|
Throughout the history of Hsing-I, Pa Kua and Tai Chi Chuan there have been many masters of legendary stature. The stories about them, while not always based in verifiable historical fact, are nonetheless important for what they tell us about the spirit of each master's art, as well as giving us a wonderful glimpse of times and traditions of a bygone age. Through Hsing-I Tales, I hope to make available as many of these anecdotes as possible. Hope you enjoy them! Sung Shih-Jung Sung Shih-Jung was from the city of T'ai Yuan in Shansi province. He was one of the foremost students of Li Luo-Neng. Along with Kuo Yun-Shen, he is considered to be one of China's treasures. He is also one of the most important figures in the history of Hsing-I. Kuo Yun-Shen (introduced in our last installment) was known for being solid, tough, and unyielding. As one of Li's students, Sung Shih-Jung became famous because even though he was a very light man, he still developed marvelous ability. Because of this, Kuo Yun-Shen, who practiced He Bei style, was said to embody hardness, whereas Sung Shih-Jung, who practiced ShanXi style, was said to embody softness. People said that Sung Shih-Jung's ability with the twelve animal forms was marvelous. Because he often practiced the Snake form, he was able to truly embody the attributes of the Snake. In twisting his body to make a left turn, his right hand would touch his right ankle; when turning to the right, his left hand would touch his left ankle. When motionless, his body looked like a coiled snake, ready to strike. When he began to move, his body unwound like a snake slithering forward. He taught himself to be like a mountain cat in climbing. With one leap he could cling to a sheer wall with his hands and feet for as long as one or two minutes. In combat, he was able to throw an opponent as far as ten or twenty feet away with a single blow; in attack, his movements were relaxed and easy. Once after returning to the city of Kui Hua he was sparring with a master of another style. The two were standing about ten feet apart, facing one-another. His opponent leapt to the attack and suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, found himself flying like an arrow, hitting the ground some twenty feet away, landing in a heap. And as for Sung Shih-Jung? He hadn't even changed his expression, just barely touching his opponent. Sung Shih-Jung ran a watch-shop in the city of T'ai Yuan. He often had to travel to distant places because of business, and since his reputation preceded him, he was often challenged to fight. On one such occasion the challenger was a stout, robust man, with excellent martial skills; he was known in the area as a practitioner of the highest caliber. He charged in, advancing and retreating with incredible swiftness. Sung, however, was not at all pressed by the attack, and very easily defended himself. Then, at a moment when the two drew together, he delivered a single blow that sent his opponent sprawling in the dirt some twenty feet away. Li Ts'un-I went to T'ai Yuan and spent several months studying at Sung Shih-Jung's studio. The two found that their interests and ambitions were very similar (we will become better acquainted with Li Ts'un-I in a later installment of Hsing-I Tales). An endless succession of guests made the trip to Sung Shih-Jung's studio to pay their respects. Sung Shih-Jung used the money he made from the watch-shop to host them and, as a result, he eventually went out of business. Yet it didn't bother him in the least. In his later years he went to Wu T'ai mountain in Shan Xi province to become a monk. From that time on he would never discuss martial arts. He did however write a book called The Classic of Intemal Kung-Fu. Some people say that originally Hsing-I contained only the elemental forms Metal, Wood, and Fire, and that it was Sung Shih-Jung who added the forms Water and Earth. In 1923 he passed away at the age of eighty, another of the great practitioners in the history of Hsing-I. About the Author: |
