Fist of Zen - FAQ

[CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler]

episode 18

MTV description:
Forty Five Second Electric Fishing Rod | Thirty Second Onion Glasses | Giant Rubber Band Face Twang | Mustard Custard | Balloon Collar | Pressurised Bottom Bottle Ro

Here's another crazy installment of the maddest stunts conducted in silence you'll ever see. It's the Fist Of Zen.

location:
retirement home

origin:
Kingdom of London

team:
- Brady-San alias Pork Chop
- Michael-San alias The Sheep
- Jamie-San alias Cover Band
- Simon-San alias Happy Feet
- Andy-San alias Home-Grown

tasks:
- 45s Electric Fishing Rod (pink rubber ducks)
- 30s Onion Glasses
- Giant Rubber Band Face Twang
- Mustard Custard
- Balloon Collar
- Pressurized Bottom Bottle Rocket
- 30s Face Car-Wash (made from 2 electric drills)
- Bulldog Clip Rip
- 5 Flavour Stink Box
- Serpent Snatch - eggs juggling (with chopsticks into eggcups)

extremely nasty:
5 Flavour Stink Box

substances:
5 Flavour Stink Box = {stinky socks, rotten eggs/ bad eggs, smelly fish/ putrid kippers, rancid cheese, dirty nappy}

note:
Before Bulldog Clip Rip there were already some marks on the body.


episode 19

MTV description:
Thirty Second Electric Star Draw | Tooth Pick Book Shelf Stack | Two Door Thigh Thwack | Ten Scalextric Face Crash | The Thirty Second Onion Glasses | Giant

Welcome back to the wonderful world of the Fist of Zen with all the pain, humillation and gross out stunts you'll ever need.

location:
museum

origin:
Kingdom of Nuneaton

team:
- Ben-San alias Hello Dolly
- Stuart-San alias The Chimp
- Amy-San alias Black Spleen
- Jamie-San alias Face Meat
- Mark-San alias Silent But Deadly

tasks:
- 30s Electric Star Draw
- Tooth Pick Book Shelf Stack
- 2 Door Thigh Thwack (board broke)
- 10 Scalextric Face Crash
- 30s Onion Glasses
- Giant Rubber Band Face Twang
- Full Body Sandpaper Frisk
- 45s Gimp Suit Burst (black suit)
- Tongue Obstacle Course
- Serpent Snatch - passing ping-pong balls by mouth

brain damaging:
Tooth Pick Book Shelf Stack

mentally disturbing:
Gimp Suit Burst 45s black

words of the Zen master:
(after Gimp Suit Burst) "Well done Stuart-San, but do not attempt to puncture inflated people in the street. They are simply obese, and will try to assault you - or eat you."

note:
One candidate was a women (Harness of Keemosan attached to her nipples). During Gimp Suit Burst the adhesive tape at the neck finally loosened a bit at the corners.


episode ?1

MTV description:
unknown

location:
church

origin:
Principality of Norfolk

team:
- Asher-San alias The Fiend
- Jamie-San alias Smell The Glove
- Adam-San alias Turtle's Head
- Josh-San alias Flying Without Wings
- Rob-San alias Cheese Board

tasks:
- Electric Star Draw
- 5 Wasabi Crackers
- Spicy Helmet Head Tank
- Tramp Brew (made from sock)
- 8 Party Popper Face
- Tongue Obstacle Course
- Onion Glasses
- 45s Gimp Suit Burst (red suit)
- 8 Slap Fish Face
- Serpent Snatch - ball catch

extremely nasty:
Spicy Helmet Head Tank, Tramp Brew

mentally disturbing:
Gimp Suit Burst 45s red

substances:
Spicy Helmet Head Tank = {chilli powder, black pepper}

words of the Zen master:
(after Gimp Suit Burst) "It is said that the man who bursts the gimp suit is a man of great courage - either that or is a fat gimp."

note:
During "Party Popper Face" the candidate wore swim goggles however no protective ear plugs. During "Gimp Suit Burst" the adhesive tape at the neck loosened a bit. During "Tongue Obstacle Course" initially there was a white area (talc powder?) visible instead of the vindaloo paste; likely the closeup picture was cut in from an unfinished board (same picture like in episode 3?).


episode ?2

MTV description:
unknown

location:
library

origin:
Fiefdom of Kidderminster

team:
- John-San alias Top Shelf
- Daniel-San alias Teachers Pet
- Andrew-San alias Driving Miss Daisy
- Spencer-San alias Cue Ball
- Lee-San alias Splash Back

tasks:
- Electric Tea Set
- 8 Party Popper Face
- 3 Chilli Swallow (eating, not just chewing)
- Tooth Pick Book Shelf Stack
- 45s Gimp Suit Burst (red suit)
- Onion Glasses
- 5 Flavour Stink Box
- Mini Cowboy Lego Rodeo
- 30s Wedgie Winch
- Serpent Snatch - eggs juggling (with chopsticks into eggcups)

extremely nasty:
5 Flavour Stink Box

brain damaging:
Tooth Pick Book Shelf Stack

mentally disturbing:
Gimp Suit Burst 45s red

substances:
5 Flavour Stink Box = {dirty nappy, rancid cheese, putrid fish, stinky socks, rotten meat}

words of the Zen master:
(after the final challenge): "You have run out of time, you clowns! Now you must return to your day jobs as cowboy, policeman, construction worker, native American and biker." The jobs are an allusion to the gay disco band Village People, which made the hit 'YMCA'.

note:
The final test failed. During "Party Popper Face" the candidate wore swim goggles however no protective ear plugs. The eggs in the final challenge were raw; some fell down and the candidates soiled each other with them. During Gimp Suit Burst the suit here was inflated bigger than all the others =>it reached oval down to the feet. This is the only episode with Gimp Suit Burst before the advert break.


