The way
Traditional kung fu teaches technique and conduct together. The old masters kept these rules in short sayings that students learn by heart.
Martial virtue, 武德
The earliest known record of the word 武德 (wǔdé), “martial virtue”, is in the Guoyu (國語·晉語九), a collection of speeches from ancient China.
In the tradition, martial virtue means respecting teachers, upholding justice and helping the weak. Schools kept rules such as “three kinds of people we do not teach” (三不傳). Many masters judge a student’s character before they accept him.
At Pak Shao Lin, Wu De is the set of values every student should cultivate: humility, respect, righteousness, trust and perseverance.
未曾學藝先學禮，未曾習武先習德習武先習德尚武崇德The seven qualities
The Quan Jing (拳經), a classic of Chinese boxing, lists the qualities of a martial artist and puts virtue first:
- 德 virtue
- 識 knowledge
- 膽 courage
- 力 strength
- 功 skill
- 藝 art
- 傳 transmission
What 武 means
The phrase comes from the Zuo Zhuan (左傳), in the record of year 12 of Duke Xuan. After a battle, the officer Pan Dang (潘黨) urged the ruler of Chu to build a monument from the bodies of the defeated Jin army. The ruler refused and answered: “夫文，止戈為武”.
The character 武 joins 止 (stop) and 戈 (ge, a dagger-axe on a pole). That is the ruler’s reading: the martial is what makes the weapons stop.
止戈為武Yin and yang, 陰陽
Yin and yang are the principle of two opposites that complete each other. In training, strength and softness, movement and stillness exist together.
Chen Wangting, to whom the Chen family credits taiji, combined boxing with military strategy, the yin-yang theory of the Yijing (the Book of Changes), meridian theory and daoyin breathing exercises.
Tradition tells: the teaching “softness overcomes hardness” comes from the Daoist Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang.
以柔克剛Chi kung (qigong), 氣功
Chi kung is the practice of cultivating vital energy through breathing, meditation and soft movement, for health and a long life.
In the southern Shaolin Five Animals set, each animal trains one thing: the dragon trains the spirit (神), the snake the breath and energy (氣), the tiger the bones (骨), the leopard the strength (力) and the crane the essence (精).
龍練神，蛇練氣，虎練骨，豹練力，鶴練精Discipline and respect
Respect for the master, for fellow students and for the tradition is the base of learning. Discipline shapes the student’s character.
練拳不練功，到老一場空The five elements, 五行
The school uses the five elements, 五行 (wǔxíng): wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
In Xingyiquan, the Five Element Fists (五行拳) give one strike to each element. Both branches of the style, Shanxi and Hebei, train this set.
Wuxing can be written two ways: 五行, the five elements, or 五形, the five animal forms. They are different systems.
- 木 Wood 崩 bēng · crushing
- 火 Fire 炮 pào · cannon
- 土 Earth 橫 héng · crossing
- 金 Metal 劈 pī · splitting
- 水 Water 鑽 zuān · drilling
The true master teaches without words. The true warrior wins without fighting.