I’ve been told that in a Chinese article someone involved in the film admited they used some sort of rope or string to hold him up. I pretty much had to take his word for it though since I don’t read Chinese 
You can see almost his entire left foot and half his right foot… what did they do, suspend someone else from the cieling and hold him up by only grabbing his toes? Using some kind of wires/strings is much easier and makes a hell of a lot more sense 
Its probably legit…
I work laying ceramic tiles and have developed strong fingers and grip I’m able to do two finger push ups ( thumb and index) without much conditioning…
I imagine someone with serious intent could attain the gung fu necessary..(Im not so sure one could do a push up in the position the guy in the vid is inbecause of keeping one’s balance and all. Look at all those Olympic gymnasts and those acrobats in the Circus du Soliay (that French acrobatic act that is now famousthey can do simular things)
What leads me to believe it …his hands…did anyone notice his hands? Look at how well developed his knuckles are.
When someone tells me they do a striking art I immediately look at the hands (are they conditioned? If so, chances are they spent serious time perfecting their art)
Someone (because of his age…) probably helped him into the handstand position then he assume the one finger stance… hell he might even be limber enouph to get up there himself…I don’t see the point of faking it…to easy to be called on it…you either can do it or not
A ttt from 2001
I just found this while searching for something else. Check out my article in our 2007 November/December Shaolin special: The First Shaolin Monk in America: Hai Deng, the One-Finger Handstand Master
Sometimes it takes a little while, but the answers are out there. 
i live in shanghai and frequent a city for business in zhe jiang provice called tai zhou there is a temple close to there that aparently hai deng spent many years sorry i have forgoten the name but if i recall will post at a later time. aparently the monks there still practice yi zhi chan (1 finger zen) I have been offered to go there many times but unfortunetly never had the time.
Johhny on the "8 years later"spot.
“wait for it…wait for it…”
8 years pass
“There you go!”
Beautiful! 
The scary part, I actually remember this thread like it was yesterday!
I love to long term ttt
It makes it worthwhile to keep these old archived threads around. You never know what will pop up. And in the eyes of the search engines, the post time is irrelevant. All hail the KFM archive!
Hello,
Spoke to my teacher about hai deng fa shi,
He said he was from sichuan province.
I found a video of one of his disciples:
http://www.56.com/u75/v_MTkzNTYzNjg.html
You can get the name off this video,
Ok he seems a bit strange, and that fire thing is an obvious trick, but if he was hai deng fa shi’s disciple then he could have some valuable forms, might be worth checking out.
Another video of haidengfashis disciples…
more crazy qigong tricks, cuts off right before the forms 
The real Shaolin Kung Fu one finger zen Hai Deng..mp4
mod edit: Do not post links to adware sites
Super Reverend Monk (1990) & Abbot Hai Deng (1985)
currently watching both of these.
Super Reverend Monk, I have actually seen a long time ago, just getting back to it for personal study lol. (Yu Hai films, he’s one of my favorite patriarchs of Shaolin cinema)
& Abbot Hai Deng (1985) by recommendation
Ive seen plenty of clips of Abbot Hai Deng, just not the full documentary, surprisingly.
so far I like it, will update later
Amituofo
kinda mad at my self for blowing off Super Reverend Monk years ago, this is by far one of the best “Temple Based” flix.
Yu Hai is exceptional, the integrity of the story is solid, the Zen is in, and the fight scenes are top class.
when you get all the ChanWuYi in one film, and the actors/fighters arent joking around, its always A plus work.
Happy I watched it again.
I merged your post Djuan
Even though your ‘Super Reverend Monk (1990) & Abbot Hai Deng (1985)’ post could stand on the media subforum, I’m merging it into our vintage ‘Info on HaiDeng Fashi’ thread on our Shaolin subforum where it’s more relevant.
Take note of my post above from a decade ago - The First Shaolin Monk in America: Hai Deng, the One-Finger Handstand Master.
Chasing down the story of Hai Deng took me from a book signing for my shixiong Matt Polly’s first American Shaolin to the libraries of Tassajara Zendo to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and finally to the Berkeley Buddhist Monastary. It was a journey of enlightenment.
[QUOTE=GeneChing;970384]It makes it worthwhile to keep these old archived threads around. You never know what will pop up. And in the eyes of the search engines, the post time is irrelevant. All hail the KFM archive![/QUOTE]
Indeed! Amituofo
Very worthwhile to watch
this is absolutely a blessing to watch.
given the time it was recorded, the quality, and the fact that the Yi Jin Jing is translated by the subtitles as “I-Ching” (like a shaw brothers translation), makes it all the better to appreciate the essence of the film. and focus on the heart of the Abbot.
If you have an eye for solid gongfu, Abbot Hai Deng will resonate with you, especially if you have ever seen some one his age perform Shaolin arts with such ease. Though he was on camera, and the film is listed as party propaganda, You can still feel the wisdom of his age in his posture and demeanor, you can feel the humility in his interaction. Also, You can also get a sense of Ch’an through is motion, its hard to explain. A compacted meditation which can expand and express in any form at any time, physically, emotionally and mentally, you can get the sense of it.
You can get a sense of who is there for show and who is really studying with him as well.
All around classic material to watch and study for any student, disciple, or scholar of Shaolin. really a true martial artist will appreceate the film, as well as a true Buddhist can gain insight from watching.
from the perspective of cinema, Abbot Hai Deng, for lack of better comparison, makes his moves like master Yoda. (plus I’m a Star Wars ‘correlator’ by nature)…
meaning his stature and poise is withdrawn and meek, his height is shorter than that of his students, and his age is apparent, yet his energy is vital, and his face is full of youth and joy. He incredibly fast, strong, and flexible, and looks like he can smack you through the wall at will, and its taking him all the Buddha to hold his hand back lol…
I had only seen small clips of this film in the past, and dont want to regret not watching it all the way, I enjoyed it and will probably watch it a few more times this month.
Amituofo