PENETRATE THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE
At home, the student set The Book on a table. Staring at it, he decided not to read it that night. He felt confused and embarrassed. After twenty years of training, he still felt like a beginner. Why? He didn’t have an answer. He went to bed.
He tossed and turned with dreams of fighting the Master: the look the Master gave him when he stuck the Master’s chin. He woke up on the floor, with the Master standing over him. He turned his head and looked at the clock. The digital display showed 3:31. He decided to get up and read the book.
My name is Sui Wan Jou. I’m a Shaolin priest. My training includes over 40 years of 5-Animal Kung Fu. I’ve mastered all five animal forms and twenty-three major weapons. I left the temple five years ago to help anyone who needed my services.
My path has led me to discover other styles and teachers. I have learned from them and incorporated their knowledge into my own personal art.
I met a master who taught a style based on the wind. I watched as he taught his students a whirling display of techniques. Each series of techniques consisted of 20 to 30 moves. As I observed the patterns, I tried to discover a weakness or a way to stop or penetrate the hurricane of techniques. I could think of nothing to stop such an onslaught of moves.
The master stopped the class. He walked over and introduced himself as Hung I-hsiang. He saw that I was a Shaolin monk. He bowed and asked me to join him for some tea.
I congratulated him on his students’ discipline. I then asked him about the style he taught. He mentioned that this was a family-style tradition, and the secrets were passed only from grandfather to grandson. Later in my travels, I found this to be true of most of the masters I met along the way.
He wouldn’t part with any of the techniques that he taught. However, he stated that the moves were based on the wind. You must remain calm like the wind that blows gently on a beautiful day. It is only during this period that the mind is calm, and the body can sense its surroundings. When attacked, you become like a hurricane that destroys everything in its path.
I remarked that what I witnessed was impressive and that I couldn’t fathom a way to penetrate or stop such an attack. “How do you stop a hurricane?” He looked at me and said, “There is only one way. You must penetrate the eye of the hurricane.” He then mentioned he would show me the technique since I was an honorable Shaolin priest.
The technique is called ‘The Penetrating Arrow Fist.’ Techniques that involve straight lines are absorbed by the hurricane. Circular techniques become part of the hurricane or are deflected away. The penetrating arrow fist uses both the straight and circular motions to confuse the hurricane’s action used in the technique.
The hand is not chambered but hangs loosely at the side of the body. As you feint with one hand and let the hurricane absorb the blow, it draws you in toward the center. That’s when you unleash the penetrating arrow fist with the other hand. It penetrates the eye of the hurricane. This disrupts the flow and strikes underneath.
The student laid the book on the bed. He now knew the technique he used on his teacher. He never knew the name or the purpose of the technique. Now, he understood.