Monday 22 February 2016

Breaking Bricks-Not Bad....




I am not very scientific.
This is a shame because it seems to me that curiosity about how things work would be a great asset to an aspiring poet.
 I, on the other hand simply nod. Ah yes. It works. As if by magic… Blind faith.

However when visiting the Chinese State Circus quite a while back I did wonder how the Qigong Warrior didn’t break his hand when he sliced a brick in two.

Was there trickery involved?

It seems not.

If you x-ray the hand of one of these artists you’ll find that their bones are probably larger and more dense than ours-it’s called osteoclerosis.

And to throw a wallop that will break a brick takes a lot of practice and precision.
A chop at 46ft per second and a force of 1900 newtons (one newton is the force exerted by the weight of an apple) and you are in business.

We are in the realm of Physics….or A&E depending on your skill set.


I won’t be trying this anytime soon




KUNG FU QI-GONG

Before his feat Wu Su weighs
inexorable with elbow upon the air.
Palpable,invisible,it begins to pulsate
resonate,lose shape.
He wears it as a costume drape.

The brick that has been baked
feels the cool but not the shape
of hands whose stroke
seems to placate.

Then, slice of air
And the brick breaks.

(After seeing an act in the Chinese State Circus)

Copyright with Cathy Leonard 2016

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