One of the neatest things in all of TV history was when David Carradine in the old Kung Fu television show walked the kung fu walk on rice paper. Rice paper is extremely flimsy, and the bare moisture on the bottom of the foot, along with the weight of a persons body, is supposed to be sufficient to tear the stuff apart. The legend of the matter, of course, is that there is this martial discipline called Light Kung Fu, where one could actually make the body so light that they could maybe even levitate it!
Now, myself and all the guys in the neighborhood would watch David Carradine, Kwai Chang Caine as he was known on TV, and wish we had a kung fu master to teach us how to walk on rice paper. Why, there was no end to the things we could do if we only knew Light Kung Fu! The neighborhood bullies would be nothing if we had that awesome power!
So, a little thought about what Kawi Chang Caine was doing, a little western ingenuity, and we came up with a solution. Unroll a roll of toilet paper on a linoleum floor. Now, with a dropper, put a small drop of water in the middle of each square. Now, walk the walk.
Rice paper is like wet toilet paper, you see. So we walked, and...the thin stuff was ripped apart. Hmmm.
Try it again, placing the foot and not turning it at all. Squoosh, squoosh! Darn stuff just tore apart.
So we placed a long row of chairs next to the strip of tissue paper, and tried supporting ourselves as we walked the walk. Rip, squish, darn! This was tougher than we thought.
Now, to be truthful, we never did manage to walk the walk, and not tear the filmy stuff into shreds. And, to be truthful, I don't think it is possible, toilet paper is designed to dissolve in water, and rice paper is not. But something really neat did occur because of this intense interest in being able to do what the old masters did, even if they were only actors on TV.
In trying to walk on rice paper we ended up working out long and hard. While waiting for the floor to dry we ran through our kicking and blocking routines, we did our forms and worked on our balance and strength. In the end, though we never did manage to walk the light kung fu walk and not tear the living dickens out of that stupid toilet paper, we became masters by another means, we mastered kung fu through dedication and long hard work and by being inspired by our dreams! - 31373
Now, myself and all the guys in the neighborhood would watch David Carradine, Kwai Chang Caine as he was known on TV, and wish we had a kung fu master to teach us how to walk on rice paper. Why, there was no end to the things we could do if we only knew Light Kung Fu! The neighborhood bullies would be nothing if we had that awesome power!
So, a little thought about what Kawi Chang Caine was doing, a little western ingenuity, and we came up with a solution. Unroll a roll of toilet paper on a linoleum floor. Now, with a dropper, put a small drop of water in the middle of each square. Now, walk the walk.
Rice paper is like wet toilet paper, you see. So we walked, and...the thin stuff was ripped apart. Hmmm.
Try it again, placing the foot and not turning it at all. Squoosh, squoosh! Darn stuff just tore apart.
So we placed a long row of chairs next to the strip of tissue paper, and tried supporting ourselves as we walked the walk. Rip, squish, darn! This was tougher than we thought.
Now, to be truthful, we never did manage to walk the walk, and not tear the filmy stuff into shreds. And, to be truthful, I don't think it is possible, toilet paper is designed to dissolve in water, and rice paper is not. But something really neat did occur because of this intense interest in being able to do what the old masters did, even if they were only actors on TV.
In trying to walk on rice paper we ended up working out long and hard. While waiting for the floor to dry we ran through our kicking and blocking routines, we did our forms and worked on our balance and strength. In the end, though we never did manage to walk the light kung fu walk and not tear the living dickens out of that stupid toilet paper, we became masters by another means, we mastered kung fu through dedication and long hard work and by being inspired by our dreams! - 31373
About the Author:
Al Case has analyzed martial arts for 4O years. A writer for the magazines since'81, he is the founder of matrixing technology and neutronics. You can walk on rice paper with him, or, least get a free ebook, at Monster Martial Arts.
