六代武術世家的傳奇

走進浙江余姚紅陽武術館，正墻上的那幅“拳打南山猛虎，腳踢北海蛟龍”的對聯顯得氣勢逼人，對聯兩側擺放著的十八般兵器更讓人感到寒光閃閃，若不是靠門口由小到大整齊排列的17雙練功鞋提醒這里是練功房，真讓人感覺走進了冷兵器時代。

這些兵器都是武術館的主人沈紅陽的父親沈傲臍親手打造的，沈家幾代人對中華傳統武術的摯愛，都凝聚在那些劍鋒刀刃上。

2006年10月8日，紅陽武術館收到“2007年第二屆香港國際武術大獎賽”組委會的邀請函，祖傳的武術又有機會在國際舞臺上展示，沈家的十八般兵器又可以派上大用場了，這讓沈家老小喜出望外！

“大頭鱷魚”

據80歲的沈傲臍回憶，沈家習武的歷史可追溯到他的曾祖父。曾祖人稱“紅毛師傅”，爺爺人稱“阿水師傅”，他們都曾在鎮海保護過海防，沈傲臍的武功則是父親沈寶山親傳。沈寶山130年前隨幾個老鄉來余姚發展，在舜江樓邊開了一家萬順糕餅店，人稱“狗頭頸”香糕店，店里的香糕、豬油麻酥糖、小方片等幾十種點心很有名，香糕店一直開到解放前。

開糕餅店不過是個謀生手段，每到夜深人靜時，沈寶山就帶著6歲的兒子到姚江的北橋洞下偷偷練水上功夫，早上天不亮又躲在棧房里習武。因為那時候學武是秘密進行的，不敢張揚，怕惹禍上身。沈傲臍雖然對學武之事守口如瓶，但天性好打抱不平，加上水性好，所以有時候還是“偶爾露崢嶸”，孩子們因此稱他“大頭鱷魚”。

學武行善

“學得武藝不為打打殺殺逞兇稱霸，只為仗義行善。”沈傲臍一生牢記和踐行祖上這一訓誡。沈傲臍15歲就參加了“余姚義務救火會”，有次余姚一家國營飯店失火，沈傲臍在滅火時一根約莫20厘米長的鐵釘從他的腳底穿透，穿到腳背，他忍痛拔下釘子又去滅火。沈傲臍至今保存著余姚縣公安局頒發給他的一張“奮勇救火，保障人民資產有功”的“二等消防模范”獎狀。

有一年寒冬臘月，一條裝載大米的船遇風浪沉沒在余姚通濟橋北洞，水不停地打著漩渦，沒人敢下去撈救，此時練得一套過硬水上功夫的沈傲臍赤膊躍入寒冰刺骨的深水中，他用父親教他“釣大鰻魚”的技巧，手執帶鉤長繩潛水從河底鉤撈了87袋大米，每袋重達100公斤！

在姚江，沈傲臍憑著好水性先后搶救過十幾個人的生命。他不但掌握了用腳踩水，還練就了倒立水面用手踩水的絕技，就是把他的手腳同時綁起來丟到河里，他也能照樣浮水而不下沉，故鄉鄰又送他“浪里白條”的美稱。

后來沈傲臍到上海江南造船廠工作，擔任過上海老精武會會員、江南造船廠武術隊教練，至今沈傲臍還保存著通過中國體育運動會一級游泳測試的徽章和國家一級舉重運動員證書，還有他率領的舉重隊連續3年獲得全國工礦企業團體冠軍的證書，以及當年《新民晚報》《體育報》《江南工人報》等報道他表演水上特技和“江南大力士舉重”的詳細報道。

子承父業

沈傲臍45歲時帶著妻子和剛滿5歲的兒子紅陽回到余姚，為的是精心傳授武藝。他特地為兒子自制了木刀、竹劍，因為習武之人喜歡家中每天有著“刀光劍影”。紅陽很有武術天賦，每天從早到晚在老醬園街外婆家的天井里練拉韌帶、練內氣、抓沙袋、倒立蜻蜓、扎馬步等，有時一個馬步要一動不動地蹲三炷香的工夫。

