Here's a clip from Fighting Black Kings where a karateka catches a shomen uchi sword attack between the palms of his hands: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXVmlsLRwBI&feature=player_detailpage#t=366s.  This was a demonstration at a kyokoshinkai tournament in Japan.  I think the outcome might have been different if the swordsman had really been trying to kill him. 
And here's what it looked like in Sukiyaki Western Django: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAESFi7dQLQ.  Note the three claps overhead at the end of the clip. 
You know, karate stunts. Karate movies. What can you say?  
However, this stunt has led to a new tradition.  Whenever Justin Butler and Mike Sullivan meet me at the airport after a long absence, we stop, bow, and clap our hands over our heads three times in greeting.  
It says it all, really.
			 
                        