Season 2=?

Apparently a 2nd season is planned, because since September 2008 on MTV.de they searched for new candidates to be illtreated, and some websites add to the existing episode numbers now a prefix "season 1" or "S.1". The e-mail addresses of the casting page end on ufa.de, which hints to the German movie company UFA. Possibly this is an act of desperation, because according to press releases MTV is so bankrupt that as an emergency measure they have fired 60 employees and cancelled the production of all own editorial contents. In opposite to these however "Fist of Zen" looks so cheaply produced that even a flop would unlikely cause high costs. So the decision to continue of all this pulp series raises the impression that by falling viewer count the TV station is possibly in its last throes.

___________

[MissTVWorlds]

This really is a FAQ and I personally have never seen this program but from your posts I have to admit I was some what disturbed and a little sickened, to me this reminded me of a show called Jackass where they do stupid dangerous stunts.

This would not be my idea of a good program I would have to switch over because I cannot stand watching people being tortured which is most likely the correct name and description.

How people can watch this I dont know but one's person's love is anothers hate!

Cyberyogi how did you come across this program and what was your first take on it?

[CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler]

This really is a FAQ and I personally have never seen this program but from your posts I have to admit I was some what disturbed and a little sickened, to me this reminded me of a show called Jackass where they do stupid dangerous stunts.

I know Jackass (Dudesons is very much the same), but IMO they are less malicious because they employ neither candidates nor ritual torture.

This would not be my idea of a good program I would have to switch over because I cannot stand watching people being tortured which is most likely the correct name and description.

Watching boxing on TV is as hard to understand - it is a barbaric punch-the-brain-to-pulp show that IMO does not even deserve the name "sport".

Cyberyogi how did you come across this program and what was your first take on it?

I originally never had planned to make an FAQ. But by personal reasons this show in several ways had struck me like a hammer - it was the most inhuman and evil minded series I ever saw on German TV. I e.g. have no trouble with horror splatter movies (since they are fictional), but this thing had a such satanic impact that I felt like crushed by a steam roller. And the worst was that it initially seemed to be fully impossible to find out from which hell or alien planet or parallel dimension it really came from. Unlike e.g. with Big Brother or I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, one could not find any proud film company's website or MTV's own reports telling at which locations and with which candidates it was made and what happened to them later. Beside the pointless end credits there was no hint at all. So I recorded it on video and started to pull out all the stops to gather info where this show came from and understand what it was made from. So finally I had collected so much info that it was already 3/4 of an FAQ. The rest was blood, toil, tears and sweat to compile an understandable FAQ from it and translate all this back into English.

                        MAY THE SOFTWARE BE WITH YOU!

*============================================================================*
I                  CYBERYOGI Christian Oliver(=CO=) Windler                  I
I         (teachmaster of LOGOLOGIE - the first cyberage-religion!)          I
I                                      !                                     I
*=============================ABANDON=THE=BRUTALITY==========================*
                      {http://weltenschule.de/e_index.html}

[mosphiren]

Thanks for sharing all the information.

[CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler]

preface:
This FAQ is based on the text "Fist Of Zen (review & analysis)" by CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler, which was originally began as an edit of an early version of the German Wikipedia article about the TV show. The entry was later deleted/ very mutilated by Wikipedia staff, because these squareheads considered it way too long and allegedly "unneutral". This FAQ is a strongly extended version and does not proclaim to be "encyclopedic", however it attempts to be objective in its descriptions so far as this is possible. Due to the show is discussed very controversially, not everybody may agree with the criticism section. However I think that all important aspects are appropriately mentioned. This is an unofficial FAQ; the author is not affiliated in any way with MTV or the producers of the show.

( =CO= Windler )

(Wikipedia entry see: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fist_of_Zen)

This FAQ is open source and published under the GNU Free Documentation License.

A German issue of this FAQ can be found here.


Fist of Zen - FAQ

(v2.00)

Fist Of Zen is a reality game show based on courage tests made by MTV. In it five friends at public places have to mutually torment each other, to prove their "manliness" in 10 tasks to the so-called Zen master. Passengers watch them during this.

It was modelled after the game "Silent Library" from the Japanese comedy show Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!", which is successfully broadcast there since 1989. The "Zen master" is played by Peter Law

producers

The production companies of the 1st season are Monkey Kingdom Productions and Greenhouse ("an MTV International Production © MTV Networks Europe 2007. All Rights Reserved."). The special effects were made by Blue Post Production.

