The transcript below is from the video “Why You Should Never Mess With A Shaolin Monk” by Wisefool.

Wisefool:
Yes, a Shaolin monk has just hurled a needle through a massive pane of glass, bursting the balloon behind it. And that’s far from the only incredible skill Shaolin monks have mastered. So in today’s video, we’ll show you why you should never mess with a Shaolin monk and what secrets their millennia-old martial art holds. So stay tuned here at Wisefool!
When you think of the term monk, you probably always have the image of a peaceful older man sitting in a monastery praying all day. But, in fact, the monks of Shaolin Monastery, founded around 495 Anno Domini in the Songshan Mountains in China, were originally ordinary believers in God who had nothing to do with martial arts. However, when their dynasty was repeatedly threatened, the resident monks began to intensively practice ancient defense and fighting techniques to be able to go into battle. Since then, the Shaolin continued to refine their techniques and drill their followers 8 hours a day to gain skills that can only be believed if you see them with your own eyes.

Wisefool:
As early as the 16th century, the monks had 72 exercises to defeat opponents, including punching, kicking, grappling, stick fighting, and attacking opponents’ nerve pressure points. Today – more than 1500 years after the monastery began teaching martial arts – a total of 170 actions are trained, making Shaolin monks unbeatable. But more about that later. For now, let’s address how one becomes a Shaolin monk.
You are wrong if you think you can go to a monastery to learn fantastic fighting techniques. Although there are courses in various monasteries and martial arts schools to learn individual skills, you must subordinate your entire life to this goal if you want to do even close to what the Shaolin perform at their shows.

Wisefool:
To become a real Shaolin, you must start training at age 21 – even better at 12 or earlier. Discipline is everything here because even the youngest train for more than 5 hours daily with endurance, strength, speed, and fighting techniques. But that’s only partly because outside of training, the students must also take on additional tasks for the other monks, such as cooking or cleaning. And also otherwise live according to strict rules. For example, they must be celibate, so they are not allowed to have fun with women, and the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, or meat is also prohibited.
In addition, Shaolin monks reject material possessions. So if you decide to become a Shaolin monk, you must give up your entire life and devote yourself around the clock only to being a Shaolin. Even though all of this sounds extremely hard and requires enormous discipline, the results speak for themselves.

Wisefool:
Now that you know a bit about the history and training of Shaolin monks, we’ll show you some of the most impressive skills of Shaolin monks that make them truly unbeatable. So give this video a quick thumbs up now!
One of the Shaolin monks’ most fierce abilities is to concentrate the entire force of their body on a tiny spot. For example, they can hurl tiny needles through glass panes, as you can already see at the beginning of this video. This ability also makes it possible for them to cut through bricks, as known by other fighters, and to knock off massive stones precisely. Even balancing the entire body weight on only two fingers is no problem for a trained Shaolin monk.

Wisefool:
However, Shaolin monks can concentrate their strength on their hands and other body parts to make themselves incredibly resistant. For example, as you can see, the entire weight of this monk rests on only a tiny amount of his head. Nevertheless, through his enormous body control, he manages this balancing act, in which anyone else would probably injure themselves violently. Lying on sharp and pointed objects such as knives or boards full of nails is no problem for a Shaolin monk.
Another important Shaolin skill is turning any attack into a counterattack. As many ways as you can attack a person, Shaolin can counter anything! And so they transform every grip, every punch, and every kick in a split second into a painful lesson for the opponent, who finds himself in a hopeless situation on the ground faster than he could ever have guessed.

Wisefool:
Speaking of speed, what’s impressive about the Shaolin monks is the speed and agility they display in all their actions. Not only can a Shaolin monk strike and kick incredibly fast, but he is also vastly superior to his opponents in jumping and running. Even if a Shaolin monk goes down in a fight, he is back on his feet within a fraction of a second as if nothing had happened. And even attacks on him while he is lying on the ground, are no challenge for a Shaolin. Just as quickly as he can attack himself, he can also dodge – and go straight back to the counterattack. But even if a Shaolin monk fails to dodge during a fight and is hit, this is not a problem for him. Since in conflicts, it is not only essential to dish it out but also to be able to take it, Shaolin monks also learn techniques to withstand even the worst pain. Even a blow from a stick to the neck does not upset a Shaolin monk.
And it gets even more violent: The male viewers among you probably know how immobile and incapable of action you usually are after a punch or kick between the legs. A real Shaolin, however, has mastered the so-called “iron step” and can thus easily put away even violent hits on them. No matter how hard they are.

Wisefool:
Now that you have seen some fierce skills write us in the comments if there might be a technique to beat a Shaolin monk.
While other people need tools to be superior in battle, Shaolin monks can use their entire bodies as weapons. But even if Shaolin monks are already dangerous without tools – With tools, they are even more blatant. For example, the monks can also handle long and short sticks and poles, swords, and shields with incredible precision and use them to attack and defend during a fight. So as you can see, Shaolin monks are incredibly versatile. And it is precisely this versatility is the reason why no one can beat a Shaolin monk.
Through their years of training, they have mastered not only one fighting technique, such as karate, but a whole bouquet of fighting techniques, which they can combine at will. Thus, they are superior to any opponent – no matter how big or heavy he is or which martial art he masters.

Wisefool:
In the long history of Shaolin, there were, of course, always people who claimed to be able to beat a Shaolin monk, and there were numerous public fights with, for example, boxers or even MMA fighters. But in the end, no one could hold a candle to the Shaolin monks. Every martial art has some weakness, and the Shaolin monks can identify them through their all-encompassing, hard training and exploit them to their own advantage.
In this video, you learned why it’s never a good idea to fight against a Shaolin Monk. These warriors have dedicated their entire lives to perfecting their craft, and their mastery of martial arts is truly inspiring. We’ll see you in the following episode here at Wisefool!