From Outdoor to Indoor

by Feng Wu (translated by Chen PengCheng)

"Outdoor to Indoor" is an important phase that some Chinese martial artists have to go through. Those outdoor students are informal followers, while those indoors are formal followers recognized both by the master himself and the sect. It takes a long time for most Chinese people to become formal students. I remember well what happened in the days when I was with my master. At that time, a dozen followers learned martial arts from my master. Since my master didn't want to make a living by teaching martial arts, he didn't charge them at all. The lessons moved on slowly, some of the followers did not acquire even the JiuLu Striking Leg Style (basic skills in our sect), although several years had passed. Two years later, there were still a dozen followers around the master, but they were not those of two years ago. One day, my master said to me, "I teach you the JiuLu Striking Leg Style today."

Actually, Movements of the JiuLu Striking Leg Style are quite simple. I acquired the skills after only several minutes. But I knew there was an underlying meaning. The JiuLu Striking Leg Style was not taught to followers gratuitously. In our sect, being taught it meant formal admission, an honorable status. My master had made me a formal follower and my status changed.

After the lesson, my master said, "We have got different movements of the JiuLu Striking Leg style for different followers, different features mean different statuses in our sect." Then he moved on and said, "If you happen to meet someone who practices the martial art style belonging to our sect when you travel to somewhere, you can display the JiuLu Striking Leg Style. Someone from our sect will contact you and look after you. And you can also prove your own status with it." I know that such regulations have existed for a long time in our sect. Not only do we have this special practice, it can be found in other sects as well. I am acquainted with one senior master whose forefather was good at both martial arts and making a drug for traumatic injuries, which had an ideal curative effect. Every formal follower is required to make the drug. If someone proclaims that he is the formal follower of the sect, his identification and status can be obtained by simply asking the name of the drug and the way to make it.

After a person becomes a formal follower, the relations between the master and him change. The follower will call the master ShiFu (master) instead of LaoShi (teacher) and their relations are much closer than ever before, which are vividly expressed by the old saying, "Master is like the father." From this point forward, the master will bend all his efforts in teaching him instead of being conservative. Some other sects even hold ceremonies to honor the masters when the follower becomes a formal one. In the ceremonies, the follower shall knock his head on the ground and present a small note bearing his day of birth and the eight characters of his horoscope, together with the names of his family members in the previous three generations, accompanied by a host who reads out the regulations of the sect.

Every sect has its own way of adopting the formal students. Some even make it simple by demanding fees, although head knocking and a note are required as well. But the serious master doesn't accept the nominal followers. The so-called nominal followers are those who have relations with the master, but learn little from the master and are poor at martial arts. In addition to the nominal followers, a serious master generally turns down registered students as well (who admire and follow the master, but don't have any chance to learn from the master, though they are good at martial arts.) It takes a long time for a serious master to formally accept a student.

I have a master who practices "XinYi Quan". He once told me that his master didn't accept him as a formal follower until he practiced the PiQuan (splitting hands style) for three years. Later, he said that it wasn't a long time if the student could get the essence of PiQun. In fact, if the student is skillful at PiQuan, he has acquired nearly half of the XinYi Quan. Students who don't understand this fact will think the master is conservative and doesn't want to teach them.

In fact, there are two reasons why the master proceeds in this fashion. First, he really cherishes the martial art skills of the sect and doesn't want to pass on the skills to those who are poorly-behaved and of ordinary natural disposition. My master once said that it would be a crime not to pass on the martial arts to those who deserved it. And it would be an equal crime to teach those who did not deserve it. (There are some other sayings as well, such as "The masters would rather make the martial arts lost in the world than teach abusively.") Second, it is the traditional method of teaching handed down for generations.

