Tetada Kalimasada

[buwayahman]

Hi,

I just want to point out that there is this mystical martial arts practice going around in Philippines, called Tetada Kalimasada. It is proclaims something similar to the one-inch kill punch by showing that so much power can be generated my the mind alone. Some even say that with enough practice you can kill an adversary just my pure thought.

To demonstrate this, there are several videos out in youtube. You can search youtube but there are two predominant videos:

- Breaking the bottom of a beer.

I am not convinced because this can be proven by simple physics (pushing the liquid out from the top can cause the bottom of the bottle to break).

- Dropped bulb does not break

I have my own thoughts on this but would love to hear the thoughts of fellow skeptics.

[steenkh]

- Breaking the bottom of a beer.

I am not convinced because this can be proven by simple physics (pushing the liquid out from the top can cause the bottom of the bottle to break).

- Dropped bulb does not break

Conjuror's tricks. Do they do these stunts under controlled circumstances?

[Mojo]

It is proclaims something similar to the one-inch kill punch by showing that so much power can be generated my the mind alone. Some even say that with enough practice you can kill an adversary just my pure thought. I'm guessing that none of the videos show anything actually being done purely by thought; that there is always physical action involved (much as videos of "yogic flying" never show anyone getting beyond the bouncing on mattresses stage). Is this the case?

[Amapola]

I haven't seen the videos. There are ways to "fake" your breaks (in the case of a beer bottle, running a diamond blade around and around the bottom to score the glass will make it break quite easily - and this can not be seen in a video) so videos are not always compelling evidence. Any of these guys could easily win the million, IF they can actually break stuff with "just their minds", so you might want to let them know that.

I once watched a guy break a beer CAN with what we call a "middle knuckle fist". (Make a fist, allow your middle knuckle to stick out farther than your other fingers, strike with the bend of that finger.) He did make a fairly good-sized hole in the can, got beer all over himself and people within 15' of him, and then had to drink the rest of the beer very awkwardly from the side of the can. There is a reason they put the hole for drinking on the end. SIGH.

[buwayahman]

I'm guessing that none of the videos show anything actually being done purely by thought; that there is always physical action involved (much as videos of "yogic flying" never show anyone getting beyond the bouncing on mattresses stage). Is this the case?

Actually, the bulb stunt was somewhat interesting. Since I can't post the link (I still haven't reached the quota), allow me to describe the video:

- The video is about 4 minutes long

- The video starts with a young Filipino showing a light bulb. The bulb looks like a bulb used for pin lights.

- He is standing inside what looks like a small closet, possibly the overhead light provides the necessary illumination to capture the video.

- The camera zooms out until you see the full body of the Filipino.

- For about 3 minutes, the guy performs the usual hand gestures, saying that he is "removing all the negative energy" from the bulb. He also rubs the bulb, saying that he is "coating it with positive energy."

- He drops the bulb from about 3 feet. It doesn't break

[Amapola]

Let me just point out - "The bulb looks like a bulb used for pin lights." That does not mean it really is.

Again, these things can be faked pretty easily for a video. If this guy can really do super natural tricks with just his mind power under actual controlled conditions, he can win one million bucks. Believe me, if I could really do stuff with my mind under controlled conditions, I would be winning that million right now. No more mortgage! But alas - I can't. To the best of my knowledge, the guy you are talking about can't perform magical feats either. Too bad, it would be cool, but there you are - that's reality for you.

[Zep]

What did he drop the bulb ON?

Incidentally, most standard lightbulbs are actually quite strong - certainly they can take the force of a person pushing them hard into a socket (for the bayonet type anyway), which is much more than the force they would receive from being dropped.

I think you are supposed to believe that the bulb WOULD have broken had it dropped from that height. The way to test that would be to drop, say, 100 randomly-picked lightbulbs from a factory or store without subjecting them to this magical potentising, then have him potentise 100 more of the same type of bulb, and drop them. See what the comparative results are...

[Guess: They will be the same, and there will be very few breakages.]

[Skibum]

In case anyone is interested

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaLU062QODA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pk8Jdw3uiA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd7MKb6mf8k

[steenkh]

While rubbing the bulb, he might have exchanged it for a fake that cannot break. An independent investigator should be allowed to examine the bulb before it can be switched back to a normal bulb.

[steenkh]

OK, I have seen the video, and now I am quite convinced that the bulb trick is a simple trick. First of all, we are not given evidence that this is actually a normal bulb, but even if it were, he is using a rather small bulb that is easy to palm, and hence easy to replace with an unbreakable bulb of the same appearance. He tries to bore us and slacken our concentration by using a very long time to perform the trick, and after the bulb has hidden the floor, we are again not given evidence that this is a normal bulb, and again, it would have been easy to replace it with a normal bulb, if he had wished to.

Having myself dropped bulbs on hard surfaces, I am not surprised that it does not always break, but we are given an example of a bulb that breaks (this could of course have been a specially prepared bulb :) )

The bottle breaking trick seems to be a specially prepared bottle, or a bottle type that has a weakness at the bottom. He applies a sudden pressure on the opening which makes the weakness at the bottom break. Seems like a simple trick to me. Perhaps a wekaness could be introduced by leaving the bottle on a warm plate before the trick is performed.