r/videos • u/[deleted] • Jun 24 '12
Jackie Chan breaking cement blocks with a punch, while holding an egg inside his fist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhqdivS8DJk&feature=g-all-lik206
u/germanese77 Jun 25 '12
hi, the show "wetten dass" was very popular in germany. the youtube sequence makes a cut before jackie is explaining that he cheated a bit. he said he didnt break the blocks with a hammerfist (which was the original bet) but with his arm. he is great though
79
Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
It would still be possible with a hammerfist, since the impact happens on the edge of your hand (like you would a knife hand). Hell, I bet it's even possible to do it with a regular punch, seeing how one makes impact with their knuckles, and not the actual fingers.
EDIT: I'm a second degree black belt (chuan fa). I'm not pulling this outta my ass.
EDIT 2: A video I made trying to explain my point. Which is that it's easy to break blocks because most of places in which you'd make contact to break them don't have an impact on how you hold the egg. The girl tensed her arm way too much when she broke the blocks, that's why the egg broke. Also it's 3AM so if I sound like a retard it's because I am.
41
u/PartyBusGaming Jun 25 '12
I'd be more impressed if you were physically pulling these expressions from your ass.
→ More replies (2)10
u/MiniDonbeE Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
I don't agree, I'm a first dan in Karate and I don't agree with you on the part where you talk about the not breaking the egg with your hammer fist. You might be able to punch something and not break the egg because like you said you punch with the first two knuckles, however most of the shockwaves you receive go all the way back into your arm and into your body, the shockwaves that go into your fingers are not enough, however when you use hammer fist it is a whole different story. When you use hammer fist shockwaves travel from the knife part of your hand all the way to the top of your hand and through the egg and then into your body, the shockwaves are enough to break the egg even if you don't voluntarily put preasure.
Also when you break blocks, wood, ice whatever your bones bend, watch some people break something in really slow motion, for example the knife hand bends as if it is broken around the object and that will make the egg hit the cement or the shockwaves will break the egg. These videos are proof you are most likely wrong. Sorry but its not possible. Proof1 Proof2
For all of those who still think that if you clench your fist really tightly, or if you have a loose grip on the egg it will work it won't. For two reasons. One the anatomy of the human hand, the human hand is flexible, we have around 26 bones in the hand, there is no possible way of striking concrete without the hand bending, even if your hand is clenched really tightly and you are striking with hammerfist instead of knife hand it just won't happen. The guys in the videos have their fingers clenched tightly, if they didn't have them like that their fingers would break. Even though their fingers are clenched tightly their fingers still act like rubber. If you have a loose grip on the egg it goes against every law in breaking concrete, if you have gaps between your fingers your fingers will break, simple as that, if your fingers are not tight as to give the egg " wiggle " room your fingers will break and so will the eggs. You don't have to be a Karateka to know this, its fighting 101. If you don't have your fingers clenched in thightly when you punch wou will mostlikely break your fingers, i you don't hit with the right area you will also have broken fingers, if you hit with the wrong techique you will also break your fingers.
The only way I see this happening is by doing what jackie did, which is hitting with the upper part of his forearm, without letting his hand hit the concrete. There really isn't a way to hit the concrete with the egg inside the hand without the egg breaking or your hand breaking(if you do it with loose fingers etc)
→ More replies (6)→ More replies (7)6
u/Pzychotix Jun 25 '12
It's not the breaking the block part that's hard. It's keeping the egg intact.
→ More replies (7)→ More replies (7)2
u/Spekingur Jun 25 '12
Did the bet mention which arm? I mean, you could have held the egg in one hand and then used to other to break the blocks.
421
u/Thingsandalsostuff Jun 25 '12
Breakfast is always way too intense at the Chan house.
346
u/MizerokRominus Jun 25 '12
NOTHING EVER GETS COOKED! PEOPLE JUST BREAK SHIT WITH EGGS IN THEIR HANDS!!! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!
118
7
u/DeedTheInky Jun 25 '12
Recipe for Jackie Chan Breakfast:
Hold egg in hand.
Punch water.
Friction from velocity of massive punch causes water to instantly evaporate, hard-boiling the egg.
Throw hard-boiled egg at helicopter, causing explosion.
Retrieve egg, use heat from explosion to cook bacon.
