ZitatJUNTUN, China (Reuters) - Wang Liutai is no ordinary kung fu master. The 65-year-old from a village in central China practises a unique and excruciating-looking strand of martial arts coined “iron crotch kung fu”.
Its most famous technique involves a steel-plate capped log, 2 metres (6.5 feet) in length and weighing 40 kilograms (88 pounds) that swings through the air and smashes into a man’s crotch.
“When you practise iron crotch kung fu, as long as you push yourself, you will feel great,” said Wang, head of the Juntun Martial Arts Academy.
Wang, who has been practising the technique for around half a century and has two children, insists that with the correct methods and sufficient practice, it does not hurt and has no effect on fertility.
The iron crotch, mastery of which is gained by taking hits to the body’s weakest points while using qigong breathing techniques to inure oneself, is just one element of the branch of Tongbeiquan kung fu that has been practised in Wang’s village for the past 300 years. The style encompasses scores of attack techniques as well as resisting pressure, pain or hits to other sensitive areas.
“We also have iron throat, iron head, iron chest, and iron back as well,” said fellow master 53-year-old Tang Xiaocheng.