Fists of Steel
He Sure Knows How to Hit

Words: Li Mingxia & Jose Chang

He spreads a piece of newspaper on the smooth floor of his hutong home, places two bricks, lays a 10-centimeter thick rock across them.

"I will show you how powerful it is," he says.

"Kai!"

An explosive shout fills the room and He Zhenwei's hand shatters the gray slab into four jagged pieces.

He holds out his hand afterward. "Here, try it," he says. It feels no
different to yours or mine.

"If I choose, it turns to steel. See? Now try."

The hand feels rock solid.

"It's no magic," says He Zhenwei, 59. "This is authentic kung fu."

Yesterday

He Zhenwei reaches for a thermos by a book-laden shelf that fills the entire wall to his left. He invites his student Zhang Daxian, who practices martial arts at his 16 Donghuying courtyard every weekend, to make jasmine tea.

"Although breaking stone with my bare hand is easy for me, I rarely do it. It's not right for a martial arts practitioner to show off," says He.

The story of how he attained such prowess begins back in the 1940s. Wang Xiangzhai (1885-1963), a martial arts master and founder of his own unique brand of "mind boxing" - yiquan - wrote a story for a Beijing newspaper. He claimed while there was no limit to what one could achieve through martial arts, "Japanese judo and Western boxing do not exhibit comprehensive strength."

His ideas provoked opposition, notably from Sawai Kenichi, a Japanese judo and sword fighter. Kenichi came to Wang Xiangzhai's Beijing home for a contest. He demanded to fight at once.

According to He, the story goes that Kenichi's first attempted blow was diverted with one hand and Kenichi bounced back in ignominy. He says Kenichi next demanded to try his sword.

Kenichi was again bounced backwards, and fell to ground 10 meters away. Kenichi was so impressed he dubbed Wang a "supernatural person" and asked Wang to accept him as a student. After Kenichi returned to Japan in the 1940s, he founded dacheng in Japan. Wang's victory over Sawai Kenichi was big news back then, He says. The victory turned Wang into something of a national hero. As a result, yiquan earned a new, almost-untranslatable moniker: dacheng quan, 'great deeds' martial arts.

Wang's newer, more fluid hybrid combined the essence of the five branches -wu shu - of ancient Chinese martial arts: Shaolin, Bagua, Taiji, Xingyi and Qigong.

"Compared with other martial art styles, dacheng emphasizes the power of the mind," says He. A dacheng follower must improvise and select the right style to fit the right opponent.

The great Wang Xiangzhai used to visit He Zhenwei's childhood home in Beijing. "He was my father's friend," explains He. "But I was young. I never recognized Wang's power and did not even consider studying art." Instead, he largely ignored the old man.

Yesterday Once More

It was only much later than Wang's visits to his father that He Zhenwei realized his missed opportunity. He might have learned from the master himself.

Yet He Zhenwei today has emerged as one of dacheng's foremost proponents and practitioners. Vice chairman of the Chinese Dacheng Research Association, he gives dacheng lessons to both Chinese and Westerners.

"A great man must posses both wisdom and courage," said He Zhenwei's father He Xidong, a successful businessman and owner of the Juyuanlou jewelry store in Zhubaoshi, Langfang Ertiao.

He enrolled 8-year-old He Zhenwei with master Wang Liqing to study tantui, an older style martial arts, in 1948. From 1953, He Zhenwei went on to learn shaolin, tongbei boxing, wrestling and boxing from a succession of experts.

His life turned on the summer of 1959.

He Zhenwei heard of a fight competition between Liu Shizheng, a Western boxer, and a certain Wang Xuanjie, a new dacheng quan practitioner, and a pupil of the great Wang Xiangzhai. Word spread that Liu withdrew at the last minute.

The time had come to test He's mettle. Fully confident of victory, He wentmto Taoranting Park for an early morning showdown.

"I made up my mind to win. I thought to myself, who cares about all this dacheng quan?" he recalls.

He lost. In two minutes.

So stunned and impressed was He that he converted on the spot to dacheng and asked to be Wang's student.

He did not stop studying. He went on to learn dacheng with other experienced masters including Yao Zongxun, Zhao Daoxing, Zhou Ziyan, Zhang Entong and Li Yongzong.

Mastermind

Having mastered the basics of the five main schools and studied dacheng diligently for four years, He Zhenwei finally qualified to teach it himself in 1963.

The Cultural Revolution (1966-76) ended all that as the "feudal relic" of martial arts became banned all through China. For 15-20 years, He kept his passion in hiding

He nonethless continued practicing in private in his courtyard. In the 1980s, he was able to resume teaching dacheng openly in parks and cultural palaces. "The basic idea of dacheng is to restore people's instinct to defend themselves. Dacheng quan helps to release a person's inner potential," He explains.

Now He is honorary principal and martial arts coach of a French martial arts school, Institut du Quimetao, and travels there every year to teach students from different countries.

"Among my foreign students, many are very famous, such as the Italian wushu champion. I beat him with one blow. Another American boxer dared not come up against me."

He points to more photos of foreign champions, but he can't remember any of their names.

"Obviously not every Chinese nor every foreigner can successfully practice wushu. However, if they have the ability and are willing to make the sacrifice, both Chinese and foreigners can do really well."

He regrets that Chinese martial arts now seem more valued in the West, and fewer Chinese seem to appreciate their own spiritual fighting heritage.

"It is not that Chinese do not love their traditional culture," he says. "But that most of their time is spent at work, trying to make a living. They lack the necessary time to learn. It requires persistent practice and dedication."

"I believe if Chinese had a more affluent lifestyle and longer holidays, more would study." He's only son, He Jun, is a computer major at the University of Science and Technology in Beijing. He practices dacheng quan at weekends.

"He does well," says He Zhenwei. "But I also have a plan to make him go to France for further study. A man of martial arts should also be armed with knowledge.

In the West, "tai ji" is spelt "tai qi", employing the Wade-Giles pinyin spelling system.