Remember this scene from Quentin Tarantino’s film, Kill Bill? It is from the chapter called “The Cruel Tutelage Of Pai Mei”:
EXT. WHITE LOTUS TEMPLE - DAY
Pai Mei stands in front of a wood wall three inches in front
of him. His right fist is cocked back by his breastplate,
he's concentrating on a certain spot on the wall.
The Bride stands behind him, watching.
He lets out a SCREAM, and puts his fist THROUGH THE WALL.
He turns to the new student;
PAI MEI
Since your arm now belongs to me, I want it strong. Can you do that?
THE BRIDE
I can, but not that close.
PAI MEI
Then you can't do it.
THE BRIDE
I can put my hand through that at six inches.
PAI MEI
And you could shoot a man from a rooftop with a scope-sight rifle, if you so desired, but this is not what I asked. What if your enemy is three inches in front of you, what do you do then? Curl into a ball? Or do you put your fist through him.
He HITS the wall again leaving another hole.
PAI MEI
Now begin.
The Bride takes her place in front of the wall. She HITS it.
Only managing to stain the wall with the blood from her
scraped knuckles. Then again. And again....
This training proved very handy when The Bride was buried alive. But in “real life” here’s an interesting exercise that you might enjoy doing without breaking your hand.
There are various “silly” versions of this technique on YouTube which you can find, but the most serious example is one we found on www.taichichen.com:
“This is an unusual training technique practiced by novice Shaolin monks to perfect their Kung Fu style punching. It is surprisingly difficult even for an experienced martial artist to "punch out" a household candle.” See the video at: taichichen.com
Try it on your own today. Think of Pai Mei while you are doing this exercise and take it seriously! Let me know when you can blow out the candle with your fist landing at least a foot away from the candle!
Today's Quote:
Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.
--Confucius
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