Rash of ankle injuries from new “Tricking” craze

Martial Arts Tricking Battle @ White Lotus Closing Gathering – March 24, 2012

LOS ANGELES–St. Vincent Medical Center was overwhelmed with ankle injuries from so-called “Trickers,” following a Tricking competition Thursday.

Tricking is a new multi-disciplinary martial art form drawing heavily from Capoeira and Gymnastics which has recently become wildly popular in the Los Angeles area. The spate of injuries has raised questions among legislators who think this dangerous sport could be made safe with more regulations.

“I couldn’t think of a more dangerous sport. Here in LA alone, we’ve had several kids paralyzed and hundreds of broken and sprained ankles all related to tricking,” said LA County Chief Health Commissioner Dan Gordon. “We need regulations for this kind of activity and now. I’m getting calls from concerned parents every day. It has reached epidemic level.”

Trickers are highly unorthodox martial artists because their approach is anti-pragmatic. Emulating so-called “wire fu” tricks from movies is the ultimate goal, and unlike gymnastics or other martial arts there is little or no value placed on control of the body. Any landing is a good landing, as long as the Tricker maximizes the number of spins, kicks, punches, and flips incorporated into each trick.

At least a dozen Trickers have been hospitalized in savage beatings this year, as other martial artists in the LA area challenge their right to teach such a “laughable” martial art. “Tricking is not a martial arts. Tricking is not even gymnastics. It is a form of dancing,” said an enraged Kung Fu master under the condition of anonymity. “We can’t have them teaching this kind of fighting to young men who think they are learning how to defend themselves. That’s why we had to run them out of town. It is an ancient tradition of Kung Fu, and they must be able to defend their style of fighting.”