Irish History Dvd

SHEMIKA: I wanna cry. 00:18
COMM: Shemika Charles is the lowest of the low, because she holds the Guinness World
Record for limbo dancing. 00:24
SHEMIKA: I’ve practiced for six hours a day for around four years. 00:32
COMM: The committed 22-year-old limbo queen can get down to eight and a half inches from
the floor. Less than the height of a beer bottle. 00:41
SHEMIKA: I began my limbo career at the age of fourteen. I saw that I had a really unique
talent for it so that’s when my uncle Bob, who’s my limbo trainer decided hey, maybe
you could actually set the world record. 00:54
COMM: Shemika has been limboing around the USA ever since, and makes her living performing
around NBA halftime shows. While much of her success comes from hard work, the unusual
talent runs in the family. Shemika’s mum Sherrie was a limbo dancer for sixteen years. 01:10
SHERRIE: I can limbo probably around three feet which is nowhere as close as low as Shemika
goes. Shemika does get her limbo ability from me. 01:25
COMM: Shemika set her world record in 2010 and it’s yet to be beaten. 01:34
SHERRIE: When Shemika broke the record I was really, really proud of her, I was happy,
I was like “yes!” She did it, she worked hard. 01:42
COMM: And today she’s attempting another world first, by limboing under a car. 01:47
SHEMIKA: I’m very, very nervous about this. 01:53
SHEMIKA: It does take a lot of concentration, a lot of balance, a lot of breath control,
persistence. I must say I’m proud of myself today. 02:05
SHEMIKA: I can’t believe that so, I wanna do it again! 02:08
COMM: As always Shemika’s proud uncle Bob, who’s also her trainer, is keeping a close
eye on her progress. 02:14
BOB: That’s an incredible feat right there, there’s nobody else in the world I know can
do that. It’s a matter of breathing, it’s a matter or timing. It’s not just going under
a bar, there’s a lot more technique than that. 02:24
COMM: And it’s not just her family who are impressed. 02:25
OLENA: I did not think that was humanly possible to do. 02:30
SHEMIKA: The type of reaction that I normally get when people see my limbo, they’re like
so intrigued my my ability to do what I do and it’s just so amazing, they’re always so
amazed. And it makes me feel really good. 02:42
COMM: Even professionals are amazed by her abilities. Her chiropractor who she see’s
once a week says Shemika is the best all round athlete he’s ever seen. 02:32
JOHN: It’s amazing y’know so when I see you I have to take into account the superhuman
freakish strength that you have. 03:02
COMM: But he does have concerns that the strain could be too much for her body. 03:06
JOHN: Shemika can probably carry on like this as long as she keeps herself at the same rate
of physical training. If she’s not careful and lets up on her training routine then she
can get a little bit hurt. 03:20
COMM: Shemika’s mum Sherrie had to give up limbo dancing after suffering back injuries.
Which makes her too worry for her daughter’s health. 03:29
SHERRIE: I worry about the same thing happening to Shemika, yes, all the time. Once your back
goes out it’s like really painful and it’s a really long process. So I’ll just always
be on her case pretty much all the time. 03:43
COMM: But despite knowing the risks there’s no sign of Shemika slowing down. In fact she’s
determined to reach new lows. 03:51
SHEMIKA: If limbo dancing affected my health, would I stop limbo dancing? I don’t think
so. I also want to set a couple more records, as far as backwards limbo, I also want to
do the furthest distance in the limbo position.