沈傲臍為了讓兒子練就眼觀六路、耳聽八方的防身快速反應能力，教兒子瞪著銅板練眼功、把銅板掛在窗戶上練耳功。他把希望寄托在兒子身上，而紅陽也沒有辜負父親，武藝越練越精，少林內功、少林八段錦、方大戟、宣花斧、月牙鏟、雙刀、春秋大刀、雙鉤等等，年僅12歲的紅陽就集這些武藝于一身。

1990年上海舉行精武國際武術邀請賽，邀請22歲的紅陽參加。離比賽還有幾個月了，但適合他的兵器卻無處可尋。沈傲臍決定使出江南造船廠造萬噸巨輪和造潛水艇的八級鉗工手藝，用不銹鋼為兒子量身打造了比武的兵器“月牙鏟”，這把月牙鏟竟做了兩三個月。紅陽用父親打造的這把月牙鏟拿到了國際武術邀請賽上比武，得了銀牌獎，這是余姚獲得的第一個傳統武術套路銀牌。

自制兵器

兒子在國際武術邀請賽榮獲銀牌，沈傲臍這位60多歲還在舞臺表演頭碎青磚、掌斷青磚的硬漢子一時老淚縱橫，在他心里這比別人送給他金山銀山還高興！他知道世代習武的沈家后繼有人了，沈傲臍打算自己打造十八般兵器，以讓這些傳統兵器連同沈家世傳的武藝一起流傳子孫后代。

說起十八般兵器沈家祖輩也曾有過，但后來都被官家沒收了，只有一桿130年前的紅纓槍被沈傲臍保留下來。好在從小習武的沈傲臍對自己早先練過的那些兵器有印象，于是他靠著反復的回想畫了圖紙并開始選料，光選那些刀刃、刀背、刀柄的材料就難得如同沙里淘金，有的材料要用刀銼，有的要用鑿子，而且每樣兵器的長短、分量都要根據人的身高來定，有嚴格的比例。

沈傲臍把他渾身的力氣和畢生技術都用在打造這些傳世兵器上，他點燃煤爐露天作業，找出了土制的大號啞鈴墊底打鐵，冬去春來，周而復始，不知身上曬脫了幾層皮，手上磨了幾層泡。為了這18種兵器不走樣，沈傲臍竟前前后后折騰了10年！

合家習武

沈傲臍一家除了老伴不練武，如今個個都絕技在身。沈傲臍的次子沈江紅、女兒沈紅妹都和紅陽一樣自幼習武，連紅陽的妻子葉秋紅，也是紅陽在余姚保安學校擔任武術總教練時收的女弟子。8歲就習武的葉秋紅進了沈家之后，公傳夫教，武功日增，現在跟丈夫學的太極拳、太極劍、太極槍、雙鉤、單戟可謂爐火純青；尤其可喜的是紅陽的女兒沈小藝，4歲隨父親練功、拉韌帶，5歲就能做“朝天登”，柔性達到了專業要求，現在7歲的小藝已經掌握了五步拳、初級長拳、初級單刀、棍術、螳螂拳等武術套路。沈傲臍看在眼里喜在心里，他覺得家門武術能傳到第六代，總算上對得起祖宗，下對得住子孫了！

A Legendary Family of Kongfu Masters

By Padi Guli

A visit to the Hongyang Wushu House in Yuyao， Zhejiang Province seems to bring you back to the time of cold steel. The eighteen traditional Chinese weapons are tidily arranged on both sides of a couplet that emphasizes the magic power of Chinese martial arts.

The eighteen weapons were made by Shen Aoqi， father of Shen Hongyang who is the master of the Kongfu House. On October 8th， 2006， the house received an invitation from the organizing committee of 2007 Hong Kong International Wushu Competition. The kongfu masters of the Shen Family are happy about the invitation because they know it will be an opportunity to display their family martial arts to the world.

