# No One Can Beat A Shaolin Master And Here Is Why

An episode of [Be Amazed](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1687637469), 13 Mar 2026, 21 min.

Audio: https://audio4.redcircle.com/episodes/11bfc645-0911-40bc-8fbb-af9cace78cd1/stream.mp3

A little birdy told me you’ve been telling everyone you’re tough? Oh please! You wouldn’t know tough if it flying side-kicked you in the face. But do you know who actually are tough? Shaolin monks. These hardy heroes put their bodies through the extremes of head hardening, nail pulling, and even gravity-defying stunts. Take a deep breath, and breathe out the bad energy. Let your mind be free as we explore some impossible training methods that make Shaolin Masters unbeatable. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

## Transcript

[0:00] \[SPEAKER_00\]: A little birdie told me you've been telling everyone your tough?
[0:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Oh, please!
[0:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You wouldn't know tough if it flying side kicked you in the face.
[0:08] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But do you know who actually are tough?
[0:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Shaolin Monks.
[0:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: These hearty heroes put their bodies through the extremes of head hardening, nail pulling and even gravity defying stunts.
[0:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This episode isn't for the faint hearted, so take a deep breath and breathe out the bad energy.
[0:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Let your mind be free as we explore some impossible training methods that make shell in masters unbeatable.
[0:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Before we get stuck into what they do, it's probably best to find out who Shaolin monks really are.
[0:53] \[SPEAKER_00\]: To my surprise, the Shaolin Temple wasn't founded by Riza, ODB, and the rest of Wu Tang Clan.
[1:02] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Oh no, its origins date way back to China in 495 AD, when Emperor Shaolin ordered the construction of a monastery to preach the teachings of Batuo.
[1:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Batuo had come to China from India in 464 AD to spread Buddhism, and he became the first habit or head monk at the monastery.
[1:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Despite numerous attempts to burn it down over the years, the temple still stands strong in the beautiful Song Mountains, Hanan, some 1,500 years later.
[1:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Amazingly, it's still operational as a practicing Buddhist temple where adaptions on original Shaolin Kung Fu are taught to this day.
[1:45] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So, what do they actually do?
[1:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Well, the main pillars in Shaolin culture are chan Buddhism, martial arts, Buddhist arts, and traditional Chinese medicines, and each monk is tirelessly devoted to developing, researching, and perfecting Shaolin Kung Fu.
[2:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They wake up every day at 5.30 a.m. go through a rigorous day of training and meditating, then go to bed, and do it all again, and again, and again.
[2:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And if you thought all that training would work up an appetite, I've got bad news.
[2:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: There's no golden arches in shell in.
[2:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Monks eat an exclusively vegetarian diet consisting of soups, noodles, and bread.
[2:29] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But if you think these guys are a bunch of tree-hugging scissi boys, I wouldn't jump to any conclusions.
[2:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Alright, now we're getting into the juicy stuff you came for.
[2:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Back when Sensei Carl Douglas said, everybody was kung-fu fighting, were they really?
[2:45] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Because if I did kung-fu in a bar, I'd get a felony charge.
[2:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You see in the early days of Shaolin, five unique styles of combat were honed, which would assist the monk in hand-to-hand combat.
[2:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Each style drew inspiration from an animal, tiger, crane, leopard, dragon, and snake.
[3:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now, before you start thinking sliding on your belly like a snake is going to win you any battles, it's not.
[3:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The goal isn't to completely imitate the animal, it's about capturing its nature or temperament.
[3:19] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So don't go breathing fire into club trying to impress the cuties.
[3:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: From these original styles, countless other animal styles have come into fruition.
[3:28] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Honestly, you name an animal and there will be a kung fu practitioner somewhere who's embodied it.
[3:34] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Primarily Kung Fu isn't about giving your opponent an ass whooping, they'll never forget, don't worry that's coming.
[3:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's about finding harmony between your inner self and your outer strength, and how that can help you overcome an opponent no matter how big they are.
[3:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Oh there's also this one small thing.