The end credits list the following info:

• Writer: Larry Rickard, Simon Dean
• Production Designer: Mike Fischetti
• Editor: Alex Hutchinson, Paul Hammacott
• MTV Executive Producer: Ilya Colak-Antic
• Director: Andrew Chaplin
• Producer: James Gordon
• Executive Producer: Will Macdonald
• Programme Consultant: Karl Warner
• Task Producer: Paul Evans
• Production Manager: Emily Senior
• Graphics: Alex Pickering
• Assistant Art Designers: Nina Ogden, Pawlo Wintonuik
• Online Editor: Kristina Theodorou
• Series Director: Simon George
• Series Producer: Tamsin Dodgson
• Archive: Oxford Scientific

In the "UK Screen Association News" were additionally mentioned:

• Post Producer: Will Garbutt
• Nitris Artist: Alex Pickering & Kristina Theodorou
• Audio: Kevin Boyle & Ben Ormerod

By appearance it obviously seems to be a low-budget production, which needs no expensive props and the like. Initially MTV massively advertised this show on their website and teletext. However it became well known mainly by viral marketing, because short clips of it are spread by fans on internet platforms like YouTube. Each episode takes only 23 minutes and follows a fixed schematic order of events. Each episode consists of 10 independent, very short, but partly shocking looking tasks (courage tests), which particularly eases viral distribution of the contents and supposingly was expected by design. Also the controversial discussion about the show furthers this method of distribution. (Obvious commercial intention is that also "viral" viewers shall be baited to make them finally watch the full show on TV or MTV Overdrive and consume the included ads.)

Initially one season of 20 episodes was produced. The initial broadcast began in July 2007. MTV showed them on German TV until November 2008 in random order as an endless loop. A 2nd season with slightly changed rules was later filmed in Germany (see "Season 2"). The following section describes season 1.

design

The plot is clearly recognizable as a quite cynical parody on the famous kung-fu movie "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin", in which Buddhist monks gave a scholar a large number of tormenting and partly humiliating exercises to provide him to learn Shaolin kung-fu - a process in that in turns plenty of special, torture-like appliances were used. In the show, the score counter screens (colour reduced 2D pictures) between tasks and many sound effects were inspired by Asian videogames from early 1990th. Like in early videogames, the animations of the Zen master (atomic mushroom cloud etc.) in many episodes are identical and only have different text. The Zen master was filmed on a stage in front of a bluescreen with background pictures taken from scientific TV docus (Oxford Scientific archive). The picture was partly processed with a grainy Super 8 retro style.

game rules

Each show has a team of 5 "friends" (usually young mans between 20 and 30), those at the beginning are introduced as the so-called "Zen scholars" with their common origin and nicknames. During the show they have to prove their manliness by performing 10 so-called "rituals", those takes place at one public location (e.g. a library, a church, a retirement home or a museum). The candidates then appear there sitting around a table and the "Zen master" tells them in a movie clip the 1st task. Before each task (except the final challenge) all candidates have to draw a ball out of a round box on the table. There are 4 red and one black ball. The candidate who draws the black one has to perform the said "ritual" without talking or making loud noises. The tasks are often humiliating, partly inhuman, disgusting or painful courage tests, those are performed with the help of the other 4 candidates. For each successfully mastered exercise the group wins 100 pound into the "pot".

The torture-like rituals are partly bodily injuring or considered extremely disgusting. E.g. from the apparently blood and dirt crusted sock of a bum a dark decoction was brewed, that a candidate had to drink. Or the head of a candidate is inserted into the lower opening of a glass box ("5 Flavour Stink Box"), which is then filled from the top e.g. with poop soaked diapers, rotten meat, stinky socks, putrefied fish and rancid cheese to make him inhale the fumes. Fizzing salt is blown through 2 hoses into the nose while suppressing sneeze. Or spicy hot substances are rubbed into wounds, things chafe skin sore, someone is hugged while wearing a shirt full of stinging nettles, goggles on the eyes are filled inside with hashed onions, people have to taste or swallow awful or hot spiced things, have to handle electrically charged objects, get spanked and slapped in various ways etc. Once even 2 cactuses were shot onto a candidate's belly, those left a dozen of barbed pricks in his flesh. Some torture instruments are just absurd, like e.g. the "Scalextric Face Crash", in that Scalextric cars jump over a ramp into the face, or the "Pressurized Bottom Bottle Rocket", in that an air pump propelled water bottle rocket crashes from below through a special chair with toilet seat against the naked butt. Many of these appliances are constructed in a way that the exact trigger moment depends on random to increase the risk of screaming by the sudden shock. The name of each ritual is announced before its execution.

In the final test the group has to cooperage to solve a skill test together within 60 seconds. When they fail, they loose the entire money they had won before. The "1000 year old Zen master" watches them during the game through the "magical fountain of Ling Wee" and judges whether the candidates have solved the exam like "real mans". E.g. the candidates have to use chopsticks to place eggs into eggcups, or they have to pass on ping-pong balls to their next neighbour to place them into a vessel by sucking them with their mouth, they have to pass on lemons using spoons held in their mouths, or they have to wear each a hardhat with a funnel and swing their head to sling a ball on a thread at it into that funnel. During this examination the "Zen master" additionally pulls with twine string at the "serpents" (penises) of the candidates (hidden behind a bamboo curtain) to make the task more difficult. In 2 episodes participated a women, where the string was attached to her nipples instead. All objects within the final challenge have absurd Chinese names, containing attributes like "divine", "holy" or "magical".

[CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler]

As the host appears between rituals the "1000 year old Zen master" - a magical mighty fantasy being, who comments the behaviour of the candidates and describes the next task in a grainy film sequence like in a videogame. During this he proclaims completely meaning-devoided proverbs about "wisdom", "enlightenment", "higher dedications" and "spiritual harmony" (another idea from the "36th Chamber"), those partly in very cynical way turn messages of Buddhism into their opposite. Many realize this as blasphemy, because it mocks at the pursuit of every honest Buddhist.

a critical analysis

"Fist Of Zen" is discussed controversially in forums and by guardians of minors, because many people see in this show a violation of human dignity.

