stage theatrics-these have been done for centuries and are still being done today. Most of these you could do with little or no trainng, except for theatrical performance trainng-certainly not ch’i-gung.
1-iron bar or rebar, or spear,gim, arrows, atc on neck- The pressure is not on the soft tissues in front of the neck, but rather downward on the supersternal notch. With even more training, you can bend it upwards, but then you also use your chin.It’ easy and anyone can do this. I used to do this when I was a teen at parties with carving knives and I’ve actually snapped one on my throat. The snapping blade is dangerous, and was a total accident, but since I was unharmed, it looked twice as cool! (don’t try that one)
2-bed of nails-we all know how that works
3-sword on chest being hit with steel bar-swords cut on the draw, which is why you can slice banannas and press your thumb into the blade and not get hurt. Same way people walk on those stairs of swords,or cut melons with katanas on people’s bodies. Notice the first whacks with the steel bar are sideways, and the last one is with the bar flat, so it bends. He is also supporting the blade with his hands to lessen the impact.
4-guillotine is based on the same principle. Breaking bricks, stone slabs,etc on the body is possible because the bricks are brittle and the body is soft and pliant. Anyone who has ever done masonry knows how to do this, as we hold the brick in our palm and tap it with the hammer to snap it in half. (was a bricklayer for a bit) Notice when he hits it with the sledge, he doesn’t whack it as if he is tryiing to smash it, he is simply tapping it with control. No follow through.
5-driving over a body has been done with cars, jeeps,etc. The way the ramp is set up with the middle board displaces the weight of the vehicle. There is never full weight directly upon the body. Using the bed of nails is definately cooler, but also notice that the host was able to lift the scooter. Do it with something heavier, like a Harley. Bring a mop.
6-ok-the eyes. You can bet he was putting the pressure not directly on the eyeballs-the eyelids are a membrane, and the eyes are fragile (resilient yes, but fragile and full of nerves) But on the ridge of his brow. Also not inward and upward toward the center (nose) due to the nerves at those points (we grab there in HG) but definately under the brow bone.
oh, and btw, did you notice how they are very performance oriented in their delivery of the routines? They even mentioned that they travel all over the world to do these performances. They are simply circus acts.
[QUOTE=Notintheface;776888]I tell that to my wife all the time…and she says give me batteries any day:([/QUOTE]
Sorry. I asked her to quit calling me “batteries.”
Hey, as long as you have her back in time to cook dinner 
[QUOTE=Aeturnal;776588]is there a system that helps protect the face and head? [/QUOTE]
I thought that was what learning how to block and dodge/weave is for.
[QUOTE=xcakid;777013]I thought that was what learning how to block and dodge/weave is for.[/QUOTE]
i thought they were called helmets?
I’ve seen plenty of iron head
Check out my article An Iron Head Points to the Moon: Shaolin Wushuguan’s Senior Master, Monk Shi Sugang in our 2005 Shaolin special.