Qi Gong is a sham and you're right, this show totally could have exposed it but didn't. If you look at the way his assistant swung the pole, you'll notice that he quickly whips it back after contact, and it's the whip force that actually breaks the pole. The show must have collected enough data to expose this, but for whatever reason they balked.Personal story: When my grandmother got lymphoma, to my surprise her Chinese community of family and friends all told her to try Chinese Medicine, like, their attitude was as if Chinese Medicine was a legitimate alternative to Western Medicine. We spent hundreds on placebo teas and Qi Gong quacks who told my grandmother she had blocked Qi and did not have cancer. The guy's business card made it look like he was an M.D. and had all this experience, but the fact of the matter is that he worked from his house and had no license to practice medicine in Texas. Oh, and he charged $100 a visit, and wanted 2 visits a week. I guess long story short, it took a lot to finally convince my mom to stop taking grandma there. Even with so much fact and medical advice contradicting this guy, he was somehow still able to hook my mom and grandmother. I guess my point is that there is a lot of dirty money behind the application of Qi Gong in alternative medicine. Qi Gong is not just another cool martial arts style. It's a scam and apparently a successful one, and this show has managed to totally give it a pass. WTF.   See 1 other reply

The vocabulary wasn't right, but the general idea was there.-Inhale as much as you can, using the diaphragm.
-Pull your abdomen into your chest (like you were showing off for a girl at the beach), which increases the pressure in your lungs.
-use your tongue to block the air passage, and relax your throat.
-When you move your tongue, air will be expelled at a very high rate, thanks to the excess air pressure.Neat trick! I learned something new.   See 11 other replies

Well, I'll agree that there's not a whole lot that I'd call good science in here. I think the most important thing as far as science goes would be to come up with really good tests that both can be well controlled and also actually force us to make certain conclusions. As for determining what style of kick is best or even most effective in that test, that seemed like a pretty poor test. I look at it this way, which ever is the quickest and most surprising for the target that also has a certain minimum amount of force is the best in combat. You want to actually land a non-blocked kick after all. So, there are too many things that don't really have to do with combat. It's a very difficult thing to study. But if there is anything (potentially) useful, it's raw data and they did generate some of that.   See 2 other replies

Anyone who thinks the impact is more important than the target needs to watch America Funniest Home videos...   See 11 other replies

... uggg... and the diaphragm doesn't caused forced exhalation. Muscles pull, not push! Fact check people! *beat head against wall* You people should just put me on payroll.   See 11 other replies