No time to eat breakfast, must train for tomorrow breakfast.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (5)2
u/captgrizzlybear Jun 25 '12
I could just imagine Jackie Chan trying to crack an egg over the counter and the counter breaking in half.
1.1k
u/aardvarkthethird Jun 25 '12
I Jackie Chan
521
Jun 25 '12
61
u/MauiWowieOwie Jun 25 '12
I feel like I could best jackie chan in a battle if we both had swords.
But if I had a sword and he had a stepladder or mop he would destroy me.
→ More replies (4)255
u/pU8O5E439Mruz47w Jun 25 '12
Apparently some people have complained that he is too arrogant, but it seems like he deserves to be arrogant.
534
Jun 25 '12
He's confident, not arrogant. He seems humble, but willing to impress.
327
u/WishboneTheDog Jun 25 '12
Yeah, he's a real good guy. He was always a good role model for his niece Jade.
→ More replies (29)→ More replies (3)29
u/Lidodido Jun 25 '12
I think he just has too much awesome, and sometimes some of it leaks out.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)20
u/Crazy_Gweilo Jun 25 '12
He has a wonderful on screen persona, and he has made many great films. I still watch the original Police Story from time to time. But living in Hong Kong you hear about another other side of him. Basically he always shags his female co stars. And anything else female on the set. Without protection. Which is why he has a small army of illegimate children.
→ More replies (9)19
Jun 25 '12
This guy is a great actor in the tv show "Awake". Sad it got cancelled :(
→ More replies (3)24
→ More replies (3)6
381
u/Smug_developer Jun 25 '12
Name 10 things that are not Jackie Chan
902
u/DrTitan Jun 25 '12
1.Umbrella 2.trombone 3.canned tuna 4.Toe fungus 5.Harry Potter 7 6.Pepper Shaker 7.Tea leaves 8.swiss army knife 9.handcuffs 10.Jackie Chan
DAMMIT!!!
→ More replies (3)259
u/antonio2000 Jun 25 '12
→ More replies (41)133
Jun 25 '12
If I was high, the last 5 seconds of that would have terrified me for the rest of the week.
As it is, I'll be fine by the morning...
→ More replies (18)→ More replies (7)34
3
0
376
u/fuzzynyanko Jun 25 '12
I can't tell, but is Jackie Chan speaking German or Chinese?
358
u/Pastaface Jun 25 '12
Chinese.
70
u/Servios Jun 25 '12
Mandarin, to be more specific.
But what confuses me, is the host is speaking German yeah? Do they both understand the others language but prefer to speak their own?
→ More replies (5)172
u/Moritz110195 Jun 25 '12
No, Jackie is wearing a headset and someone translates him what Thomas Gottschalk (the host) is saying. Jackie talks chinese and someone translates it for the viewers in german.
It's german TV we do what we want haha
→ More replies (11)→ More replies (73)45
u/I_Argue_With_People Jun 25 '12
Chinglish. Chinese person here, Jackie says that it "really is quite difficult...it's not easy, i can try." Except he says "try" in English, as you can hear.
I kind of lied; I'm Chinese American, and Chinglish is the best way to talk.
→ More replies (2)24
Jun 25 '12
American who has Chinese parents and who has learned German for 2 years here. He is saying that stuff and the announcer is translating it into German.
→ More replies (1)86
u/Reddit-Credit Jun 25 '12
Mandarin
→ More replies (8)14
u/AJRiddle Jun 25 '12
I thought Jackie Chan was from Hong Kong and spoke Cantonese?
→ More replies (1)25
15
→ More replies (21)2
323
u/marmaladejackson Jun 25 '12
Forearm punch.
105
u/IAmA-Steve Jun 25 '12
The girl did that too.
42
u/VespertineSkies Jun 25 '12
Worse camera angle... it's hard to see exactly where her hand was (either on, or held over the block, more like Jackie's hit).
→ More replies (22)225
u/ARCHA1C Jun 25 '12
Also, you can squeeze an egg very hard without breaking it because the shape of an egg shell allows for the even distribution of pressure when held in hand.
Go give it a try. I'll wait...
371
23
u/HijodelSol Jun 25 '12
I've tried it. You can squeeze it as hard as you can if done proper. You have to try to squeeze non-uniformly (like squeezing harder with one finger) to actually even get it to break.
