Amazing feats

I've done what I consider some pretty amazing stuff in my life.

While chasing down an errant basketball I once hurdled a 4-foot high fence. This is 6" higher than an Olympic Hurdle. The rules of our playground game were who ever got to an out-of-bounds ball first kept it for the throw in. Two other kids beat me to the fence but they stopped and put their hands on top to vault over. Realizing that would slow me down I just leaped. I have no idea how I managed to clear it, but I did, and I got to the ball first.

While walking through a park one spring day I heard the beating of wings and felt movement in the air behind my head. Without even thinking about it I dropped to my knees and the furious magpie passed through the space just recently occupied by my head.

Both of these feats are nothing compared to an event that occurred during one of my karate classes. As a warm-up we used to play a very physical version of basketball, but we weren't allowed to use our hands, not to tackle nor to handle the ball, any other body part was fair game though, which is how I scored one of the few goals ever scored, with a head butt. That impressed everyone in the Dojo and several other people attempted head butt goals but nobody else was ever successful.

That's not the amazing bit though.

During one such game the ball flew so high into the air that it hit the ceiling of the Dojo, which was actually an industrial warehouse leased by our Sensei. I was underneath it at the time and with everyone yelling and Senpai Robbie rushing towards me I quickly headed the ball away to a team mate...but Senpai Robbie kept coming at me, very, very quickly, which confused the hell out of me because I didn't have the ball any more.

I yelled "I don't have the ball!" but Senpai Robbie kept coming.

Then he leaped into the air, straight for me.

I dropped to my knees and ducked my head and with a very graceful leap that can usually only be performed by highly trained ballet dancers or martial artists Senpai Robbie leaped over my head...and caught the fluorescent light that had been knocked loose by the basketball.

He leaped over me and while in mid-air caught a fluorescent light.

Then he landed on the other side of me, still running, and unable to check his momentum in time he literally ran into and up the side of the Dojo wall. Just like they do in the movies he took a couple of steps along the wall before dropping back down onto the floor, all the while holding the fluorescent light in one hand. You don't see them do that in the movies.

I've seen Martial Artists do some amazing things, but it's always something they've practiced many, many times in order to perfect it. I'm not saying what they do is not impressive, it's just it's all rehearsed. Senpai Robbie catching a falling fluorescent light in midair, then running up, across, and down a wall, still holding the fluorescent light; that was amazing.