Whatever you were thinking as you encountered this Idea, STOP.
Now refresh your memory of an entertainment from Ancient Crete, known as "bull dancing". From available depictions, the dancer would stand in an arena and a bull would charge. Just before impact the dancer would jump and somersault and land on top of the bull's back, and keep on going, like a gymnast on the balance beam, as the bull rushed beneath. VERY dangerous!
Well, bulls are still available, but apparently nobody wants to risk revitalizing this lost art (and I don't blame them at all), but there's an alternative! This Idea uses ordinary sedan-type automobiles instead of bulls, and one of its great advantages is that you can practice acquiring this skill at low speeds. A bull, after all, always charges at top speed, maybe 40kph/25mph. An auto driven by a trusted friend can "charge" at you at a measly 5kph....
Naturally, after mastering the slowest-speed Auto Dance, jumping/somersaulting over the car as it passes beneath you, you can work your way up to whatever higher speeds you dare --and don't blame ME if you get run over! Anyway, even if only a few people advance to such Auto Dancing speeds that they might actually attempt genuine Bull Dancing, it would be good for most people to at least know about this Art Form.
Why? Well, remember a bumper sticker that says, "If you don't like the way I drive, then stay off the sidewalk!" Obviously if you are on a crowded sidewalk and such a driver appears, now you know which way to jump --UP!-- Vernon, May 30 2006 A picture from Ancient Crete http://www.dilos.co...on/crete/aaa04.htmlAs mentioned in the main text [Vernon, May 30 2006] Kaiser Chiefs singer hit by car http://news.bbc.co....ainment/5008804.stmIt said he was on a pedestrian crossing and jumped to avoid the car, but hit the windscreen and was "flipped over the top" of the vehicle. [Ling, May 30 2006] Bumper Sticker http://www.amazon.c...QE?tag=1newmodel-20I have no idea why I failed to link this long ago. [Vernon, Sep 30 2015] There was a story, once, of someone who jumped over a supercar (very low profile) as it came towards him at high speed. I remember that he did it a bit late, once, and broke the windscreen and his foot. I can't find a reference.-- Ling, May 30 2006 One of the reasons I liked Frank Herbert's "Dune" so much. Oh, I don't know if there's anything like the sandworms around. Maybe if you're in danger of getting run over by a bus?
Ok, new idea - contemporary art – traveling. [+]-- sweet, May 30 2006 [Ling], that still sounds a lot better than getting run over. For an Auto Dance, the trick is to manage a second jump from the hood/bonnet of the front of the car, before the windscreen arrives. For those who haven't mastered that timing, the emergency survival trick is probably to jump so you are deliberately feet-first toward the windscreen. Then the driver of the auto perhaps will be encouraged to hit the brakes...-- Vernon, May 30 2006 new way to plead on vehicular manslaughter charges, not guilty by reason of auto dancing-- pigtails_and_ponies, May 30 2006 In Marie Renault's book _The_King_Must_Die_ (which I recommend very highly) the bull dancers depend on the bulls to lift them. The bulls are trying to gore and toss, which gives the dancers a boost up and over. A car lacks that helpful feature.
Granted, that book was fiction, but I have heard of a few folks trying bull dancing in real life. I have also heard of people jumping cars. I haven't yet heard of anyone trying a handstand on/over a car. A car of the right sort could work--low, but with a big, graspable grill protector. I'd like to see it. +-- baconbrain, May 30 2006 //The bulls are trying to gore and toss, which gives the dancers a boost up and over. A car lacks that helpful feature.//
Ever heard of popping the hood (bonnet)?
This may not only be used as an art form but practicing absorbing the impact of an oncoming car would be very useful and practical.-- jellydoughnut, Jun 03 2006 yeah, why not? try a sponge-- sweet, Jun 25 2006 random, halfbakery