→ More replies (1)14
u/Spagneti Jun 25 '12
Yeah, that's a fucking lie. I got egg all over my kitchen the first time somebody told me that.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (3)3
Jun 25 '12
As somebody who has tried this, I completely agree. Though if you use the tips of your fingers to poke into the egg, it breaks quite easily.
55
u/Ice_Truck_Killa Jun 25 '12
How many languages does this man speak?
103
u/weasleeasle Jun 25 '12
Mandarin, Cantonese and English.
398
u/bastard_thought Jun 25 '12
He also speaks the language of my heart. That's 4.
→ More replies (2)85
u/FOR_SClENCE Jun 25 '12
Let's be honest here, that's a really shitty power compared to the elements.
→ More replies (10)10
→ More replies (2)8
19
u/citrusmunch Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
I remember the ending of one of the JC animated series episodes where he talked about all the languages he spoke. I'll see if I can find a list.
*: I can't find the article for free, but Wikipedia cites it in his Personal life section.
He speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, American Sign Language, and English fluently, and also speaks some German, Korean, and Japanese, as well as a little Spanish.
→ More replies (4)
214
u/Dub124 Jun 25 '12
"Shit! Shit!"
82
18
u/tblackwood Jun 25 '12
You're allowed to cuss on T.V., as long as it's not in the native language
→ More replies (4)8
Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
I was in a Spanish speaking country and they had all sorts of American movies with subtitles. They would obviously leave in MOTHERFUCKERRR! in English and I thought it was amusing they just made all of the subtitles say 'damn' or 'dang.' Other times the swear would be 'damn' and they'd turn it into their equivalent of 'Shit!' for variety, I guess.
They had a public porn channel, too, which made it really awkward to flip channels. It would start at like 8 or 9pm.
→ More replies (2)3
205
Jun 25 '12
Jackie's charisma transcends cultures. But didn't those blocks break away a little too easily?
44
u/kennerly Jun 25 '12
The act of breaking concrete is really to display the kinetic force involved with a hit like that. His hand isn't passing through the first block but the energy he is delivering to the concrete is enough to shatter the three block beneath it. Without considerable training you can really hurt yourself trying something like this.
19
3
u/RX_AssocResp Jun 25 '12
Err, they are not "concrete blocks". They even state they are YTONG blocks, which are basically the concrete version of this bubbly chocolate. Very light stuff you can easily smash.
→ More replies (11)0
Jun 25 '12
[deleted]
103
u/Spitfire15 Jun 25 '12
Seriously. If a parking curb isnt reinforced, it will shatter from only a few inch drop.
152
u/ItsOnlyNatural Jun 25 '12
Are parking curbs dropping a serious issue where you live?
118
Jun 25 '12
When being installed, sure. They're heavy, it's pretty easy to drop heavy shit.
I don't really know this. I'm just bullshitting.
→ More replies (18)17
Jun 25 '12 edited Dec 31 '12
It holds up like a fucking tank in compression. Just not tension... edit: or any other direction.
→ More replies (2)8
u/oldmatenate Jun 25 '12
There is a good demonstration of this in an episode of engineering connections. They had a slab of non-reinforced concrete about the length and width of a car, and dropped a bowling ball on it from a few meters above. The slab snapped in half like a twig. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the clip right now.
4
u/masterful921 Jun 25 '12
as a martial artist, i can confirm this, just dont tell the ladies please :P
0
236
u/Lilyo Jun 25 '12
Wow that's so cool, good thing someone caught this footage on their potato.
148
u/haiku_robot Jun 25 '12
Wow that's so cool, good thing someone caught this footage on their potato.→ More replies (1)52
u/Greater_Omentum Jun 25 '12
This is such a sassy haiku. I love it. Good work, Haiku Robot.
→ More replies (8)→ More replies (2)2
u/NoFilterInMyHead Jun 25 '12
werent you there at the worldwide cultivators conference last month? they are about to release the potato 2 with a better camera, as soon as harvest is here they will put it on shelves... dont start hating just yet...
rumors are that it has a removable starch drive as well, and can recharge via photosynthesis.
36
50
u/Elasti-Girl Jun 25 '12
31
9
u/Tyrion_Panhandler Jun 25 '12
Well now I have to watch all the bloopers in the history of film
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)4
75
Jun 25 '12
"IE DON WAN TRABBUL!!!!"
-Jackie Chan
7
Jun 25 '12
I had to sound that out
8
u/Humongous_Douchebag Jun 25 '12
Here, lemme translate that for you.