[3:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Alongside their Kung Fu, as part of basic training, all aspiring master monks must specialize in two weapons.
[4:00] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now we're freaking talking.
[4:02] \[SPEAKER_00\]: There are 18 weapons in total for a shallon munk to choose from, split equally between long weapons and short weapons.
[4:09] \[SPEAKER_00\]: From the short weapons, there are swords, sickles, canes, and axes, and from the long weapons whips, spears, staffs, and forks.
[4:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Holy smokes.
[4:19] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Near or far, wherever you are, you're always in their range.
[4:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: However, it gets worse.
[4:26] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Grandmaster monks are required to have sufficient knowledge of all 18 weapons.
[4:31] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So, let me get this straight.
[4:32] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Shallon monks are expertly trained in martial arts and deadly weapons.
[4:37] \[SPEAKER_00\]: These guys sound dangerous, but hold tight.
[4:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The best is yet to come.
[4:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We've hardly scratched the surface of what these incredible humans can do.
[4:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: First, do you want to achieve eternal enlightenment and become one with the universe?
[4:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Sadly, I can't help with that, but I can give you all the wisdom contained in my incredible episodes.
[5:00] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So, follow my podcast to keep up to date with my amazing content.
[5:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Great!
[5:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now for the real spicy stuff.
[5:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Okay, so we've established that anyone who can wield a sword is dangerous.
[5:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You probably knew that already, though, didn't you, but don't be fooled by a bare-handed monkey either.
[5:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They could do just as much harm with their little finger.
[5:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: What?
[5:21] \[SPEAKER_00\]: From a young age, monks begin training their finger strength by poking wooden planks and trees with each finger.
[5:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Over many years, this build strength in the fingers until they can strike harder and harder.
[5:32] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Eventually, every finger becomes powerful enough to produce huge feats of strength.
[5:38] \[SPEAKER_00\]: A former head monk of the Shaolin Temple hiding achieved unparalleled mastery of this skill and could support almost his entire weight on just one finger.
[5:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In recent years, no one has come close to high-dung single-digit abilities, but that's not through lack of trying.
[5:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: A famous tree in the shell in Monastery is filled with holes from decades of students striking it with their fingers.
[6:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Poor tree.
[6:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And others trained by putting bricks on their lap and lifting themselves off the ground.
[6:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I don't want to be Facebook friends with any of these mighty monks.
[6:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If they sent me a poke, the servers would go down for a week.
[6:19] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Then again, maybe no more minion memes wouldn't be such a bad thing.
[6:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Okay, so as long as you don't get struck by Wushu Warriors, you'll be fine, right?
[6:29] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Not quite.
[6:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If a shallon monk gets their hands on you even without a smack, slap or thwack, your sorry body is still being sent through the 36 chambers of pain.
[6:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They train their grip strength and maybe the most hardcore way I've ever heard, by pulling rusty nails out of a wooden board.
[6:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In total, 1008 nails are driven into the board which the student must remove using a combination of their thumb, middle, and pointer finger, and we know how deadly those are.
[6:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Even so, the rust in the nails causes their skin to blister and crack, making them even harder to grip on too.
[7:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Only once they can remove all the nails does the monk begin training their ring and pinky fingers.
[7:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The final test involves removing mind-blowing 1,000 nails hammer deep into the wood.
[7:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Blimey, when this is complete, it's bad news for any potential opponents.
[7:22] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Well-trained monks fingers are so incredibly strong that if they get hold of you, there's no wriggling free, plus they're expertly trained in finding vulnerable and sensitive nerves around your body.
[7:34] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So protect your neck, or they're going to have you crying in a heap on the floor before you can say, Pinky Promise.
[7:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So now you know defeat at the hands of a shell-in-munk is inevitable.
[7:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But what about when they actually make you suffer the feet?
[7:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Get it?
[7:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Well, these little piggies went to market and brought back a six pack of nasty.
[7:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: New monk initiates train their tootsies every morning by kicking rocks along the ground bare foot, outchies.
[8:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Think of it like stubbing all of your toes over and over again, in time the muscles in their feet develop and they're able to kick larger rocks greater distances.