Also blaspheme tendencies are criticized. Certainly it must be the democratic right of all artists and authors to denounce in their works also negative sides of religions. As a movie figure the crazy "Zen master" would be well acceptable and perhaps even could make a quite funny parody. However "Fist Of Zen" constitutes a commercial show for superficial shock effects by genuine mutual torture of humans, which makes it rather far fetched to assume educational intentions behind its perversion of Buddhist messages in the name of "Zen".

(Regard: Genuine Buddhism intends to teach compassion, not blunting by violence and pain!)

Buddhists are usually considered peaceful and patient. However the monk riots in Burma show that they also can behave differently. When they once would decide to react on the mockery at their pursuit of compassion in a similar vigorous manner like Muslims after the Mohammed caricatures, it would certainly soon become quite unpleasant for the show makers. And that of all a Christian church seemingly permitted the show to take place in its rooms could result in serious diplomatic conflicts. However it belongs to the doctrine of Zen Buddhism to systematically immunize oneself against blaspheme utterances instead of fighting against them, because this prevents religious wars and though avoids further sufferance. But it appears particularly objectionable to commercially exploit of all this exemplarily peaceful quality of Zen, since it is certainly juristically calculated that particularly this religion does not tend to file blasphemy lawsuits.

In genuine Zen the ritualized repetition of unpleasant or boring tasks (e.g. cleaning) and partly also simulated rebuke and cussing (like with rap battles) serve the sole purpose of achieving equanimity to learn to bear the adversities of life. However some Japanese Zen monasteries indeed practise extreme forms of ritual chastening with authoritarian obedience exercises, cane spanking and continuous insultation in the manner of a boot camp, because Zen was also the religion of the Samurai. The boundaries between inurement, brainwash and sadism here are fluid.

So e.g. the Enryaku-Ji order in the Mount Hiei monastery near Kyoto practises the ascetic ritual of the marathon monks (called Gyogia or Gyoja), those for a promise of enlightening have to run for 7 years every night in every weathers up to 84km far on a fixed route among up to 255 pray and sacrification places and perform rituals to destroy their ego (NOT as a courage test to become machos!). In their white, dress-like robe they daily wear down 2 pairs of straw sandals. The ritual can never be cancelled, except by suicide, for which they always carry the rope with them. (That Buddha, who praised the "middle way" between asceticism and hedonism, would agree with such perversions of his doctrine is very doubtful.) So it would be understandable when someone whose childhood got ruined by such a monastery life thought out this cynical macho gameshow as a late revenge against the system of the monastery to process the trauma he went through.

To blasphemy it has to be added, that several episodes contain the discipline "Gimp Suit Burst", in which a latex suit on the body of a candidate is giantly inflated by a compressor and then burst with a pin. For people those practice latex mysticism is the sight of this act of violence a terribly unsettling sacrilege, because they apply inflatable trance suits of latex as a spiritual tool for meditation (it embodies perfect cosmic balance), and learn for realization of mystical unity with the Divine to unlimitedly entrust themselves of all to the energies of such suits to completely empathetically fuse with them. Also therapeutic users feel upset.

The entire construction of the show formally corresponds to a fascistoid brainwash cult. Elements like peer pressure (goal can only be reached together), systematic humiliation- and pain rituals, assignment of new names to the so-called "Zen scholars", ritualized praise of a leader (the "Zen master"), its formalized praise and rebuke and cussing against the scholars as well as his absurdly meaning-devoided proverbs about means for achievement of wisdom, enlightenment, honour and spiritual harmony are symptomatic. However the entire structure is here shown up in such a blatant way, that a real addiction risk for the candidates is unlikely. In the opposite, the show can (despite all inhumanity) even be used as an educational teaching model for the construction of such dictatorial cults, because it clearly shows up their principles like a didactic play.

Courage tests in many cultures take place as a transition rite for mans to "become adult", which in "Fist of Zen" obviously was attempted to imitate. Also the final challenge "Serpent Snatch", in which the Zen master symbolically pulls at the candidates penises with the "Harness of Keemosan", alludes to this. However such a show in its superficiality is barely suited to accompany such an initiation appropriately. Although this is definitely only the "toy version" of a humiliating cult, the psychological long term effects may despite cause damage. In genuine ritual societies initiations include costly pre- and post-care for the teenagers; however who looses in this show, has later only the pain and possible traumatization and has not become more "adult" at all. And who wins, gets pushed into a brutal macho worldview that really does not belong into a democracy. The brutalitary role model of the man behind it (quote: "Congratulation! You have solved the final challenge and received the higher dedications. You are now ready to go the way of the fist as a real man.") rather reminds to ideals of Adolf Hitler's Nazi doctrines (mans have to learn to bear pain and violence silently; who fails becomes scolded to be a "girl" etc.) and is barely compatible with a democratically educated civilization of equally righted genders.

Humiliating ritual violence is also known from entrance- and transition rites of students' fraternities, Freemason lodges, pirate and robber gangs, Satanism or the mafia, but these all are hierarchical power structures of a pre-democratic era, where such rituals were used to strengthen the cohesion inside a closed community to produce esprit de corps. Also in police and military such things still occasionally happen, but when it shows up in news as a torture scandal, the public mass media usually react indignant, call it violation of human dignity and request the consistent fight against such incidents. That such torture games in form of a meaning-devoided ersatz ritual now of all appear in a TV gameshow marketed as comedy is critical and raises questions. As we know, the sleep of reason bears monsters, and the sleep of nonviolence bears dominas. Does the vanish of genuine transition rites in the democratic world perhaps produce a similar need, that here in a very questionable way finds a substitute? Does it deal with self-realization or becoming famous? Is it possibly a kind of modern Passion play - or just sheer gloat?

[CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler]

It is surprising that such a bodily injuring courage test show could be legally produced in England at all, since officially even sado-masochism is illegal there due to assault is not considered consentable by the law of England.

As an extenuating circumstance at least it has to be mentioned, that the show in opposite to most genuine torturing suppression systems includes no dehumanization; all 5 participants stay equally righted and even have to help each other to win the game. There are not even contests against each other, which is extraordinary for gameshows. Actually it the whole thing a psychologically interesting construction, because it theoretically should prevent the participants from hurting each other too much. Because when one of them screams, they all get less money. But in practice it seemed to help little, because in spanking challenges many teams in spite of this spanked with so much impact that it left bleeding weals.

At least "Fist of Zen" has written TV history, although certainly no in a positive sense. In the spirit of the German literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki's request for more quality TV it could be said that with this show the culture of entertainment TV has hit a new deepest rock bottom. Generally however it is remarking for the 2000th decade, that torture became a main topic of entertainment media. Also in thrillers and horror movies its detailed depiction is ubiquitous. The wars after nine-eleven were the cause, Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib the effect, and torture gameshows are obviously part of that putrid plague odour that remained. We can only hope that it may go with the wind soon.

copycats & adolescent violence

Despite the warning at the begin of the show "the depicted scenes must not be imitated", "Fist of Zen" is nowadays imitated world wide by many adolescent people, because especially during puberty such a warning is perceived much rather seducing than deterring. One reason for this is likely also the cheap construction of the show, because many of its courage tests are imitateable with ordinary household items, and in opposite to professional stunt shows they are not really dangerous to life. Hundreds of such videos appeared e.g. on YouTube, in those the victims of such torture games are not always volunteers. There are many complaints that particularly this show is often used as a role model for school kid's violence.

Particularly questionable is, that at least in Germany "Fist Of Zen" was broadcast partly already at 12:00 in the morning among the children's program of MTV, despite it glorifies genuine brutal humiliation as a funny game (which is a completely different quality than the purely virtual brutality of horror movies or first-person shooters). Experts warn that such content makes children systematically unlearn compassion; relations to school mobbing and the making of mobile phone fight videos ("happy slapping") on schoolyards are obvious.

The depiction of genuine intentionally caused bodily injury for the arousal of gloat should therefore by treated by law in the same manner like p0rnographic violence. Ethically exists no difference between both. It is therefore recommended for the child-welfare to take appropriate measures. Puberty machismo causes already enough sufferance by its own and really should not be additionally supported by so-called entertainment shows. The similar courage test torture show "JackAss" e.g. got in Germany the legal rating "not suitable for minors" and thus can be only broadcast in the late night program. In the American torture show "Bumfights" were homeless persons abused for brutal courage test and fighting games, while they were suggested to be heroes. E.g. one got 50 US$ for pulling himself 2 front teeth with pliers in front of a camera. In USA the show later was banned. Generally it would be worth to think about, whether the organized support of bodily injuring courage tests (e.g. by cash prize contests, advertising or peer pressure) should be generally prosecuted by law, since it constitutes a systematic exploitation of stupidity, that ethically barely differs from the sale of body organs of living human beings.

- - "We can not protect ourselves from the evil by investigating only the evil in human beings, but rather by not permitting social conditions that allow or give permission for evil to assert itself." (torture researcher Philip Zimbardo)

irregularities

In "Fist of Zen" many irregularities can be seen, those hint that there possibly was cheated or at least that things were filmed in a different order or cut out later. E.g. in episode 4 already before the "Bulldog Clip Rip" there were marks of bulldog clips on the skin. Or in closeup views of the "Tongue Obstacle Course" there is in several episodes a white area instead of the vindaloo paste visible. Particularly in the final challenge after finish of the 60 seconds there appeared often more balls or lemons in the goal vessel than shortly before, without that one could see how they moved there. It is unknown whether they really cheated or if the tasks only took longer than the displayed minute. In episode 8 during the final challenge not a single ball of a candidate successfully reached his hardhat funnel (so all money was lost) - normally in this task always all balls did; either the team had not trained or the situation was manipulated for increase of gloat to show for a change also a team that looses. Sometimes it also sounded rather random whether minor pain screams were rated as a failure or not (e.g. during impact of the "Pressurized Bottom Bottle Rocket"); this varied depending on the episode. Further irregularities are listed in the episode guide.

