Seriously strange…
…and almost creepy.
But still, some people’s bodies can do the weirdest things. As the lyric says, “Maybe I”m a different breed.” I don’t think there’s any “maybe” about it; somebody like this has to work very hard to develop his skills, but his connective tissue and joints tend to start out with more flexibility than the rest of us posses:
[NOTE: More here.]
He’s pretty thin. Only thin gymnasts and women have a chance of getting this done when young through training. Anybody else and they are just too heavy and will require too long. By then, they’ll be old and can’t exert themselves as well.
However, there’s a short cut Shaolin monks found via research and development of the martial arts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_6scUqTTX8
Don’t try this at home kids. You’ll regret it.
Being male, athletic, 16 and 115 lbs is all it takes.
He dreams of working for Cirque de Soleil, but found out he wasn’t as cute as a girl doing the same thing…. so few cared….
Wow! My abs and back are sore and both knees dislocated. And all I did was watch.
I just kept thinking “get a haircut”. Then “ouch”. Repeat as necessary.
In addition to being very flexible, this kid has incredible balance and body awareness. Skinny he may be but he’s strong enough to hold his own weight in positions far more muscular people would find impossible. Cool.
Impressive. Not many can do that.
Being skinny helps with the center of gravity change up. If someone had too much upper body muscles, it would distort their cog, making it orders of magnitude harder to balance on one arm alone, let alone changing directions while in mid air.
“If someone had too much upper body muscles, it would distort their cog.. ”
I’m a lean fellow (in addition to being 64) and I teach aikijujujutsu. When young, tall, muscular fellows show up for their first training session I smile. Big, tough, young guys make so much noise when they fall. Music to my ears. And if they stick around for 10 years they learn muscles and speed mean little against hara, timing, and strategy.
I do yoga once a week as an antidote to running. Supporting your body on two hands in simple poses like crow is hard. I’m just getting there. On the other hand, I’m 64. But some of the younger people in my class are also taking a while to get to crow. The various handstand poses are more difficult because you need core strength to maintain an upright position. I still need the wall.
Male gymnasts are starting to do some one armed moves, but they are more a matter of hanging on, rather than supporting their full body weight.
This performer’s talent requires great strength, flexibility, and practice. I’m trying to imagine going into a handstand, lifting up one arm, putting my legs into lotus position. and bouncing around like my arm was a pogo-stick. I couldn’t do it on Mars.
@Parker: I like it when the same fellows show up for a run. They try to keep up with 50 year old women and me, and they last 3 miles. We carry on for another 3 miles at our easy pace, and then go back and find them. Of course, with training, they would leave us in the dust.
I couldn’t do it on Mars.
Sure you could. There would be plenty of time to figure out the problems, without heavy grav slamming you down. In the future, it’ll probably be a trans stellar competition.
Parker: Which lineage of Aikijujutsu, Daito Ryu Aikijutsu? I train under one of Obata Toshishiro’s Aikibujutsu (Yoshinkan branch) and Shinkendo line.