"Swinging an 88-pound tree trunk into the crotch is just one aspect of the practice," says the Reuters reporter examining this dying branch of kung fu in a village in central China, but, well, you can understand why one might choose to linger there. This strain of Tongbeiquan kung fu, known as "iron crotch," involves absorbing blows to the body's weakest points while steeling oneself against the pain with breathing techniques. “We also have iron throat, iron head, iron chest, and iron back as well,” said 53-year-old master Tang Xiaocheng.
Wang Liutai, a 65-year-old master of iron crotch and father of two, swears that the practice—which, to be clear, involves a steel-capped log penduluming repeatedly into the reproductive organs—does not affect fertility.
[Reuters]