According to reports of the candidate James-San from Episode 3 (guitarist of the rock band Canine Feline) there was neither cheating involved nor they got additional money for pain redemption. The filming of the episode however took with all preparations about 4h.

trivia

• The German trailer of season 1 shows scenes from episode 5; despite it ended with the slogan "Neu - auf MTV!" (New - on MTV!), it was broadcast unchanged for over 1 year to announce the show. The panflute at its beginning is an allusion to the theme "The Lonely Shepherd" from the movie Kill Bill - Volume 2, which martial arts master Pai Mai visually resembled the "Zen master". The English show version had different trailers (shown on YouTube) featuring Gareth Mason, who is taught and chastened in a karate suit by the Zen master there.
• The idea of the "lard icecream cone" obviously stems from the movie "My Favorite Martian" (USA 1998), in which a space alien thought that icecream would be "coloured buckets of frozen lard".
• A "1000 year old Zen master" from a small village near Kyoto would be impossible to exist not least because Zen was introduced in Japan only after the 12th century.
• The many proverbs about the "way of the fist" in connection with Zen are allusions to the Chinese Shaolin kung-fu, which indeed originated from Zen Buddhism. Zen was in Japan also the religion of the Samurai. Generally the show randomly mixes Japanese and Chinese elements.
• The "Tramp Pasta Kiss" was obviously inspired by the Chinese marriage ritual of the "noodles of long life", in that bride and groom eat long noodles mouth to mouth.
• The "Harness Of Keemosan" for penis pulling was likely inspired by the penis-hanging art "Chiu Chiu Shen Gong" - an odd Asian kung-fu discipline, in which mans pull heavy weights with their penis and scrotum for alleged increase of virility and health. (In a world record 20 Taiwan man even pulled a Boeing 747 by penis harnesses.) The idea for the harness came possibly from the episode "genital weight lifting" of the TV series Kenny vs. Spenny, which also features humiliating torture games and even has a quite similarly designed intro like Fist of Zen.
• Some ideas (e.g. TENS electric shocks, cuts between fingers by paper in "cuts and a dunk") came obviously from stunts by JackAss.
• The Zen master's blonde bikini babe Doris from Essex was played by the British glamour model Jay Nichols.

[CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler]

web links

• Fist Of Zen on MTV (needs a Flash enabled browser)
• Fist Of Zen in the Internet Movie Database
  
• Monkey Kingdom Production (production company of the show)
  
  Click on "Monkey Entertainment", then "productions" and then "Fist of Zen". (Direct links to other pages of this website don't work.) If you want to contact individual staff members to send comments or complaints, click on "people" and then on the small "print" icon in the bottom right corner of each page. In the opening popup window stands their e-mail address.
  
  
• Blue Post Productions (maker of the special effects)
  
• The Spiritual Athlete's Path to Enlightenment about the extreme Zen practice of Gyoja marathon monks.
  
• 20 Taiwan men to pull Boeing B747 plane With Their Cocks about a world record in the odd kung-fu discipline of penis-hanging art.
  
• Professor Philip Zimbardo
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Zimbardo
  http://zimbardo.socialpsychology.org
  http://www.lucifereffect.com
  
  This is the torture researcher who created the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment. He examines the general principles how hierarchical power structures like dictatorships and brainwash cults make people behave evil.

web links (German language)

• Fist Of Zen on German MTV
• comments on German MTV
• photos on German MTV
  
• NEON - Abschalten nicht vergessen German language criticism of the show
  
• IOFF: Stoppt die Knallkostüm-Nummer! article about trance suits and why their destruction traumatizes human beings.
  
• zen.de - Der Marathonmönch von Kyoto discussion about the insanity of extreme Zen practices.
  
• Der Marathonmönch von Kyoto summary about a TV docu about the marathon monks.

Some of the weblinks may be outdated now. Try to access them through Archive.org.

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[CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler]

The following is a translation of excerpts of the original user comments of the "Fist Of Zen" discussion page from German Wikipedia. This text is open source and published under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Wikipedia comments:

design

The plot is clearly recognizable as a rather cynical parody on the famous kung-fu movie "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin", in which Zen monks gave a scholar a large number of tormenting and partly humiliating exercises for learning Shaolin kung-fu. The meaningless proverbs about "wisdom" (also likely stolen from there) are clearly blaspheme and mock at the struggle of every honest Buddhist. 213.102.97.240 05:18, 2. Okt. 2007 (CEST)

Buddhism is not about brutality, but about the learning of compassion!

To the topic of blasphemy it also has to be added, that in several episodes in the discipline "Gimp Suit Burst" ("Knallkostüm" in German) a latex suit on the body of a candidate is giantly inflated with a compressor and then burst with a tack. For latex mysticism adepts (those apply inflatable trance suits of latex as a spiritual tool for meditation) is the sight of massacring a trance suit a terribly unsettling sacrilege, because they learn to fully entrust themselves to the energies of their suit to empathetically completely fuse with its prana (lifeforce).
See e.g.: http://latexmindresearch.tripod.com/

Gimp Suit Burst ?

• http://youtube.com/watch?v=wB_j5Fw710E
• http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...icle246378.ece
• (was http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2007320866,00.html)

Oh No, my heart is bleeding!!! To ravish something so tender, gentle and vulnerable like a bioenergetic harmony suit is just not a "courage" test, but an atrociously cowardice piece of barbarism!
Beside this, such suits are extremely expensive. Example:

• http://store.erosboutique.com/mm5/me...=mens_catsuits

(217.184.128.98 14:37, 2. Okt. 2007 (CEST),Nathan)

I once was in a self-realization group for stressed mothers, and they had there beside much other stuff also these white inflatable meditation suits of very soft rubber. First I found it strange, but when I tried one out , it overwhelmed me there inside such an intense feeling of security, that I really had not expected. Unfortunately already after 7 days the course was over, and I had to give it back. But this really had done me good. I don't know if this was by oxytocine (the group leader told something about), but when I 1 year later (due to a parent-teacher conference discussions) watched "Fist Of Zen", where as the "Gimp Suit Burst" such a suit was destroyed, I felt really sick. I was totally upset and have cried for hours. So this with the suits really seems to be true. (Tina, 217.184.128.125 16:58, 3. Okt. 2007 (CEST))

Beside this, at least one episode of the show took place inside a church, which for such an unholy, intentionally sufferance causing act just is really no appropriate location.

