Wu Shaolin’s Teaching Methods

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武紹林老师的功夫教学法/

GM Wu Shaolin’s Martial Arts Teaching Methods/

by WuKungFu

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Teacher Wu would often say,
“Hey! Renping, throw a punch.”

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Once when I did, Teacher Wu did too,
so that our fists collided.

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My hand immediately retracted.
It was as if I’d been electrocuted,

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because Teacher Wu
used Elephant Trunk Fist.

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Hello, everybody.

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Today I’m here to
talk to you about when

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Teacher Gao took us to learn Sun Bin
64-Hands from Teacher Wu Shaolin.

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Teacher Gao arranged for
Teacher Wu to teach us Sun Bin Boxing

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at a large meeting area in National
Taiwan University’s sports stadium.

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Before learning Sun Bin 64-Hands,

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Teacher Gao taught us
Sun Bin 32-Hands, 96-Hands,

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and some Sun Bin Boxing basic skills.

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Sun Bin’s basic skills, such as Crushing
and Smashing in Horse Stance,

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Splitting in Horse Stance,
and Bracing Palm,

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were all part of our basic training.

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In terms of sanshou,
Sun Bin has One Step, Three Palms,

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Split Low Heel Kick, Carry Low Heel Kick,
and Thrust Strike Hook Kick.

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These were the Sun Bin Boxing techniques

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we trained
before practicing our forms.

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Back then,
Teacher Wu was…

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in my opinion,
about 60 years old.

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But his techniques were
very quick and agile.

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For instance, once when
Teacher Wu was instructing us,

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he demonstrated a
Pluck Heel with Collapsing Fist,

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and after jumping back
into an Empty Stance with Palm Strike,

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quickly threw a
Thrust Strike Hook Kick,

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then stepped and turned into a Single Leg
Stance with Wiping Palm.

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He did these actions
all together in one breath.

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We felt his movements
were so agile, precise,

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unshakable, and steady as Mount Tai,

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which we all greatly admired.

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We were still just kids,
not even 20 years old.

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Seeing him do that at his age,
I was struck with admiration.

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[I thought:] “It’d be so great
if I had those skills!”

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But Teacher Wu’s accent was so thick

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that sometimes when he’d speak

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my martial brothers and sisters
had no clue what he was saying

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because of his Shandong accent.

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Whereas I, a kid who grew up in a military
dependents’ village, understood 60 to 70%.

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Sometimes I’d also do a bit of
translating and explain things.

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Having to guess what Teacher Wu was
teaching and saying was very interesting.

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Teacher Wu’s instruction
also included a unique feature:

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Whenever he taught,
he never minced words or talked much.

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He’d see you were
doing an action poorly

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and directly strike you
with a Slicing Palm.

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You needed to keep your arm up
and support yourself.

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If he couldn’t smack it down,
he’d smile and laugh

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to indicate that you understood
the correct position.

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Same thing when he kicked you.

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You had to bring your palm over.

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Otherwise, he’d kick your kneecap
and you’d be in terrible pain.

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That’s how he taught,

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which made you clearly understand
the principles behind each movement.

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It wasn’t enough
to simply perform forms.

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So when I learned
kung fu from Teacher Wu,

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I experienced firsthand what it means
to “train in martial arts.”

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Teacher Wu also often taught us sanda,

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a lot of the techniques from which
derived from Sun Bin Boxing.

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He’d often say,
“Hey! Renping, throw a punch.”

0:03:53.089,0:03:56.351
Once when I did, Teacher Wu did too,
so that our fists collided.

0:03:56.619,0:04:00.931
My hand immediately retracted.
It was as if I’d been electrocuted,

0:04:00.931,0:04:03.000
because Teacher Wu
used Elephant Trunk Fist.

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I felt very deeply that
there were many hidden secrets

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within all the various
little Sun Bin Boxing techniques.

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You had to experience it yourself
to recognize Teacher was instructing you.

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So he didn’t say much, but he made you feel
the meaning behind each action.

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This is what we especially learned
over with Teacher Wu Shaolin.

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Sometimes I’d also train
Six Harmonies Staff with Teacher Wu.

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We had Six Harmonies too,
but Teacher Wu’s way was different.

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He really struck you.

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He’d stick to your staff
and then hit you.

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You had to keep up and react to him.
Then Teacher would laugh…

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If you slowed down,
he’d smack your head or hit your feet.

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When teaching us martial arts,
Teacher Wu had another unique feature:

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He’d never show only one move
or position at a time.

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He’d teach a series of techniques
and then make you repeat them.

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Luckily, Teacher Gao taught us the concept
of “never teaching more than three times.”

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If you couldn’t do it after the 3rd time,
he just wouldn’t continue.

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But after watching once or twice,
we could pick it up.

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So Teacher Wu was very happy with us
and often smiled at us and laughed.

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Teacher Wu had some
interesting life habits, as well.

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Early in the mornings, he enjoyed
making a big, strong cup of tea

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while he had a smoke
and watched his students train.

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When we’d arrive at his home at 5 AM,
he’d have a smoke as we warmed up.

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At these times, Teacher was very
happy and smiled a lot.

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He’d frequently peek out to check on us
as he prepared his breakfast.

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Then, he’d eat the eggs
and steamed buns he’d made.

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That’s how he spiced up his life.

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I thank Teacher Gao for educating us, and
also Teacher Wu for his selfless guidance.

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This is what I have to
share with you today.

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Thanks, everyone.

*Original video by 把勢生活武術教學 WuKungFu. 

Translated, subbed, & edited by ZhongwenTranslation

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