[8:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The most experienced monks progress to kicking literal boulders.
[8:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You're probably noticing a pattern about now, right?
[8:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Many of these shallow and training methods start off very simple, but by putting in the work every day, those simple actions develop into something exponentially powerful.
[8:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This is how monks transform their bodies into deadly weapons.
[8:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If they can kick a boulder any distance at all, then I dread to think how far they could send my little marshmallow honey.
[8:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It'd be like kicking a soccer ball off a skyscraper.
[8:51] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Generally taking a blow to the head is a bad idea.
[8:55] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Many contact sports are finally waking up to the dangers caused by knocks to the noggin and implementing strategies to avoid serious long-term injuries.
[9:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But there's no room for this kind of behavior in the Shaolin Temple.
[9:08] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Students actually strengthen their skulls by wrapping their heads in silk and bouncing their bosses off brick walls.
[9:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: As time passes and they keep up the painful act, they get more used to it and the silk can be gradually peeled back layer by layer.
[9:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Eventually the entire skull is strong enough to hit against the wall without any protection at all.
[9:29] \[SPEAKER_00\]: repetitive impacts caused tiny fragments of bone called micro fractures to snap away from the outer, more brittle layers of the skull.
[9:37] \[SPEAKER_00\]: These fragments then get digested by tiny cells called osteoclasts.
[9:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: When newer cells appear on the bone's surface, they're mineralized by osteoblasts, which help the bones grow back really hard.
[9:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The more this happens, the stronger the bone becomes.
[9:53] \[SPEAKER_00\]: and monks do this across their entire head, strengthening their temples, mouths, and even their eye sockets until all the bone is as strong as iron.
[10:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Holy smokes, that sounds soar.
[10:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: After years of practice, their heads become hard enough to smash through thick blocks of ice, do this, and even sleep standing on their heads.
[10:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: good for them, I can't sleep without my night night tea in the cold side of the pillow.
[10:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I used to think practicing Buddhism was all about being one with nature.
[10:25] \[SPEAKER_00\]: However, Shaolin monks will routinely rough up a tree or two for the sake of getting stronger.
[10:32] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Young disciples are taught to wrap around a tree sapling and try to pull it out the ground.
[10:38] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Only it's more difficult than it sounds and at their tender age, they're not expected to be strong enough to actually succeed.
[10:45] \[SPEAKER_00\]: No issues, just give it a few years and they'll grow stronger, right?
[10:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Well, it's not that easy.
[10:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: As the junior monk grows, the tree grows alongside them.
[10:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Over a span of many years a student will build immense physical strength in their chest, arms, stomach, and back.
[11:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And one day they'll be able to shake the trunk with enough force to fell a few leaves.
[11:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Then eventually the monk will grow so strong they can uproot the entire tree.
[11:10] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Some very dedicated followers of Shaolin have apparently been able to uproot trees weighing over a staggering 770 pounds.
[11:18] \[SPEAKER_00\]: cheapest creepers.
[11:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: That's like soup lexing a grizzly bear.
[11:22] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And remember they would have spent years working on that same tree without so much as a wiggle.
[11:28] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I guess in the end what's good for the monk isn't so good for the trunk.
[11:32] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I wish I could pack a little more muscle onto my legs.
[11:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Alas, I'm built like a refrigerator standing on two straws.
[11:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: There's no skipping leg day for shallow in monks though, it just looks a little different to how you or I might get a pump on.
[11:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They practice something called the pillar squat to build their leg endurance, and it's about as simple as it sounds, squatting on top of two pillars.
[11:55] \[SPEAKER_00\]: To make it harder, many also balance a bowl of water on top of their head.
[11:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Okay, still doesn't sound too bad, right?
[12:02] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Well, they sit perfectly still in this position for two hours.
[12:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And to make it even harder, some monks place a bowl of water in each hand, too, which under no circumstance can be spilled.
[12:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: That's tough.
[12:14] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I'd collapse in a soggy heap after the first 10 seconds.
[12:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Only falling has pretty serious consequences.
