Chapter 308 - 279: Seeking Martial Arts Issue 7
The interviews continued, and Liu Yuanbo and others had roughly guessed what kind of person Wu was looking for.
Someone like Wang Ruojun, with some talent and an active mind.
Wu had told Wang Ruojun earlier that every move and technique in Kung Fu was developed little by little by countless predecessors, and that one should not think they could surpass the wisdom of generations with just a little cleverness. That was true, but it didn’t mean that someone learning Kung Fu should rigidly stick to the rules, blindly practicing according to the manual, or just do whatever the master teaches without thinking about the deeper meaning.
Such a person, no matter how hard they train, would only produce stiff Kung Fu, clumsy Kung Fu.
For example, the essence of the Horse Form Continuous Cannon is in the stepping to generate power and control the center of gravity; the techniques themselves are secondary. Wouldn’t it work just as well if you changed Stepping Fist to Stepping Elbow? Or to a shoulder bump with Stepping Side?
Therefore, a person who truly brings Kung Fu to life, when taught one technique by their master, is effectively taught many techniques.
The kind of people Wu was looking to find were those who brought Kung Fu to life and had their own thoughts.
This required talent and also a love for Kung Fu; only those who truly settle down to study it might manage to bring Kung Fu to life.
Moreover, this was very important because the transition from Master Level to Grandmaster Level is a process of gradual self-realization: one must comprehend their own unique Fist Intent, find the most suitable way for them to exert force, and eventually create their own understanding of Kung Fu.
In this respect, Wang Ruojun’s exploration and alteration of the way to exert force was correct, but he had taken this step too early, which is why Wu had to admonish him earlier, just like when Wu himself started learning Kung Fu from his grandfather and soon began exploring how to alter the techniques to better suit his body, resulting in severe criticism from his grandfather.
At the time, his grandfather did not explain why. It was only later, as Wu grew up and went through many experiences, that he understood his grandfather’s hardships and intentions.