Six faces of Wushu
Wushu is not judged solely on skill. For instance, the judging in Nanquan evaluates not only technique, but also fluidity and refinement from beginning to end. As per Chang's description, Wushu is a "nano-sport": the deeper and finer a contestant's concentration, the greater his likelihood of winning, "because at such a time you have full belief in yourself."
Peng laughs, saying that his goal of studying Wushu was initially to strengthen his body and show off, and later it was to become an Olympic champion. But only after truly entering this field did he discover its profound philosophy.
Beyond skill, Wushu is a holistic discipline that integrates refinement, temperament and spirit; there is also an interpersonal relationship of give-and-take with the opponent. Peng gradually broke free from simple physical conditioning, allowing himself to rise from competitive Wushu to becoming a scholar of martial arts.
Peng would regularly peruse the I-Ching, The Art of War, and books on Chinese philosophy and traditional Chinese medicine to broaden his vision and build his cultural acumen. He found that the perspective from which he looked at things had changed, and his disposition saw a significant transformation, turning from hot-tempered to calm and mild. This was something he had never imagined would happen.
Peng provides the example of the "eye of a hawk, spirit of a monkey" (keen expression, alert actions) formula, which stresses calmness of form and purposefulness of action. The idea of the "six faces of Wushu" suggests that one should consider at least six aspects of anything one sees: besides concentration, one must bear different levels of thinking. This was quite different from Peng's past habit of one-track thinking.
Peng also believes in gaining something from whatever one does. He had joined Ming Hwa Yuan to earn a living. Unlike stadium sports, Ming Hwa Yuan frequently played to full houses, an experience that trained him to feel no fear on stage before countless eyes. But in Ming Hwa Yuan's stage performances, the audience cared only for surface technique, so even if he made a mistake he could make minor adjustments to save his performance. Furthermore, there was no scorecard pressure. But in Wushu tournaments, the slightest error is not tolerated; even if you think you did well, you may not do as well as you thought in the subjective eye of the referee, so you need to know how to cope mentally.
This isn't Wushu!
As a martial artist, Peng has watched popular kung fu and wuxia movies (romantic fiction featuring martial-arts "knights errant") in depth.
He says that in both the Chinese and Western worlds, wuxia movies have been critical in stirring up people's interest in Wushu. But if you take away the special effects, what's shown in wuxia movies is vastly different from real Wushu, leading to many misconceptions.
For example, during a sword fight, the image of clashing swords brings thrills galore. But in reality, it takes only one strike to decide the winner. One thrust through an opening, and in that decisive split second the outcome is known, so there won't be incessant clashes of swords or rounds of fighting as seen in the movies.
In the Hong Kong movie Once Upon a Time in China, the dozen or so "no-shadow kicks" performed by Jet Li were highly exaggerated; in comparison, the combat action was very good, though a bit fancy, in Ip Man, last year's film about a Wing Chun master's life.
Comparing the Wushu traditions of Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China, Peng believes that there is little of the essence of Wushu left in China as a result of the interruptions in transmission of the art during the tumultuous periods of the Chinese Civil War and the Cultural Revolution. Add to this the national policy of patterning martial arts performance toward competitions, routines and forms, and the true meaning of the study of martial arts has gradually diminished.
However, many older martial arts masters (such as Wing Chun master Ip Man and Changquan master Sun Shaotang) opened schools in Taiwan and Hong Kong, continuing a solidly rooted line of transmission, resulting in styles superior to those in China.
But given the undeniably high visibility and influence of international sports competitions, it is worth paying attention to how martial arts in Taiwan develop under such pressure, unrestricted by China's formulaic Wushu policy.
Three-in-one teaching
Regarding the development of Wushu in Taiwan, Peng says that quite a few Taiwanese students study martial arts, but they tend toward simple training models. Since the study of martial arts requires a high degree of endurance and willpower, it's necessary to draw the students' interest when teaching, otherwise they would give up halfway.
So how do you make students fall in love with martial arts? Peng introduces it to students through sayings and stories. For instance, he tells them to use their imagination, thinking how to interpret the saying "the best strategy is to get away" through their actions. And when performing the cries of Nanquan, they are useful both for "striking fear into the enemy's heart" and for "creating a diversion": the roaring sounds deter the opponent. The stories, sayings and sparring are his form of "three-in-one teaching," making students more willing to accept Coach Peng's tough training.
Despite announcing that he will no longer compete internationally after winning the Wushu championship at the 2009 World Games, Peng still regularly practices in order to coach effectively. His girlfriend Liu Yu-chien is also a practicing martial artist, and when they go out they often spar. And it's real sparring: she has knocked him to the ground on many an occasion! Peng says with forbearance, every time they spar with each other, they do so with full force. Though during practice they may hold back a notch, they can't perform effectively without going all out, or they would grow accustomed to lower levels of force.
Says Peng, before graduating from TPEC, his family didn't know what he would be doing with his life, thinking that he would just become a pugilist. But when he won the World Wushu Championship in 2005, his father was flushed with pride at his success. As for Peng, his feelings for Wushu are not from being a sports champion, but from deeply understanding and interacting with it. Says he, there are no bounds in the study of martial arts; he will keep studying until the day they lower him into the ground.