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Mr. Nigel Sutton visits a Malaysian qigong school:

Next Master Kang asked if I would like to have a go and the larger of the two educators smiled myopically at me as his teacher insisted that i could hit him anywhere on his abdomen with any kind of strike. “Any kind of strike?” I queried. The master nodded. I decided that the man was fair game so I gently placed my loosely-clenched fist on his solar-plexus and simultaneously sinking and contracting my muscles delivered a taiji punch. This kind of punch directs all its force inwards, as little energy is lost at the initial contact because it is so soft. Very difficult to apply in a fighting situation, as a demonstration “trick” it is quite impressive. As the fist travels such a small distance and the effects are often spectacular, with the “victim” either flying backwards or sinking to his knees, vomiting or any combination of the above.

In this case my target’s qigong training must have stood him in good stead for he neither fell over nor threw up. He did, however, turn a nice shade of green and surreptitiously kneaded the spot where I had hit him. Master Kang, meanwhile became quite agitated. “No, no you can hit him any way you like but not like that!” So saying he pushed target number one away and beckoned over another of his students.

Master Kang looked up at me as if to say where did you learn to do that; he should have known as during the introductions he had been told that I had been studying the Chinese martial arts for some years.

http://www.zhong-ding.com/qigong.htm

Tim Cartmell:

When the Chinese army was researching and developing their hand-to-hand combat, (which later evolved into the modern San Shou/San Da tournament fighting popular today) they researched all the popular forms of martial arts, including their own. The conclusion was that Western boxing hand techniques, when it came to developing practical striking and defensive abilities in a reasonable amount of time, were superior to all others, including their own

from Western Boxing Influence In Asian Martial Arts

(From the Samo Hung / Yuen Biao classic The Prodigal Son)

Sometimes I wonder why things are the way they are…

1) This is Buddhist kungfu:

2) And this is Taoist kung fu:

3) And these are some Google searches:

Hung Gar Bench:

For maximum effect, picture 100 robed Shaolin monks practicing this in unison.

… Oh, wait, here you go:

Shaolin Bench! Because you never know when spear-wielding Qing soldiers might bust in on you at the diner.

What’s the modern application? Might be a good form for a carpenter, has all those sawhorses around…

Other Shaolin forms to research: bicycle, cookie sheet, lawn chair.