After a years of training an old master invites his pupil to
follow him , after a while , on a special place a master reveals a secret and
deadly technique to his student making him invincible . Secret technique was
passed down from generation to generation to only one chosen student to keep it
and pass the knowledge further when the time comes. The technique was invented
by a famous ancestor who fought many battles for justice and freedom and it can be used only as the last resort in
fight to defend oppressed and misfortunate who cannot defend them self .
This is a general plot for many kung fu movies and Wuxia
novels , a righteous hero after a futile effort to reach justice is usually
taught some secret powerful technique by an old master and with that knowledge
he can finally defeat evil .
Stories about secret techniques have real historical
foundation. Martial arts in the past were marginal activity reserved for army,
police and mercenaries of all kinds( bodyguards , bounty hunters , caravan
guards , ect) . Martial arts and martial skills were an occupation, a source of
income and fighting systems were not even shown lightly to an outsiders, giving
up the secrets of the system was contra productive in economical sense and also
could be potentially dangerous in possible future confrontation . People from
one school of fighting generally didn’t know anything about other styles.
Today , situation is completely different and martial
artists realized that the best way to improve their systems is to be open and exchange
experience with other people. Having a secret techniques today is a nonsense,
simply because there are no secrets any more , and those secret , closed
systems , although still exist are declining and are on the way of extinction .
Today , “secret” knowledge is only used in certain kind of
schools to attract people who still believe in old legends and mix fiction with
reality . Secret techniques in a sense of something technical that no one else
knows and will make someone a formidable fighter is , forgive me for being
blunt , are pure crap . Martial excellence is a consequence of hard training
not some secret movement unknown to anyone else.
So ,are there secrets in kung fu today . The answer is yes
and no . No , because nothing is hidden , everything is open , on the plain
sight , the only requirement is dedication and hard work. And yes , there are
secrets , but not in a sense mentioned above.
There are things in kung fu that cannot be explained by
words , they come after years of dedicated training and are highly personal
experiences , different for each practitioner . Depends of the style or the
goal in training , these things can be related to physical or mental or even
spiritual transformation and change . Some of these achievements are often called
qi , sometimes something else , but it is not possible to define them or
explain them , simply , either practitioner is on the level to feel them or not
, he can perform something or not , simple as that . In that sense there are
secrets , because talking to someone who doesn’t have a proper experience is
useless , either will person dismiss claims as false , and won’t believe it is
possible , or will try to force the achievement which is completely wrong and
contra productive
