Kick Ass Miracles

Chris explores the extremes people go to appease and invoke their gods.In Phuket, Thailand, he witnesses the extraordinary, extreme piercing undertaken by local men to appease local gods. The blood also flows in torrents at the Kali Temple in Nepal where the ritual sacrifice of animals to the Goddess Kali is a family day out.In India Chris gets to grips with wrestlers who lead a monastic existence of abstinence, and back in Nepal he meets a man with a more weighty way to control his sexual urges. Meanwhile, in the UK, Chris takes part in an experiment to discover whether religious faith can lessen a person’s experience of pain.

Chris meets people who, as a result of their unusual powers, lead extreme lives.In China, Chris meets Mr Gwah who, thanks to Tai Chi, has a daily regime of running and gymnastics - not obviously noteworthy except for the fact that Mr Gwah is 105 years old. At the Shaolin Temple in Henan Chris learns the secrets of Inner Kung Fu from a Grand Master.In Thailand Chris learns the secrets of how to ‘dance’ with a venomous King Cobra from an eight-year-old boy, and a Muay Thai champion demonstrates how to fell a man with a kick like an enraged mule. Also in Thailand, at the Tiger Temple, Chris confronts his greatest personal fear when he visits the Buddhist monks who live with 18 tigers.

Chris looks at the extremes people will go to in order to protect themselves.In the Philippines that usually involves very sharp knives. The blood flows readily in a fishing village and in the jungle. Also in the Philippines, snipers from the Special Action Force test the powers of amulets, which are worn to protect the wearer. Amulets aren’t necessary for the Masters of the ancient Thai sword-fighting art Krabi Krabong, at which Chris tries his hand in a temple.At the foot of the Himalayas the local Nepalese villagers show him a dance to frighten animals away from their crops. The dance has its roots in stick-fighting techniques, which Chris re-introduces to the villagers.

Chris finds out about some of the rituals people use to help improve their lives.Up country in the Philippines, Chris takes part in an exorcism to cleanse a haunted house. While under a full Moon in a Manila cemetery he takes part in a War Eskrimador Death Offensive ritual, which is meant to give increased power to a martial artist. He decides not to take part in a Thai ritual to protect villages from evil, because it involves climbing huge ladders made of razor sharp knives, but decides to leap feet first into the Fire-Walking ritual in the same place, with unexpected results...In India he learns the secrets behind an apparently miraculous dance that cured smallpox. And he meets the UK team harnessing common or garden herbs and plants to cure Alzheimers, cancer and head-aches.

Chris looks at the miraculous ways people maintain their health and heal the sick.In India he finds a novel cure for stomach ailments used in Hatha yoga which involves swallowing 10 metres of bandage. While in Hong Kong he tries the gall bladder of a live snake which is supposed to prolong life - though probably not for the snake.In Thailand he meets a monk who blows healing breaths across his injured wrist with surprising results, and a 74-year-old woman offers him magical breast milk to make him more charming.

Chris meets some of the teachers and Masters of the miraculous.He encounters the last Master of once banned Korean martial art Tek-yon, and witnesses a mind-boggling mental and physical display in a demonstration by a Chi Gong master involving eggs, a bus and a clamp on his ear.Back in the UK, Chris learns how the world’s Free Diving Champion can hold his breath for 10 minutes, while out in Nepal he meets a Yogi seeking spiritual enlightenment on a mountain top with only large amounts of hashish for company. He also encounters a Guru who is not all he claims to be, and meets the man who is de-bunking the God-Men of India and confronting superstition with rational thought.