The Unknown 200-Year-Old Master
The unknown 200-year-old
The unknown 200-year-old master, nameless as he refused to give his name, arrived in a fishing village in Indonesia 100 years ago. In 1924, during the “Beijing Coup” in mainland China, he was simply called the Old Man from China, or just “The Old Man,” as he is known up to now.
It was only after a decade that people discovered this Old Man was not ordinary. Despite looking like he was in his 60s, he still had the keen eyes and agile movements of a cat, with unusual strength for his age, matching the physical prowess of young men in the village.
Within a decade of being in the village, the quiet Old Man was bothered by hoodlums wielding machetes. Unlike other stories where the old man pleads for no violence, this story is different. Upon catching a glimpse of the machetes and hearing the threats of exploitation, he jumped straight into action. He punched one of the thugs on the shoulder, producing a bone-snapping noise that not even adrenaline could mask. As the story goes, the other hoodlums charged at the Old Man, who, with only his bare hands, blocked the swings of sharp blades. He sustained only mild cuts, and the machetes snapped upon contact with his thick-boned forearms. At that moment, the thugs ran to the nearby forest. According to village accounts and the Old Man himself, he followed them to the forest, his dwelling, where all that was heard were chilling screams.
The police never arrested him. The Old Man, also a healer, had helped many of their families, including the villagers. But on that day, his kung fu skills were evident, as was his ruthlessness, glimpses of his harsh past in the turmoil happening then in mainland China.
Standing Meditation
As is common, young men started to line up, wanting to learn from him. Unlike most Chinese Kung Fu masters, the Old Man was open in his teachings. He told them to stand as if hugging a tree – a method of standing meditation. He instructed them on how to breathe, stand, and hold the posture.
To the young men, this idea was absurd! Many, if not most, dropped out, thinking the master was holding back. One villager, a young man in his 20s at the time, kept practicing. Despite his doubts, within 30 days, including practicing semen retention, he noticed when he pushed one of his friends during a heated argument, his friend, who was twice his size, fell like a leaf rolling backward. The light bulb lit up in his head, and he went back to the Old Man, who took him back openly and said this about standing practice:
“This internal practice is simple yet has depth. It connects one with earth so you can reach heaven. The method is to release the mind and thus release the body, cultivating and increasing the potential difference between heaven and earth. This establishes a connection, and within the two poles, a flow. When man is removed by stilling the mind, only heaven and earth are left. The more the two blend, one reaches the void, before the birth of yin-yang, taiji. It will form a solid foundation for other practices. Should you forget anything, do not forget this method, for it shapes and bends to the tune of our universe.”
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