The 80-year-old Shen Aoqi remembers that the family Wushu tradition traces back to his great grandfather. The great grandfather and grandfather once joined the coast defense at Zhenhai， Ningbo. Shen Aoqi learned the martial arts from his father Shen Baoshan. Over 130 years ago， Shen Baoshan came to Yuyao and opened a cake shop， which shop closed in 1949. The cake business served as the means of winning their bread. The family’s real business was to pass along the family martial arts. Shen Aoqi started learning kongfu from his father when he was six. Every night， the father and son went to the riverside and practiced swimming and other Wushu tricks in water. Then in the early morning， they would practice in a secluded house. They dared not reveal to other people that they were a family of martial arts for fear that it might stir up trouble. Though Shen Aoqi never mentioned to anyone that he was learning Wushu， he was a boy who couldn’t stand injustice. As he was also a good swimmer， sometimes he would show his real skills to his playmates. For this reason， his little friends nicknamed him “Big-head crocodile”

“Learning Wushu is not to kill， not to be a tyrant who does evil things with the aid of violence. Wushu is for justice and kindness.” Shen Aoqi learned this family motto from his father who learned that from his father. And Shen Aoqi passed this family motto to his sons and daughters.

Shen Aoqi joined the Yuyao Volunteer Firemen Brigade at 15. He keeps a certificate of merit issued decades ago by the Yuyao Public Security Bureau for his bravery in fighting fire and salvaging public properties. One winter day， a freight ship loaded with sacks of rice sank in the Yao River. As currents were rapid and there were swirls， nobody dared to get into the river to salvage the rice. Shen Aoqi stood out. Barebacked， he dived into the chilly river and carried a long rope with a hook at one end and hooked up 87 sacks of rice， each weighing 100 kilograms. In his younger years， he was so good a swimmer that even if he was thrown into the river with his hands and feet tied， he would be able to float on the water. When young， Shen Aoqi rescued more than 10 lives from the river.

Later Shen Aoqi worked in Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard for years where he became a Wushu coach and won many honors and certificates. Under his coaching， the weightlifting team of the shipyard won three consecutive national championships. The local media in Shanghai ran detailed stories about his swimming prowess and weightlifting wins.

Thirty-five years ago， the 45-year-old Shen Aoqi returned to Yuyao with his wife and five-year-old son Shen Hongyang for the purpose of teaching his son the family martial arts. A genius for Wushu， the five-year-old boy practiced the basics of martial arts in the patio at his grandmother’s house. At 12， the boy was already a veteran master of various kongfu skills. In 1990， the 22-year-old Yu Hongyang was invited to an international Wushu contest held in Shanghai. With only a few months to go， the young master did not have a weapon to show the best of his arts. The senior， a top-class bench worker， decided to custom-make a stainless “Crescent-shaped Spade”for the junior. The father spent about three months on making the weapon. The son won a silver medal at the international competition. It was the first time that anyone in Yuyao had ever won a silver medal at any international kongfu competition.

Shen Aoqi， in his 60s， wept happily at learning the news. He realized that the family tradition was now unfailingly carried on by a younger generation. To make the legacy complete， he decided to manufacture all the eighteen weapons again. When he was a kid， the family had all the weapons， but these weapons were later confiscated by the government. The only thing left over from 130 years ago is a red-tasseled spear. The senior wanted to make the arsenal complete. He recalled shapes and sizes of these weapons and chose materials to make the lost pieces. It took him 10 years to complete his re-making project.

All the family members of the Shens are masters of martial arts， except Shen’s wife， who does not practice Kongfu. His second son and daughter are masters. Shen Hongyang met a girl at his kongfu house， who started practicing martial arts at the age of 8. Later Shen Hongyang married her. Their daughter started learning Wushu two years ago and now the seven-year-old girl has mastered the basic skills.

Shen Aoqi is pleased. From his great grandfather to his granddaughter， Wushu has run through the family for six generations. And the family is determined to carry the tradition on to the future.

(Translated by David)