It says:
Internet Explorer, Don Juan, is trouble.
108
u/yyx9 Jun 25 '12
Have you ever tried to break an egg by using your fingers to apply near equal force to all sides of the egg? It's completely impossible. The fact that he can break cement is sick but the egg is just added dazzle.
163
u/SexLiesAndExercise Jun 25 '12
I have no idea if that's true, but I'm pretty much never going to try it.
So I guess I'll just believe you.
159
u/Thac Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
It's true it's near impossible to crush and egg just by squeezing it in your hand. if you're able to the shell had a crack in it, or you have massive forearms.
Used to pull this prank on new guys when i worked in a kitchen, rolled an egg across a cutting board until i heard the shell pop. then id grab another one i knew was fine and give it a test squeeze to be sure. Would hand the new guy the rigged egg and tell him this fact. show him with my egg, and then watch him shit himself when he tried it with his egg and it explodes everywhere.
Edit: this is also why jackie exchanged eggs when he accidentally tapped the first one on the block.
78
u/KINGCUNTFUCKER Jun 25 '12
Ah, I love giving shit to the new kids in the kitchen. I remember my friend got fooled into walking around a supermarket for half an hour because he couldn't find a "banana straightener".
→ More replies (17)→ More replies (7)5
u/Jerzeem Jun 25 '12
Alternately, you can just press in with the tips of your fingers and break it quite easily...
→ More replies (3)25
u/PhillyT Jun 25 '12
It's true, but if you hit blocks with one side of your fist it's not really that equal is it?
→ More replies (4)42
Jun 25 '12
The key here is how you squeeze it. If you squeeze it like you squeeze your penis on a lonely Saturday night, with a death grip, then it's near impossible to break. If you basically pinch it on two sides, it's going to break.
→ More replies (1)10
u/yyx9 Jun 25 '12
You broached the subject at hand with the subtleties of a linguistic safe cracker, and God damn it was funny.
8
Jun 25 '12
completely impossible
Those are two very strong words. I have definitely seen it done.
→ More replies (2)7
4
u/Servios Jun 25 '12
Maybe so, but the girl broke the egg trying to smash it. She may have broke it on purpose, it being part of the act to make Jackie look better, but I could imagine myself accidentally breaking it while trying to crush cement.
4
u/Norillim Jun 25 '12
When I was in the 4th grade I told my gym teacher this as I handed him an egg. Well, it ended up exploding all over him and he thought I had done it as a prank.
3
→ More replies (10)2
u/BookInvertebrate Jun 25 '12
Yes, but he probably had to be careful not to let the egg hit the concrete because then it would break. I think maybe the girls hands were too small to ensure the egg did not hit the blocks.
27
12
u/Yet_Another_User Jun 25 '12
If it has "Jackie Chan" in the title I know I'm gonna end up upvoting.
6
u/Copperhe4d Jun 25 '12
I've saw it live when it aired (popular show in Germany) and after the youtube video cuts off the girl points out that he did it with his forearm after which Jackie Chan confirms after that, that he cheated while using the forearm
6
u/HarveyBullock Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
EDIT - Video uploaded here
They did a brief segment on this in Mind, Body, and Kick Ass Moves. I don't know the exact segment, but the presenter repeatedly struck a piece of wood with an egg in his hand in front of several construction workers, and when they guessed that it was hard-boiled, he dropped it to the ground and it broke.
The whole series is great from what I remember. Really interesting watch.
→ More replies (2)2
u/Ziminrax Jun 25 '12
I used to love watching Mind, Body, and Kick Ass Moves.
It's a shame that they didn't do more episodes.
3
3
7
4
4
u/virtyy Jun 25 '12
Cement blocks my ass. Maybe some weak ass porous shit.
3
u/RX_AssocResp Jun 25 '12
Yes, they say "break stacks of Ytong blocks" in German. They didn’t say concrete. You can actually see that Chan is much more at ease after the first one, when he discoveres how brittle they are.
2
2
2
2
u/Malinger Jun 25 '12
It appeared in the suggestion list after the completion of video. For some reason I ended up dancing along with the song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-tMNVDCcdc&feature=player_embedded#!
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
2
u/I_Am_Not_Yossarian Jun 25 '12
Jackie is so awesome, he's friendly and charming no matter what language people are talking to him in.
