Sun lu tang biography of martin

More interesting was the fact that Wu was a veteran of the terrible Taiping Rebellion, the largest and most destructive civil war in all of human history. After the end of that conflict he made a living as a public performer, traveling from market to market. The ease with which Wu accepted Sun as a student is interesting. Sun had to petition for acceptance, but it is clear he had nothing of value to offer his teacher.

A different model of martial arts instruction can be seen after Sun arrives in Baoding. Here he is introduced to his twin mentors, Zhang and Li Kui Yuan. This is interesting as it appears that Li did not teach a large number of people. Because he had a more effective means of monetizing his skill. He was the owner of a successful armed escort service.

This career path was probably not open to Wu for a variety of social reasons. In order to be allowed to operate in public spaces like marketsarmed escorts had to have the trust of local officials. Li was a known quantity and his social network included scholars, like Zhang. It was precisely these contacts with social elites that allowed him to make a living.

It probably was not necessary for him to teach to support himself. But sometimes individuals teach for other reasons. A friend of mine in Chengdu has been interviewing local martial arts masters. One of the interesting and sad things that emerged from these interviews is that with the current contraction of interest in the martial arts, there are not enough students to go around.

It seems that teachers need students as much as students need teachers. At its most basic level what we are discussing is a profoundly human relationship. When you look at the amount of effort that Li invested in Sun, apparently only because the boy showed an interest in the material, I start to suspect that this is not the first generation with a deficit of students.

Studying the martial arts was not a socially prestigious activity in the 19 th century, especially not in the social circles that Li moved in while in Baoding. Like the old Chinese proverb states, finding the right student can be just as difficult as finding the right teacher. Sun was eventually adopted by Li as his formal disciple. Lacking a father, I suspect that this ceremony had deep resonances for him that went well beyond their martial significance.

This term has been invested with all sorts of exotic meaning in countless martial arts novels, radio programs and movies. Its original meaning was actually more mundane. Such a student lived full time with the teacher, often taking care of household chores and helping to maintain the school, so that they could dedicate themselves to full-time study.

Living with your teacher gives one an opportunity to observe their practice and martial philosophy in detail. Often those aspiring to a martial career of their own might live with their teacher, though this was not always the case. Sun appears to have continued to work for his Uncle who, unlike his first employer, was kind and actually paid him during this period.

In fact he indicated very strongly that he taught the young boy everything he knew and even introduced him to his teacher to continue his formal education. This brings us to the next stage of our observation. In popular discussions the institutions of traditional martial arts instruction are always viewed as primarily an engine of secrecy. Rather than being purely about exclusion, the traditional modes of education sunned lu tang biography of martin artificial hierarchies meant to entice people to join.

These hierarchies gave individuals a chance to build social status that they might not otherwise have. That promise of social status was in turn a means of attracting students like Sun who might otherwise have spent their time developing other talents. When looking at late 19 th century martial arts history it is vital to understand this powerful psychological dynamic.

At the same time, it is probably better not to believe all of the propaganda. It does not actually appear that many people were ever turned away from martial arts instruction for any reason other than a lack of money, and in some cases like Sun even that could be overlooked. It seems that most martial arts teachers benefited from the former but could not actually afford the latter.

The traditional modes of instruction did more than just create artificial power structures for the achievement of social status. They also became powerful networking systems. As one might expect, the dominant metaphor used to define and understand these networks was the traditional Chinese kinship system.

Sun lu tang biography of martin

This gave one an immediate frame of reference to understand ones social relationships with other practitioners of the same style who you may have never met before. These networks of social relationships were very important to the people that constructed them. Workers in Guangdong in the late 19 th century used them to network and find out about employment opportunities.

I am sure that individuals in Northern China did exactly the same sorts of things. These networks also became an infrastructure that could facilitate the transfer of martial knowledge. They were a means by which one could branch out, travel and get introductions to study with different teachers. Rather than being exclusively about secrecy, traditional martial structures actually provided students with access to a vast network of information and contacts.

The average martial artist, intent on getting a job and making a living, probably did not do much to exploit these opportunities. Not only did he exploit direct lineage relationships traveling to Beijing to study Xingyi Quan with Guo Yun Shen for eight yearshe drew on other types of friendships and alliances as well. From Guo he received a letter of introduction recommending him to Cheng Ting Hua, an important Bagua instructor.

He subsequently studied with Cheng for another three years. His frequent travels make it clear that Sun had a degree of flexibility in his life that not all martial artists of the period were as lucky to possess. The very purpose of these networks was to build social status and make the open sharing of information possible. This is a critical point as social reformers after the Boxer Uprising would spend a lot of time criticizing the traditional martial arts community for its fratricidal and superstitious secrecy.

There were very few protests from the traditional martial arts community over these demands for reform. They certainly realized the value of exchange and discussion and they saw their institutions as something that accomplished those goals. Given the quasi-feudal economy that sunned lu tang biography of martin at the start of the 19 th century, these traditional teaching structures might have been the most efficient institutions possible.

However, the basis of Chinese economic life was being rapidly reformed. This made new types of cooperation, sharing and networking possible. Ever the innovator, Sun would be at the forefront of these reforms. These stories often revolved around deadly rivalries between schools and the theft of an ultra-secret text that revealed the true heart of Kung Fu.

Apparently someone did steal a book from Sun Lutang. My watch list my. My watch list My saved searches My saved topics My newsletter Register free of charge. Keep logged in. Login Register. This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering supportyou may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. During this time, Sun took many beatings from the man's cruel son but endured them for the sake of his mother.

Wishing that he could defend himself, Sun began studying with a local instructor in the style of Heng-Gung Shaolin kung-fu. Sun Lutang was a quick study. Later, at his employer's home, Sun was fired for injuring one of the employer's family members who tried to beat Sun. Sun Lutang returned home to his mother. Years later, his baguazhang teacher Cheng Tinghua gave him the name Sun Lutang.

It was common in old China for people to have multiple namesthrough various phases of life. He continued to use his original name in some areas, including the publishing of his books. He was also well-versed in two other internal martial arts : xingyiquan and baguazhang before he came to study tai chi. His expertise in these two martial arts were so high that many regarded him as without equal.

Sun learned Wu Hao -style tai chi from Hao Weizhen. He subsequently was invited by Yang ShaohouYang Chengfu and Wu Jianquan to join them on the faculty of the Beijing Physical Education Research Institute where they taught tai chi to the public after In later life, he published five martial arts texts which were also later translated to English recently:.

He also wrote a study of bagua spearthough this was never published. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version.