PUMPED UP

Akin Akinsiku, a 35th generation Shaolin Temple disciple, is standing shirtless in a dimly lit gym. At his feet are three objects: a brush (made up of over 100 thin metal rods), a bar (also metal) and a brick (wrapped in plastic, to remove the coarseness). In a moment, he will begin striking his body – hard – with each of them. Over and over again.

In an ideal world, Akin – who is 51 years old; a creative director by trade – will do this five days a week, with each session usually lasting around 80 minutes. He begins with the brush (called a Qigong stick), before moving onto the rod, and then the brick. With each blow, he exhales sharply, releasing an acute “Gah!” upon impact. But at no point does he ever look like he’s in any real discomfort. When he’s finished, there doesn’t appear to be a single mark on him. “The idea of this is that you can reduce the amount of damage in combat by training your body to take impact,” he says, wiping sweat from his brow.

The practice is an ancient method known as ‘steel jacket’, and Akin’s display is one of several examples you can find of people pushing themselves to the extreme at Shaolin Temple UK – a martial arts school and centre of study for Shaolin culture in Tufnell Park,