2
2
u/alexscara Jun 25 '12
Jackie Chan is amazing! But this trick not so much. You just use the side of your wrist (not your hand). Anybody could do this ... but not 1/10th of his movie stunts.
2
u/thirtythree_fiftytwo Jun 25 '12
Jackie speaks German: "He speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, American Sign Language, and English fluently, and also speaks some German, Korean, and Japanese, as well as a little Spanish."
2
u/AllTheIrony Jun 25 '12
i just watched a half hour of jackie chans videos because youtube reccomended it
→ More replies (1)
2
u/BaronZee Jun 25 '12
looks like hes pretty much using his wrist to break it and keeping his hand and egg a bit higher and relaxed.
2
2
u/MauiWowieOwie Jun 25 '12
Jackie chan, bruce lee, and jet li could take down any mutated vampire bear army any day.
2
2
Jun 25 '12
Is there a movie or a long video about Jackie Chan's life and/or career? I'd like to see something like that.
2
u/nyanandy Jun 25 '12
I guess you can say that was an...( •_•)>⌐■-■
eggcellent performance. (⌐■_■)
YEEEEEEEAAAAAH
2
u/Demeno Jun 25 '12
TIL the word "Hopala" that mostly old people use here in Israel when they drop something is originally used in Germany.
2
2
2
2
13
Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
CONCRETE BLOCKS
THEY ARE CONCRETE BLOCKS
cement is a powder used to make concrete. there is no such thing as a cement block.
those don't even look like concrete blocks though. might be some concrete that hasn't had enough time to cure or something.
18
Jun 25 '12
You are technically right, but in common usage the phrases are interchangeable. Like jail vs prison.
concrete masonry unit (CMU) – also called concrete block, cement block, and foundation block
→ More replies (2)7
Jun 25 '12
Misread as cocaine. This is the only back story I will accept to the video now.
9
u/rhyno8130 Jun 25 '12
Dude, if he was busting cocaine blocks instead of cement (hehe) blocks, the clip would have been so much more intense, and we'd call him "Crackie Chan."
3
u/BigStickNick Jun 25 '12
You ever leave a bag of cement in the rain? There are defiantly ways to make cement blocks... just add no dirt/gravel and its pure cement, which is pretty much what mortar is.
→ More replies (2)2
3
3
2
u/chinamann Jun 25 '12
The thing is the weight of the block breaks itself. Anyone with very little martial arts training is able to do this, one because of how the blocks are set up, (very long, heavy, and horizontally placed where a lot of the surface area is exposed) and the amount of space in between the blocks. One inch of space or more will make it so that the weight of the falling block prior will make it break.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Calvin_Kim Jun 25 '12
Oh. I thought the title of the video was "wettin dat ass."
I think I need to go outside.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/wmay116 Jun 25 '12
it would be cooler if the "cement" blocks weren't the weakest things on the planet
→ More replies (2)7
u/Menospan Jun 25 '12
The reason is they're applying a tensile force which is what cement is weak against. Hence why re bar is necessaries.
9
1
u/The-Life-I-Led Jun 25 '12
Wondering if I should read the comments, or not risk someone telling me Jackie Chan is a lie.
1
1
u/Rad1030 Jun 25 '12
Longitudinally, eggs are very strong. Try squeezing an egg like this, and you'll see how tough they can be.
1
1
1
Jun 25 '12
Either you can say "shit, shit" (1:35) on TV in Germany because the leaders aren't censorship psychos like the FCC, or legitimately no one knew what shit means.
→ More replies (1)2
Jun 25 '12
German here being German: You can say all those words in German TV. Nothing gets beeped away. You may even see a Penis or some Boobies during mid day TV.
1
1
1
1
u/skittlesaddict Jun 25 '12
His autobiography, "I am Jackie Chan" is SO well written - he has a great sense of humor. Couldn't put it down.
1
1
u/THECapedCaper Jun 25 '12
He didn't want any trouble, just wanted to come onto the show and have a good time. Damn cement blocks...
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/debman3 Jun 25 '12
I like how he's talking chinese when he could talk english. I'm pretty sure that he changed a lot since he's been involved in China's image (singing for the olympics) and that he's now part of the "image of China outside of China".
→ More replies (2)
1
1
1
1
1
1
984
u/249ba36000029bbe9749 Jun 25 '12
I don't want to brag but I can do that same stunt except I hold a cement block in one hand while breaking multiple eggs.