Training montages are undoubtedly one of the best parts of kung-fu movies. They can distill years of training into a short, evocative clip, usually set to a rousing soundtrack. Watch enough of them and you might think that like Neo in The Matrix, you, too, can learn martial arts with a simple knowledge download.
That’s pretty much what YouTuber Hafu Go tries to do in a recent video. He gives himself 30 days to train with a Shaolin Monk, who’s spent two decades honing his body in kung-fu, conquering techniques such as running on water and, well, “iron crotch.”
Training begins with Master Yandi, who teaches at an official Canadian branch of the Shaolin Temple & Monastery of Hanan, China. He began training at the age of 8, working to master one of oldest and most challenging martial arts, Shaolin kung fu.
Surprisingly (but maybe not), the training begins with stretching. “Stretching is more painful than strength training,” says Master Yandi. On the first day, he’s already asking Hafu to do a split; Hafu, who confesses he spends a lot of his time sitting, isn’t ready for that. Soon he’s laugh-crying his way through back stretches as Master Yandi demonstrates what’s need to become a Shaolin master.
As the training grinds on, Hafu feels like he’s not making any progress; maybe he, unlike Master Yandi, just isn’t a born martial artist. (Being asked to crawl down a long, winding set of stairs probably doesn’t help.) By the end of the week, he needs to pass Master Yandi’s test to determine whether he can continue. Watch the video to find out how he does.
