Shen Gong (神功) in Chinese, means super natural ability.
In the West, Taoism is just a Chinese Philosophy, therefore, many Westerners have never seen any performances of super natural power of certain Religious Taoist Sects.
Even in China, the northern Chinese have not seen the Shen Gong stunts in real life in their home towns, unless they happen to watch them on online videos, which show the Southern Chinese doing Shen Gong practices / performances / stunts in the villages.
Even though Religious Chinese Folk Magic was banned during Mao Zedong period of Communist Era, it has been revived and continue to be practiced in the villages in Southern China , even now.
In Hong Kong, Taoist "Masters" will welcome new disciples to join their Taoist Sects. "Masters" will guide the disciples to chant secret verses and then "Masters" will use Chopper to chop and rub the blade onto their skins, or use lighted incense sticks to rub the body. Many disciples end up with no cuts and no bleeding and they thought they have received bodily protection from the divines and achieved super natural power.
Taoist "Master" rubbing Lighted Joss Sticks on his skin
Shen Gong can be real but there is no point by just merely telling You that it is REAL. It is best that someday You are able to watch the performances right in front of yourself.
Real Shen Gong is still widely practiced among the Chinese Communities in South East Asia, such as Malaysia, Thailand, Riau Islands , Indonesia.
Video Of Real Shen Gong by Feng Huo Yuan Sect （风火院） in Malaysia
The super natural abilities of Real Shen Gong can only be achieved with the help of specific Taoist Talismans and also the use of Taoist Black Command Flags, in order to seek help and protection from the deities.
When a practitioner is performing Shen Gong, he can be either totally unaware of his surrounding, which means being completely possessed by a Deity / Spirit , or fully conscious while being protected by the deities.
In Singapore, Shen Gong Stunts were widely performed in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s during Religious Taoist Festivals. After 1980s, the wild performances have been toned down drastically.