In the process of making the documentary: Kung Fu . Seeking the Tao, Mr. Li Youfu told us stories of Kung Fu masters in the past. Here we share some with our audience –
I had two martial arts masters. One was Master Chen Shengfu. The other was Master Chen Jisheng.
Sometimes, when I visited Master Chen Jisheng. He liked to brew tea and chat with me. He used to say that “Martial arts is a troublesome business!”
By “troublesome”, he meant “profound” and hard to explain.
He told me true stories of old masters, including those of his own master.
His master used to carry around a short weapon called the “iron ruler.” It’s a very effective weapon without sharp edges.
Once, the old master was in Manchuria visiting friends. He stayed at a local inn.
The innkeeper noticed that his parcel was quite heavy. It was because the iron ruler was inside. But the innkeeper thought it was because of treasures. The master knew that the innkeeper was up to no good.
He noticed some disturbance on the roof. It was around midnight, he had just blew out the oil lamp. Something came down from the ceiling. It was a broadsword.
But before the broadsword could hurt him, the master wrapped the intruder and his weapon with the blanket on his bed. As he had them bound in place, he said “Come out now!”
The intruder put down his broadsword and kowtowed.
The master really had excellent skills. The intruder had wanted to take the master’s life, but he was tied up by the master with the blanket. The intruder couldn’t move anymore. He surrendered and kowtowed.
Back then, how they fought was very interesting. Emphasis was placed on the “art” part of martial arts and virtue. He deterred the intruder without harming him.