It was in the early 1980s and under the recommendation of Mr. Pu Enfu that
I came to learn Yiquan from Master Yao Zongxun.
At that time, Master Yao was already in his sixties, but he was still
straight in back and loud in voice. His eyes impressed me the most. They
were shining like two swords and make people intimidated.
One day in the early summer of 1982, both Master Ao Shipeng and Pu Enfu
were in the training spot. After I had practiced Zhan Zhuang, I grumbled,
"Is it going to work by merely practicing staffs like Zhan Zhuang and
Tuishou? Or we'd rather do more practice of Jin." After a while, Master
Yao came over after he had finished his instructions to other students.
Master Pu said to him, "Zongxun, say something about Tuishou to Fushan and
give him a chance to feel about it."
Master Yao at that time in my eyes was tall and thin, showing no trace of
possessing strong strength. And I was in my early twenties then, able to
lift barbells as heavy as 85 kilograms. I had also practiced Baguazhuang,
Taijiquan and wrestling, and had even won the first place in a Taiji
Tuishou contest of Chaoyang District, as well as some front places in
Taolu contests both of Chaoyang District and of Beijing . So, at that time
what was in my mind was: though Master Yao was very excellent in his
youth, he could not be that strong now. With my strength, I'll see what
this old man over sixty could do with me.
At the beginning, lest I should hurt him, I kept back some strength. But
Master Yao saw through this immediately. He said, "Use all you force and
skills. Let's make it a real contest." Both Master Pu and Master Ao also
said, "Use all your strength. There's nothing to be ashamed." So I said,
"OK, then I'll try all I can." And Master Yao answered, "Do as you
please." With all my strength, I pushed my hands towards his body. But
only with a glimpse of his body moving, I found my hands had missed the
target. I tried several times. Every time when my hands were about to
touch his body, I found he was not there and thus could not bring out my
force. At the same time, I felt my body was hard to keep steady, like a
flying kite whose thread had been cut off. But I still couldn't take my
defeats. When I pushed my hands towards him once again, I saw a tree
behind him. I said to myself, "Now you can't flee. Once I use force, you
will be pushed towards the tree and bump on it." I released my force
fiercely. But somehow Master Yao evaded from my force while I felt my body
rise up from ground as if to bump towards to the tree. "I'm done!" I
closed my eyes, believing my face would be smashed if I bumped on the
tree. At that very moment, I felt my body was touched by a strong force.
When I opened my eyes, I found I had just brushed past the tree. When I
finally stood on my feet, I found I had been all wet with cold sweat. I
exclaimed continuously, "I was scared to death!" Yet Master Yao said to
me, "Take it easy. You are fine." His Huajin had achieved the acme of
perfection, and his Tuishou was as harmonious as dancing. His outstanding
martial artistry and lofty moral quality filled me with respect and
admiration.
After this incident, once I asked advice from Master Yao, "When I was
doing Tuishou with others in the past, sometimes the other party, who was
very strong in strength, would hook around my neck, it was quite difficult
for me to deal with." And he said, "Hook around my neck. Have a try!" I
used my right hand to hook around his neck tightly. Then, only by a light
touch on my right arm with his left arm and a slight rotation of his body,
he had made my body up off the ground and rotate half a circle in the air.
When I got on my feet, I asked, "How come you have such a strong force,
Master Yao?" He smiled and said, "If it is to lift things, I am not as
ferociously strong as young men like you. Just now, I simply made some
adjustments of the whole body and borrowed your force." I was puzzled, "I
don't understand about this borrowing force." He asked, "Have you ever
played the game of clapping a leather ball?" "Sure." Then, he asked me
about the three elements of force, and I answered, "Strength, direction
and the point where the force is getting." Then he told me the sentence I
can never forget in my lifetime: "Use your mind during the practice of
boxing." It will be beneficial to me in the rest of my life and also keeps
on spiriting me up.
Not only did Master Yao was excellent in Jiji, he also possessed a high
level in Yangshen. I remembered once I got a lump up my groin for a long
time. Every time I practiced a little hard, it ached terribly. I went to
many hospitals but it was not cured. After I had spent much money and had
taken much medicine, I was told an operation would be necessary to get rid
of it. I told this to Master Yao, and he said, "I find a doctor for you
first." He introduced a surgery doctor to me, and the doctor said, "You'd
better have an operation." I told the doctor's words to Master Yao and
asked whether it was possible not to have an operation. He said, "Since
you are not willing to have an operation, then why not have a try with
Zhan Zhuang?" Thus, he went all about to put me in a posture and told me
all the essential points in movements. He said, "Take it easy. Don't think
too much about it. Eat when you should. You should possess a normal state
of mind. Pay attention to the amount during the practice. Pretend there's
nothing special happening. You should practice more of those benign mind
activities. In other words, during the mind activity, you should keep both
your body and mind in a pleasant state, so that the root of your illness
will be removed, your blood circulation will be sped up, your ability of
metabolism will be improved and finally the immunity of your body will be
strengthened." Thus, following his words, I practiced Zhan Zhuang
everyday, which was followed by Shi Li. In the practice of Shi Li, I added
the mind activity that he had taught me. No matter it was raining or
windy, I never stopped my practice. Once I had time, I would go to the
little park in Nanlishi Road where Master Yao gave his public instructions
to practice Yiquan. Sometimes, when I was not very comfortable during the
practice of Zhan Zhuang, he would use his hands to help me relax. Once
relaxed, I felt my body was light as feathers, with a warming feeling all
over it. The more I practiced, the more I liked to practice it. One day,
it was drizzling. In such weather, very few people would go to practice.
Just for a try, I took the bus to the little park. Once I stepped into the
park, I found Master Yao was already there. There were few people in the
park. I went over to him for greeting. He asked, "Are you feeling better
now after a period of practice?" I said, "I feel very comfortable. The
lump has become soft. Even I have a large amount of practice, it does not
ache." He said, "That's good. But you should still pay attention to the
amount of practice. Don't practice Yiquan for the sake of Yiquan itself.
You should practice it for fun, with the concentration of your mind. The
more fun you have, the better it is." I said, "The road is slippery on
raining days. You shouldn't have come, Master." Then he answered, "It is
OK if other people don't come, but not with me. Without any particular
incidents, I will come every time." How I was filled with admiration to me
for his dedication to his career and his persistence in Yiquan.
After half a year's practice, miraculously, the lump disappeared. Till
now, it has never relapsed. Even my stomachache which I often suffered
from was also cured. I feel so grateful to Master Yao, and hold such a
high esteem of his lofty personality and excellent martial skills.
The few years when I was learning Yiquan from Master Yao is a turning
point of both my life outlook and world outlook. Through the practice of
Yiquan, I came to understand the essence of life. At the same time, I
became cheerful and optimistic, and formed the habit of thinking before
doing. This is greatly helpful to my work as well as to my life. It is
necessary for one to follow the maxim of "never give up before you get
what you want", if one is hoping to score achievements. Master Yao's
teaching is beneficial to all my life. |
