the price it has to be paid . If you want to practice some kind of iron, steel and other "palm" rest assured that by the end of the training your will have deformed hand , damaged joints and when you get older you’ll have to hire someone to feed you because you will not be able to pick up the spoon by yourself. With the strengthening of the body is a similar situation, only more dangerous because it damages the internal organs. Nobody will say that some methods of iron, steel and other "shirt" shorten the life span for a few decades, yes, you read it correctly, a couple of decades. Using all kinds of “traditional “products can also lead to serious health problems. These products generally did not passed any medical tests, and it is unknown what kind of effects they have on the body. Effects on the other hand can be various, from allergies and skin irritations to serious to heart, liver,kidney damage and many others.

Breathing exercises and meditation will not strengthen your body or make you immune to physical trauma . Breathing exercises will help to regulate blood pressure, to stabilize the heart rate, to reduce the effects of chronic diseases, to feel better and healthier, but you will not become a supermen , you will not walk on the walls, fly project the energy through your hands ,if someone believes it this kind of things ,well ,he needs a professional help. Meditation will ,at best,  to take valuable time that you could spend on something useful, at worst case it can cause headaches, insomnia, restlessness, anxiety disorder and in some cases a psychosis.

It is important to note that many of the superhuman kung fu demonstration are nothing more than tricks which can be learned quickly and performed by anyone .

Think carefully before you decide to take any form of exotic training. There are no shortcuts in martial training and there is no magic or superpowers, just hard and often painful work to push physical and mental abilities just a little further.