"coconut break" ??????

I drove past a school on my way to my sisters new place today and saw a kung fu school advertise this in the window.

It was listed right under iron palm.

Do coconuts even grow in China?

I am not mentioning the name, because I don't want to speak ill of another school, but this struck me as an odd thing, so I wanted to ask you all about this concept.

Has anyone ever heard of kung fu coconut breaking?

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I've heard of iron palm practitioners being able to break a coconut but not of it being taught as a specific course.

Could be a darn sight more useful than breaking bricks -- impress women and make instant pina coladas, all with your two deadly hands!

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"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...

There are a number of kung fu systems that work on breaking coconuts in present day, regardless of what they did "back then". Some Filipino system do it too.

While it seems kind of a trendy thing right now, it certainly isnt the easiest break you could think of...

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“	Originally Posted By: Sammygirl I've heard of iron palm practitioners being able to break a coconut but not of it being taught as a specific course. Could be a darn sight more useful than breaking bricks -- impress women and make instant pina coladas, all with your two deadly hands!	”

It's true!!!!

I often break open a pre made Pina Colada bottle and it stuns everyone with my superb skills



I've heard of the coconut deal with some various systems as well, like PD says, it is more tricky than it looks

l have a old picture of my ci-gung when he was alive in h.k. doing a cocnut break from years ago(hes dead now). hes doing it with his pheonix fist which we use most.

ok, its a regular thing. thanks all. Has anyone actually done this?

It sounded kind of suspicious to me, but if you all have heard of it, I will stop being so skeptical. Well, about that anyways.

Still seems like a weird thing to do though, but I have never been particularly interested in Iron Palm training.

And to be fair, they did not say "traditional" on the window, so I guess the fact that coconuts doe not grow in China does not matter.


Lol SG!

__________________
I must not fear.Fear is the mind-killer.Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.I will face my fear.I will permit it to pass over me & through me.& when it has gone I will turn to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.Only I will remain.F.Herbert

Oh, you wandered past the lair of James Lacy. In a weird way, he is part of an ancient Chinese tradition. They were viewed as the lowest rung on the martial arts social ladder; the "carnival-street" Chinese martial artists. By that I mean there was a whole group of Chinese martial artists who would develop some weird "act" (in this case busting the co-co-nuts) have their wild beards, sell their "snake oil" (in Lacy's case his horse**** herb formulas), claim to be "Daoist" and take their show on the road. (In Lacy's case he has been out there in east county since I was at San Diego State, i.e. the late 1970s but he took his act on the "magazine road" a few years ago, gracing the pages of Inside Kung Fu and/or Black Belt).

Yeah, so the lad is still around. **** he has to be older than me. Well, the stunt is on par with the Hong Kong dudes who can crush potatoes with their bare hands, it could come in handy in case you are ever roughed up by Mr. Potato Head, or Mr. Coconut Head.

yours in vegetable violence,
Brian

I'll only be impressed with a guy who can break one with the husk on. I have a couple trees within eyesight, i can tell you they are pretty brittle nuts w/out husk, and even with it on they can crack from the fall to the earth.

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“	Originally Posted By: aaradia ok, its a regular thing. thanks all. Has anyone actually done this? It sounded kind of suspicious to me, but if you all have heard of it, I will stop being so skeptical. Well, about that anyways. Still seems like a weird thing to do though, but I have never been particularly interested in Iron Palm training. And to be fair, they did not say "traditional" on the window, so I guess the fact that coconuts doe not grow in China does not matter. Lol SG!	”

I actually have broken a coconut. didn't expect to be doing it either. I had been practicng iron palm, and a guy we knew came in from mexico who did another type of iron palm. he was going to break one, he asked if anyone wanted to try first, my sifu told me to go and try and i broke it. one thing you do have to remember is that coconuts vary in husk thickness. as far as traditional, i guess its just another think to break with you palm.

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Never done that myself.

I have seen Filipino guys ripping open coconuts with their bare hands and teeth as training ( could have been on Fight Quest ). Haven't seen a coconut break, though I'm sure it can be done. I've seen mental breaks before from some serious psycho looking types. If a dude can break huge blocks of ice with his head, then I'm sure someone can punch through a coconut. Very impressive still.

I do know, that a rattan stick can bust open a coconut very easily.

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“	Originally Posted By: brianlkennedy Oh, you wandered past the lair of James Lacy. In a weird way, he is part of an ancient Chinese tradition. They were viewed as the lowest rung on the martial arts social ladder; the "carnival-street" Chinese martial artists. By that I mean there was a whole group of Chinese martial artists who would develop some weird "act" (in this case busting the co-co-nuts) have their wild beards, sell their "snake oil" (in Lacy's case his horse**** herb formulas), claim to be "Daoist" and take their show on the road. (In Lacy's case he has been out there in east county since I was at San Diego State, i.e. the late 1970s but he took his act on the "magazine road" a few years ago, gracing the pages of Inside Kung Fu and/or Black Belt). Yeah, so the lad is still around. **** he has to be older than me. Well, the stunt is on par with the Hong Kong dudes who can crush potatoes with their bare hands, it could come in handy in case you are ever roughed up by Mr. Potato Head, or Mr. Coconut Head. yours in vegetable violence, Brian	”

I don't think thats the guy. It is not in the east county, but on 30th st. in North Park.

Since I am not knocking the guy (now being educated now on matters of coconut breaking). This is the web site of the guy. Is this whom you are thinking of?
The Kung Fu Academy of San Diego - Home Page

__________________
I must not fear.Fear is the mind-killer.Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.I will face my fear.I will permit it to pass over me & through me.& when it has gone I will turn to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.Only I will remain.F.Herbert

After looking at that site, all I have to say is

"That's bad Kung Fu"

its like what we called lead sleds in the 50s and 60s. all show and no go. we used to do stuff like that in the old days when my ci-gung was president of the pak mei boxing association. as we didnt show any forms to outside of our own so we broke things . when l started if someone asked to see pak mei we asked if so, they had to be the target lol.

Here is Lacy's site:
! Mew Hing's 18 Daoist Palms System - Main Index - Five Elder Arts - James Lacy

If you scroll down the page there are some interesting old photos. I suspect the guy you saw is somehow connected up with Lacy, but who knows.

take care,
Brian

Aye, I understand that and that's the way we handle things ourselves, but you can look at the pictures and see poor mechanics and principles behind the demonstrated motions.

And while we may not show our style but just some poses and simple techniques, we always do our best to make sure they apply to practicality and reality and don't demonstrate a poor understanding of one's style's mechanics, who wants to learn from someone doing something crappy?