Who protects the minors?

The contents of this courage test torture show clearly violates the dignity of man, and it would be logical when the child-wellfare would X-rate it or at least allow it only for 16 and up. At least is this perfidious show a good deterring example to show up the simple scheme, by that many dictatorial brainwash cults function. 213.102.97.240 05:18, 2. Okt. 2007 (CEST)

The following paragraph should urgently stay present in the article, because it explains the basical structure of the show (that was possibly intentionally designed as a parody on such cults):

The entire construction of the show is very similar to a fascistoid brainwash cult. Elements like peer pressure (goal can only be reached together), systematic humiliation- and pain rituals, ritualized praise of a leader (the "Zen master"), its formalized praise and rebuke of the scholars as well as his absurdly meaning-devoided proverbs about means for achieval of wisdom, enlightenment and perfection are absolutely symptomatic. However the entire structure is here shown up in such a blatant way, that a real addiction risk for the candidates is unlikely. In the opposite, the show can (despite all inhumanity) be used as an educational teaching model for the construction of such dictatorial cults, because it clearly shows up their principles like a didactic play.

Although I would more or less subscribe this immediately, it is not really compatible with the rule of neutrality for Wikipedia articles. I therefore have removed both paragraphs from the article.
--Discordiamus 04:13, 3. Okt. 2007 (CEST)

This is not unneutral, but simply a fact. Just watch an episode completely (e.g. on MTV Overdrive, so far DSL is present). Everybody who only has a minimal knowledge about dictatorial cults, will immediately recognize this. And there is much criticism against the show, that also should be shown in the article. Wikipedia is not an advertisement platform of MTV. 213.102.106.5 05:58, 3. Okt. 2007 (CEST)

"those are quite sarcastically kidding Buddhism" - can this be made a bit more encyclopedic? --Discordiamus 04:28, 3. Okt. 2007 (CEST)

I have the "kidding" now formulated more elegantly. Sorry if my words were a little hot-tempered (like the pepper blower goggles from the show ;] ), but myself got traumatized by the sight of certain details of the show, because as a modern Buddhist (i.e. compassion instead of brutality) I realized certain structures and violent deeds in this show first as inconceivably horrible. I thus have confronted myself awarely with the show to understand what really happens and what the meaning (or its absence) of the whole shall be. Definitely do many things in it terrify any not yet cynically blunted human being to the deepest. Therefore I want to help to understand what the thing is really made of. 213.102.106.5 06:18, 3. Okt. 2007 (CEST)

School fight videos - this comes from that...

On the parent-teacher conference we had discussed about fight videos on mobile phones of pupils. But half of the time then everybody talked only about "Fist Of Zen". Therefore I have watched several episodes after that, and was shocked that such a funnyfication of genuine humiliating violence was on German TV indeed allowed to be shown already at 12:00 in the morning. It is no surprise when our children take such things as a model for filmed schoolyard torment and select the weakest pupils as their mobbing victims. Everywhere you can read about suicides by school mobbing. Kids need compassion, and here they unlearn this thoroughly!

The very similar torture show "JackAss" e.g. was restricted by law to be broadcast only tonight. Although it is questionable whether protection of minors by airtime really makes much sense, parents at least should be enabled to know what children may watch on TV; when such a torture show like "Fist Of Zen" already runs among children's broadcast in the morning while we are at work or sweat in the kitchen, parents get no chance at all anymore to control what children can watch. Deleting MTV out of the TV set can't be their desired solution - can it? And even listed airtimes are often wrong, which makes TV timers quite useless. Such stuff belongs at best into the night program, but nowhere else. (Tina, 217.184.128.125 17:01, 3. Okt. 2007 (CEST))

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[CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler]

the most malicious tasks

Cactus Cannon

2 round cactuses of about 6cm diameter were fired by slingshot through an acryl pipe at the belly of a candidate and left in his flesh a dozen of pricks. Because these have barbs, complete removal is certainly difficult; there is the risk of infection and permanent scars.

Flipper Spank

A candidate was spanked multiple times with plastic swim fins those have protruding hard rims. The result were bruises and partly bleeding wounds.

Two Door Thigh Whack

A thin pressboard (about 50*30cm) with hinge at the side is mounted in a wooden rack. At its open end pulls a stretched thick rubber rope. The board is pulled back and then vigorously slammed 2 times against the rear side of the naked thigh of a candidate. Once (episode 19) the board even cracked in halves.

Bulldog Clip Rip

Metal bull dog clips are clipped on a candidates skin and then torn off with a strong jerk. The result were bruises and partly bleeding wounds.

Sandpaper Bicycle

A candidate had to ride a kind of exercise bike, which spun a wheel with many sandpaper coated fly swatters those rapidly whipped his back. The result were bleeding wounds.

Hug Nettle Shirt

A candidate had to wear a shirt covered inside with stinging nettles. Then he was embraced multiple times by the others.

Sandpaper Towel Rub

A candidate was sprayed wet and then chafed wound with a sandpaper coated towel by the others.

Cuts And A Dunk

The hand of a candidate is cut between the fingers with a sharp paper sheet and then dipped into an acrid mixture of lemon juice, vinegar, salt and aftershave. Chemically interesting would be whether the large quantity of salt was possibly calculated so that it exactly neutralizes the acid of the vinegar and lemon juice and so eliminates their painful effects.

