Thursday, May 27, 2010, 09:20
Martial artist smashes world record by snapping chopsticks with his throat
A MARTIAL arts expert has smashed a world record – by snapping 30 chopsticks against his throat.
Peter Love, aged 49, routinely shows his mastery of Shaolin Kung Fu by washing his face with broken glass and snapping a house brick with one hand. He can even withstand an axe blow.
Now he has entered the Guinness Book of World Records after performing his latest feat in front of a packed crowd at a martial arts show held at Birmingham's NEC Arena.
Peter, chief instructor at the FMA Fujian (Chinese) Martial Arts Centre in Longton, said: "The official record was breaking 12 chopsticks against the throat at one time, although someone claims to have done 24.
"We set the stage up and I performed it in front of the audience. I broke 30 against my throat.
"You have to do them one at a time and to be honest, I could have kept on going. It was only the clock that stopped me. I had one minute to break as many as I could. They were just ordinary chopsticks you would find in any Chinese restaurant.
"You wouldn't want to try it at home. You could leave some nasty marks, or the chopstick could splinter."
Thirteen years ago, Peter, of Tunstall, couldn't walk a step after he sustained crippling spine injuries in a serious car accident.
He was already an expert in karate and Chinese Kung Fu at the time and says it was his devotion to the martial arts which helped him walk again, six months after the accident.
His daily breathing and strengthening exercises helped boost his recovery, then he trained with a small karate club until he felt his back had recovered. Then he continued to research martial arts alone, eventually studying Shaolin Kung Fu in London.
Within three-months he was asked to teach and he was then invited to Singapore to train with a Shaolin master.
Steve Eastlake, of Weston Coyney, is an instructor at the martial arts centre after training with Peter for seven years. The 28-year-old has mastered the "iron shirt" techniques, which include snapping chopsticks against the throat, and he also performed at the martial arts show in Birmingham.
He said: "I didn't know if I would be able to do it. The first thing you do is six months of breathing exercises, to strengthen internally and externally.
"Watching Peter break the world record was inspiring."
Martial arts student Nikki Strike, aged 35, of Longton, who has been training with Peter since last September, said: "It was awesome, unbelievable."
Peter is the author of a book, called Shaolin Kung Fu: The Lost Art.
For more information about Shaolin Kung Fu, contact the Martial Arts Centre on 07968 080834.