This way of teaching seems too slow for many students, but in fact it is a shortcut. Many students leave, unable to endure the boredom and hardships inherent in correct training. Those who are always with the master are most likely to be successful. If they are accepted as formal students and given more advice, they will make rapid progress in their works. At this phase, they can get advice not only from the master but from others in the sect, such as the master's junior and senior apprentices, etc. After being made formal students, they must follow the regulations of their own sects. If they act against the regulations, they will be ejected or punished. But when my master accepted me as a formal student, he did not read out the regulations. He once said, "Normally, I take one or two years to accept a formal student. During this period, I will evaluate both his quality and natural endowment. If I accept the wicked as my formal student, it not only means that he has got some problems, but also means that I make a big mistake."By the way, he has not had a single wicked student in his life, though he has been teaching martial arts for more than twenty years.

Nowadays, more and more martial arts institutes and training centers have been established in China. Actually, the traditional way of teaching is not very popular with the students. But it still makes sense as a way of accepting formal students and of teaching, developing and inheriting Chinese martial arts.

Appendix:

ShaoLin Regulations on accepting students
Since the founding of the ShaoLin Temple in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, we have taught martial arts to our followers. Followers shall use martial arts as a mean of defense. At the same time, followers shall make great efforts to defend the state whenever it is in trouble. Followers are not allowed to bully the weak and the good by depending on the martial arts they learn. Our followers shall abide strictly by the regulations, love the common people and be benevolent to them.

Some of the regulations are as follows:

1. Followers shall honor the masters and respect their teaching. They shall give priority to royalty and filial piety.
2. Followers shall spare no efforts in mastering first-rate skills and understanding the thoughts of masters in previous generations.
3. Followers are not allowed to engage in rape. They shall be smartly dressed.
4. Followers are not allowed to insult the elderly by waving the fists.
5. Followers are not allowed to laugh for no reason and spread rumors.
6. Followers are not allowed to bully the weak and abuse public power to retaliate against a personal enemy.
7. Followers are not allowed to strike at one by reviling others and arguing loudly.
8. Followers are not allowed to adopt an arrogant attitude by curling up the legs and breaking into abuse.
9. Followers are not allowed to instigate wrongdoing in others.
10. Followers shall not be greedy for small gains and commit robberies or burglaries.
11. Followers shall be modest enough to consult others' inferiors.

The followers shall keep these regulations in mind, or they will be punished.

There are also Ten Not Alloweds, to which the followers shall pay great attention.

1. Followers are not allowed to bully and rape the women.
2. Followers are not allowed to compel a girl to marry.
3. Followers are not allowed to bully the good man.
4. Followers are not allowed to loot others' belongings.
5. Followers are not allowed to make troubles after getting drunk.
6. Followers are not allowed to cripple others with the martial arts.
7. Followers are not allowed to act absurdly.
8. Followers are not allowed to betray their closest family member and relatives by depending on the martial arts.
9. Followers are not allowed to act against the elderly.
10. Followers are not allowed to associate with gangsters.

There are an additional Ten Wishes made afterwards as well. When the follower is made the formal one, he shall kneel down before a spirit tablet on a lucky day and read out the Ten Wishes. After that, he is required to repeat the Ten Wishes before his master and make a promise that he won't forget them; otherwise he will be executed by heaven.

The Ten Wishes are as follows:

1. I wish that I could secure the state and comfort the people with martial arts.
2. I wish that I could curb the violent and assist the weak with martial arts.
3. I wish that I could save and help others with martial arts.
4. I wish that I could fight against evildoers and bring peace to the people with martial arts.
5. I wish that I could assist with the orphans and widows with martial arts.
6. I wish that I could donate money for worthy causes with martial arts.
7. I wish that I could do boldly what is righteous with martial arts.
8. I wish that I could help bring prosperity to the sect with martial arts.
9. I wish that I could sacrifice myself for others when they are in need of help with martial arts.
10. I wish that I could pass on martial art skills to virtuous students.

Written by Feng Wu (translated by Chen PengCheng) for KUNGFUMAGAZINE.COM

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