Judging from future interactions, although the old man was strange, he was not without merit. At least, his kung fu was very good.
He practices internal martial arts, which is very similar to Baguazhang, but not exactly the same.
In my impression, in the first few days, he got up at midnight to practice, and occasionally went out to use the toilet. Nine times out of ten, he could be seen walking in circles around the big tree in the yard, eight steps in a circle. ,no more, no less.
When he was practicing, his body shape did not rise and fall much, but the shape of his hands kept changing. His posture did not look like he was fighting with someone, but seemed to express a kind of indifference and freedom.
In traditional martial arts, the hands are generally faster than the feet. Due to physical limitations, the movements on the arms are more delicate and complex than the work on the feet.
But he is different. Although his upper body changes when he practices, the changes are far less mysterious than the changes under his feet. Moreover, his small steps make no sound at all. As soon as he steps forward, the person "swims" forward. After swimming for a while, he turned slightly and "swam" forward for a while.
As the movement speeds up, this feature becomes more and more obvious, and the figure becomes more and more blurred. When the fire is in full swing, even on the 14th and 15th day of the moon, no one can be seen at all. Except for the occasional sound of cloth shoes wiping the ground Apart from the rustling, the only thing that could be heard in the yard was the sound of his robe wrapped in the wind and the sounds of figures like dragons playing in the water.
To be honest, his skills are profound and his movements are extremely fast. Among the people I have seen in my life, he is also the number one expert.
But no matter how awesome he is, I never look carefully.
The rule in the martial arts circle is that if you peek at others practicing, you have to gouge out your eyes. This third grandfather said it a long time ago.
Especially for those who practice at night, they are most afraid of prying eyes. If they accidentally learn a move or a half, it will be a big trouble that cannot be avoided.
He taught me this in the past, and he will let me do it in the future, but that time was an exception. After meeting this veteran, the two old men who had always been obsessed with the rules of the world completely changed their attitudes.
Every time when the old Taoist was practicing palm skills in the yard, Third Grandpa would suddenly wake up from his deep sleep, then wake me up from my daze, and wink at me.
I know that he wants me to go out and have a look. But I really don’t want to. Many young people are always reluctant to dream about the good opportunity of meeting Duke Zhou.
When Third Grandpa saw that I couldn't get up, he immediately frowned, stood up, took me out of the bed, and threw me out with a bang.
When I broke the door, I was discovered by the old man very smoothly. I looked at him blankly, then scratched my head and looked into the house.
It's over, there's no way to explain this. Thinking of this, I ran to the toilet pretending to be comfortable, and then ran back to the house pretending to be comfortable. But I didn't expect that the third grandfather had been guarding against my hand. When he saw me pushing the door, He kicked my ass again and kicked me out.
I tilted my head and looked at the old man, who also looked at me with his head tilted. After being speechless for a while, he came over and touched my head and asked me if I wanted to learn some real skills from him.
I said I had no money, but he said he didn't want any money.
When I heard this, I couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in my heart, and then I had an idea and said that I was too young to make the decision, and my grandfather and the others had to agree to this.
I was thinking of using this excuse to get rid of his invitation, but as soon as I said this, the two old men in the room said in unison: "Okay."
At this time, even the old Taoist was helpless, but the words he said were like water thrown out, and it was not easy to take them back.
Although there is no formal apprenticeship ceremony, that old Taoist can be regarded as one of my masters.
It's easy for me to say that it doesn't matter whether I study or not, but the two old men at home didn't think so. They celebrated for a long time the next day by killing chickens and sheep. According to the tradition of the older generation, I knelt on the ground and paid tribute to him. A cup of tea, he pretended to take a sip, and we were half masters and disciples.
Later I learned that the set of things he taught me at that time was called "Yin Yang Ba Pan Zhang", which was one of the prototypes of Ba Gua Zhang taught by Dong Haichuan, a typical Taoist martial art.
This set of palm techniques is divided into eight ways. The entire set of kung fu coincides with various theories about yin and yang and the five elements in Taoism. The eight core techniques are transformed into eight types of palm techniques. In theory, they also correspond to "Qian Kan Gen Zhen Xun Li Kun Dui" These eight innate hexagrams, when applied in actual combat, are divided into eight palms, which provide sixty-four ways of Sanshou usage. Each usage can be divided into four types: flash, spread, advance, and retreat. In summary, there are about 250 classic moves.
This Baguazhang is known as one of the three famous martial arts in the inner circle. It is equally famous as Yang Luchan's Tai Chi Sect and Li Luoneng's Xingyi Sect. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, it was even more famous among the people. Her skills The core is the steps, also called "Treading Mud Steps", also known as "Bagua Steps".
Practicing this kind of footwork starts with turning in circles.
Single palm change, double palm change, lead palm, back body palm... No matter what method you practice, you have to draw a circle around a dot, eight steps in a cycle, no more one step, no less step.
Therefore, in this arena, there has always been a saying that goes, "Tai Chi is like fishing, Bagua is like grinding, form and meaning are like catching shrimps."
This is not a nice thing to say, but it does not have any derogatory meaning. Anyone who knows anything knows that catching fish, grinding mills, and catching shrimps are completely true portrayals of the three types of boxing. After Yang Luchan, Tai Chi in the Beijing area was eliminated. The action of shaking the feet to exert force has changed from a combination of hardness and softness to softness on the outside and stiffness on the inside. When the speed slows down, the "silk-winding hand" used to set the trap moves outward and horizontally, which is indeed very similar to the movement of fishing.
As for Xingyi Quan, which is fast and straight forward, it pays attention to "lightly sending out and retracting" when practicing. Whether it is Five Elements Boxing or Twelve Shape Boxing, whether it is Shanxi School or Hebei School, they all follow this principle, so it is called It's not too much to look like you're fishing for shrimps.
As for this Baguazhang, it is the most vivid. This is also recognized by the Bagua sect. Therefore, in many cases, this Baguazhang is also called "Mopanzhang", and the method of walking in circles to practice kung fu is also called "Mopanzhang". People call it "turning the palm".
At this point, some people may ask, "circling a big tree in circles, this kind of practice method is useless..." In actual combat, who can help you circle around? Why are you so confused?
You are right, because I thought the same way at the time, but it is different now. As I grow older and more experienced, I understand a truth more and more.
What is the routine?
Routines are moves, not moves. Styled and qualitative routines are a basic carrier of martial arts inheritance. There are many skills and experiences hidden in them. A considerable number of moves can be directly applied in actual combat after being picked out.