[12:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Positioned directly beneath the monks' junk in the trunk,
[12:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: is a wooden spike.
[12:25] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So if you fell, you'd be turned into shell in shawarma before you hit the deck.
[12:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Oh mother, I guess that's one way to motivate yourself to push just that little bit harder.
[12:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: One thing nobody told me was monks have a special kind of armor.
[12:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They call it Tibu shangang or Iron Shirt and it makes them unbelievably resilient to heavy impacts.
[12:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's believed that by training the body's internal energy source, called Qi, the internal flow of energy can be redirected to minimize the damage taken.
[12:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They also utilize a mix of movements and power stances to absorb damage.
[13:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: For once, this doesn't sound too brutal, not quite.
[13:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They train by lying flat across wooden stumps, as well as having large blocks of granite dumped on top of them.
[13:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Some monks even choose to enhance their training by making a special tincture, like a secret potion, made from herbs and roots that get supplied to the area being trained.
[13:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: These mixtures sometimes composed of up to 25 different ingredients help stimulate blood flow, bone strength, or muscle relaxation.
[13:33] \[SPEAKER_00\]: darn 25 ingredients.
[13:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You just know that shell-in-fried chicken would be finger-licking good.
[13:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Honestly though, putting yourself through pain just to feel less pain in the future sounds incomprehensibly sucky, and it's never worked for my broken heart.
[13:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now, as we get older and softer around the middle, we can all fall into the trap of stepping on the scales and wishing we were a little lighter, but lives too short to eat bad ice cream.
[14:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And the Shaolin Temple have found an amazing way to train the body to achieve almost total weightlessness.
[14:09] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Once they do, they can achieve way more than holding themselves over the edge of a mountain.
[14:14] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's called Jinshan Shu, or skill of light body.
[14:19] \[SPEAKER_00\]: A new student starts off with a large clay bowl filled with water.
[14:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They must practice walking around the rim carrying a weighted backpack.
[14:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Then, on the 21st of each month, some of the water in the bowl is removed and more weight is added to the backpack.
[14:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Initially, the weight of the water counterbalances, the weight of the student, but the less water in the bowl and the heavier the backpack, the greater the balance required by the mug.
[14:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Any budding apprentice must practice this skill for months until they can circle the whole rim with a backpack weighing 5.5 pounds and the bowl completely empty.
[14:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Amazing!
[14:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But this is just the first stage of training.
[15:00] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Once they've achieved weightlessness on the bowl, it gets replaced by a wicker basket and even more weight is added to the backpack.
[15:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Just to earn if I even tried that I'd be crumpled in the bottom of that container like some dirty undies.
[15:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Monk Shah Lili Young has spent years mastering this technique, and in 2014 he achieved something out of this world.
[15:21] \[SPEAKER_00\]: He ran over 400 feet across the water, supporting his entire weight on thin wooden boards held together by string.
[15:28] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Who?
[15:29] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This is only possible if you're really fast and treading incredibly lightly so your weight passes over each board before it sinks.
[15:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Color me impressed.
[15:37] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And to think the other day I fell over while grading cheese.
[15:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Sometimes I get so bored I feel like I could climb the walls.
[15:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Sadly, I think that's as close as I'll ever get to being a monk, I mean they can literally climb up walls and defy gravity.
[15:53] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Monks will tie iron weights to their legs and arms before running at a wall.
[15:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Foot placement is paramount for achieving the greatest height, and once a monk can ascend with a parent-ease,
[16:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: the weight is increased.
[16:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This carries on until one day all the weights are removed so there's nothing holding the monk back because they're so used to the additional weight without it they can practically fly up the wall effortlessly.
[16:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Boy, I sure could do with that.
[16:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Walmart put all my favorite snacks on the top shelf where I can't reach them.
[16:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now I've just told you how monk scale the wall, but what about if they could stick to it like glue?
[16:33] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Surely that's one floating step too far, right?
[16:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Well, I'll let you be the judge.
[16:38] \[SPEAKER_00\]: There are rumors of a very difficult skill that even the most advanced monk struggle to master.