Toothpick Bookshelf Stack

A thin shelf board resting on toothpicks at the sides was placed 20 to 40cm above a candidate's head and than loaded with more and more books until the toothpicks suddenly break and the board crashes down on his head. As the result a minor concussion can be expected.

Bread Loaf Catapult

Large white bread loafs of supposingly 1kg weight were fired with a giant slingshot multiple times at neck, chest or face of a candidate. Although the breads were soft,
head hits may result in minor concussions.

Giant Rubber Band Face Twang

A broad black rubber band was stretched and held by twine strings those were burnt through to make it suddenly slam into a candidates face, where it left weals. Although the mass of the band is low, there may be a risk of brain damage.

Slap Fish Face

A candidate was slapped into the face multiple times with dead fish. Depending on the impact there is the risk of brain damage.

5 Flavour Stink Box

The head of a candidate was inserted into the lower opening of an acryl box, which then through an upper hatch was filled with things like poop soaked diapers, rotten meat, stinky socks, putrid fish and rancid cheese to make him inhale the fumes. There is the risk of infection.

The strange greenish rotten eggs were apparently "1000 year old eggs", those are fermented for 3 months as a Chinese food and have a pungent smell of ammonia, sulphur and vinegar.

Spicy Helmet Head Tank

A candidate has to wear a large spherical transparent plastic helmet, which is connected through an air hose with a hair dryer. A large quantity of hot spice powder (chilly and black pepper) is poured into the rear end of the running hair dryer to blow it into the helmet. Although the candidate wears swim goggles for eye protection, there is the risk of chemical burn of mucous membranes and allergic shock. (Pepper substances release histamine and work particularly allergy causing when the body is not pre-warned by contact with mucous membranes of the mouth.) The contact of the dry powder with the glowing heater wire or motor brush contacts in the hair dryer might even cause a severely dangerous dust explosion.

Onion Glasses

A protective plastic goggle on the eyes of a candidate is filled from inside with hashed onions. Possibly there is the risk of chemical eye burn or allergic shock.

Tramp Brew

From a seemingly blood and dirt crusted sock of a bum a dark decoction was brewed, that a candidate had to drink. There is the risk of infection so far it was no artificially produced prop. (According to candidate James the sock contained coffee beans for the brown colour. Whether there was additionally something else in it is unknown.)

Tongue Obstacle Course

On a sort of model train board with a road model are placed puddles of multiple (between 6 and 7?) spicy hot or disgusting substances, those the candidate has to lick one after the other. The substances vary with episodes; they employed vindaloo paste, talc powder, garlic puree, hot pepper sauce, dog food, sandy fish sauce and cigarette ash with buds in it. (Cigarette buds can be deadly poisonous when swallowed, which here didn't happen. Talc powder inside the body can start allergies because the body can not decay it.)

Salty Nose Blow

Each about 2cm² of fizzing salts (bath salt) was blown through 2 hoses into a candidate's nose while suppressing sneeze. There is the risk of chemical burn of mucous membranes with destruction of smell sense or allergic shock. In the similar task "2 Can Nose Lager" foaming lager beer was poured into the hose.

Party Popper Face

In episode ?1 and ?2 the candidate wore swim goggles but no protective ear plugs. The launch of fire crackers from only about 30cm distance thus may lead to ear damage.

Gimp Suit Burst

In this unsettling show act a meditation suit of latex on the candidate's body was giantly inflated with compressed air and then burst with a pin board pin in has hand, while the other candidates stood giggling and foolishly gesticulating next to him. Although the bodily injuring effect on the wearer was rather low, this sight is severely disturbing for all people those entrust themselves to trance suits in meditation as a spiritual or psychotherapeutic tool. There were many protests and open questions arose after several viewers became traumatized by the sight of its destruction. Much sufferance was caused. So I explain here a bit more detailedly what happened in the show.

In total 6 black and 2 red full body latex suits had to senselessly loose their life for it.

black suits: episode 9, 11, 14, 17, 19, dress rehearsal
red suits: episode ?1, ?2 (may be 16, 20)

During inflation the trunk of the suits expanded approximately spherical like a weather balloon, while a section of the legs partly inverted. The red suit in episode ?2 inflated largest, it reached almost completely down to the feet (about 160cm diameter) and even became a little rectangular under the right lifted arm. Of the black suits the one of episode 9 stretched largest. All suits were stabbed to death when the countdown ended - none burst spontaneously.

The inflation took 45s; in episode 14 it were even 60s, however this suit was only inflated slower and not larger. The dress rehearsal "ZOO does Fist Of Zen" with Lup Fun Yau as the candidate was initially shown by the ZooWeekly magazine on YouTube, but ZooWeekly was apparently banned from YouTube. Currently online is only a shorted version "Lup... The Exploding Gimp" by the Sun newspaper.

Beside that, the name "Gimp Suit Burst" is misleading, because a "gimp suit" is normally not of latex, but means as a derogatory term usually a mostly black full body suit of leather or other very tear resistant material (often reinforced by straps and barely stretchable), which is used in a domina studio for bondage, and for this includes integrated metal rings, belts, buckles and laces to e.g. engage ropes to lift and hang the customer under the ceiling. Although latex suits are also sold in shops for domina supply, the word "gimp suit" for them is inappropriate. However it might be that the equipment crew discovered the suits in such a store when they bought the bulldog clips and searched for new torture instruments - and by ignorance they so made a disastrous decision.