I have fond memories of going to the old Harlem Globetrotter games to watch all the sports-themed hijinks and hilarity of Curly, Twiggy, and the rest of the gang. Even though my father would later lose all of my college savings on ill-advised Baltimore Rocket bets, those games still hold a warm place in my heart.

And so, it’s great to see that this tradition of comedic sports entertainment lives on in 2015 as this brief video showing some highlights from a kung-fu rugby game during the Hong Kong Sevens tournament at the end of March.

I’m actually not too familiar with the sport of rugby, but this demonstration has taught me a lot. For example, when being chased by a bunch of huge guys looking to plant me into the ground, my instincts would compel me to rely on the tried-and-true method of “running” that has served mankind well over the past millennia.

However, Kung-fu rugby teaches that, in fact, you should do spinning bird kicks and back flips to get from point-A to point-B with maximum efficiency.

Viewers of the video were also impressed with kung-fu rugby techniques, leaving comments such as:

“Love it!”
“Cool.”
“The Harlem Globetrotters have competition apparently.”
“Wait till Brazil bring in the Samba rugby!!”
“Very funny! But that’s a FAKE.”

I’m not sure what it was that tipped off that last eagle-eyed viewer. Perhaps it was the grossly over-sized ball with sparks flying off it. Or it could have been the guy we can just barely glimpse levitating in the background for a moment.

Overall, it’s always nice to see a demonstration of this ancient and mysterious art in which the participants’ feats of inhumanly amazing athleticism look like pure magic.

The kung-fu aspect ain’t half bad either.

Source: YouTube – FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA, AOL News Japan (Japanese)