Anthony Kelly (martial artist)
| Anthony Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 1964 Armidale, New South Wales, Australia |
| Website | anthonykelly.net.au |
Anthony Kelly (born 1964) is an Australian martial artist and world record holder. Often called the "Arrow Catcher", and referred to as a ninja, Kelly is renowned for his fast reflexes, in particular his ability to catch fast moving items. He has made numerous television appearances.
Kelly became interested in martial arts as a child after watching fights by Bruce Lee and Muhammad Ali. He started training in judo in 1978, and has since attained black belts in 10 different martial arts styles. Kelly started catching arrows at his annual martial arts night in 2000, getting the idea from watching the feat performed in the film The Last Dragon.
I first got out a stopwatch and found that if you press it fast enough you can use it to test your reflexes, my average start-stop press was 1/200th of second, we blink at 1/300th. So I thought it could be possible to catch an arrow. After working out the stance and the hand technique, training myself to open and close my hand over 70 times in 5 seconds, I worked out how to master catching arrows, both sighted and blindfolded.
Kelly was said to be Australia's most successful Guinness World Records holder in 2009, holding 18 titles including the record for the most arrows caught in 2 minutes which he obtained in 2001, catching 10 whilst standing 13 metres from the archer, and the record for the most paintballs caught in 2 minutes whilst blindfolded which he obtained in 2003, catching 11.
In 2010 Kelly broke the world record for the most tennis balls caught in one minute live on the Guinness World Records television series, Australia Smashes Guinness World Records, catching 43. That year he also broke the record for most tennis balls caught in one minute whilst blindfolded, catching 11.
By February 2012 Kelly had obtained 29 world records, and had 3 still pending approval. On 'Guinness World Records Day' in November 2012 he obtained the record for the most targets hit by a blowgun in 60 seconds, hitting 23.
In 2014 Kelly obtained the record for the most coach qualifications across multiple sports, being a qualified coach in bagua, association football, kung fu, mixed martial arts, ninjutsu, qigong, rugby union, rugby league, tai chi and tai chi dao.
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