[16:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It goes by many names, lizard climbs the wall, hanging painting, or climbing a wall, but
[16:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: When mastered, it allows a monk to maneuver around a wall in any direction, using only their elbows.
[16:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Man, that sounds hard.
[16:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And it is, supposedly only two or three out of every 100 people, who begin acquiring the basic movements ever achieve full mastery.
[17:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's said that by pressing their back against a wall and squeezing their elbows down, the student can raise their body off the floor and fix it in that position.
[17:16] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And you know the drill by now, with more practice comes more power.
[17:21] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Eventually, a monk will be able to shuffle their body around using just the force in their elbows, wiggling just the way a lizard would.
[17:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But now this, I gotta see.
[17:32] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The only problem is that I couldn't find any record of somebody actually doing it.
[17:37] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Believe me, I've looked.
[17:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Sure, the astronomical skill cap means there may only be a handful of monks who can actually do this, but is it just me who thinks it's a little weird that it only exists in shell and books?
[17:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: What do you think?
[17:51] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Is this real or am I right to be skeptical?
[17:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Many of the incredible feats achieved by the students of shell-in seem impossible, but that's why we love them, isn't it?
[18:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: However, there's one in particular, which I think sounds genuinely impossible.
[18:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The story goes like this.
[18:09] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Some time ago, in the early days of his monk training, she hazy hung a heavy weight from an overhanging tree branch on a path he traveled every day.
[18:19] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Whenever he passed, he jabbed the weight with his finger to make it swing.
[18:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Days became months became years, yet she continued to jab the weight from further and further away until his fingers barely graze the surface.
[18:33] \[SPEAKER_00\]: As he grew stronger and stronger, the weight would swing harder, even though she was barely touching it.
[18:38] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Until one day he didn't touch it at all, but incredibly, the weight still swan.
[18:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: She began honing this phantom strike known as the one finger of chan, by meditating in a courtyard and striking his fingers towards lit candles.
[18:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: At first, the flames just flickered, but with enough practice, he was able to blow them completely out from 11 feet away.
[19:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Huh?
[19:02] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Really?
[19:02] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Then the story goes that she traveled around China visiting every monastery that he could and facing any worthy challenger in a fight.
[19:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: No man could defeat him.
[19:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: rumor was he could cause severe internal damage to his opponents by just thrusting his finger towards them.
[19:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Okay, what a bunch of baloney.
[19:22] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I know some monks can achieve incredible things, but what this guy claims to have done is literally impossible.
[19:29] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Who does he think he is?
[19:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The Avatar?
[19:32] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The only way he'll make my insides hurt without touching is from laughter.
[19:37] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Okay dudes, brace yourself.
[19:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This last training method is a real tear jerker.
[19:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I've never studied martial arts, but I do know one reliable fighting style if my opponents bring the ruckus.
[19:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's not karate, it's not MMA either.
[19:53] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's kicking my enemies' nethers and running away.
[19:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Honestly, it's got me out of more penches than these size 9s care to admit.
[20:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: However, out of all the 72 shell and arts, some masters walk the path of enlightenment by actively choosing to get hit repeatedly in the you know what's.
[20:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Seriously, it's called the skill of a golden cicada, and a significant part of it supposedly trains the body to live without anxiety.
[20:21] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Weird, I think I'd be a lot more anxious if I had to worry about my baby maker getting thwacked every five minutes.
[20:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Look, I'm no clinical psychologist, but if you have anxiety, this ain't the answer.
[20:33] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Period.
[20:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Anyway, by learning to control the flow of energy around the body, the monk begins by lightly tapping himself with his palm, before slowly progressing to harder and harder strikes.
[20:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Many students of shallons spend years of their training outside messing up a tree, and others choose to sit indoors messing up something else.
[20:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I hope Nirvana's worth it, because I can't think of anything worse.
[20:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And on that stomach-churning note, we've reached the end of the episode!
[21:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Which of those superhuman shawl-in-strengths were your favorite?
[21:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Thanks for listening!

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.