武者，止戈也

武者，止戈也

FIGHTING FOR PEACE

Chinese martial arts were never created to start a fi ght. On the contrary, they are regarded as a power to end it. This spirit is actually implicated in the Chinese language, in which the character“Wu”(meaning “martial art”) is made up of two separate words: “stop”and “war”.

Text by Guo Hua Translation by Madz Photos by Zeng Jian

采訪支持：佛山市委宣傳部

There are three ranks of martial artists: the average ones are good at skills, yet they only fi ght for selfdefense; the middle rank are wise and settle themselves in a peaceful mind; while the best martial artists are philosophical and divine, and can ensure the safety of the country.

“For thousands of years, to reach the highest rank has been the ever persistent pursuit for countless Chinese martial artists,” said Professor Liu Yongfeng from Foshan Centre for Martial Arts Cultural Studies.

This ranking system, strictly abided by martial artists, re fl ects the need of a practitioners' ethics. Although different schools of martial arts have different moral requirements, there are certain traditional virtues that all schools embrace, such as “always put brotherhood ahead of your life”, “to eliminate the

evil and give peace back to the good” and so on.

An ideal example is Kungfu master Huang Feihong, who had all the virtues that Lingnan people praise: he was righteous, modest and patriotic. “The martial ethics Huang presented at the time is one of the main reasons for him to become a hot subject for movies and stories after he died,” said Professor Yao Zhaowen from the Faculty of Arts, Foshan University, “and so was 'The Grandmaster' Ip Man, who earned admiration and respect as an living example of the saying: “to subdue men by force only proves you are stronger, yet to win people with virtue makes you a benevolent man.” In “Wulin”(the martial art circle)”, a practitioner is never deemed a master if he is morally evil. Instead, his Kung fu may even be taken away from him and he would be expelled from his hometown.

止戈為武，以形化意，道出了中國武術文化的精神內涵。武，從更高層次而言，不是為了戰勝對手，而是止息戰斗的和平力量。

It is the importance that martial artists attach to the practitioner's personality that makes Kung fu long-standing till this day.

Chinese Kung fu pays equal attention to both the inside and the outside. The outside, obviously, means the muscles and bones, whilst the inside refers to “heart”, “spirit”,“mind”,“strength”, and “energy” .

“For practitioners, when they reach a certain stage, they have to practise their inner force in order to achieve a higher level,” explained Liu Yongfeng, “Those who have trained both sides can conceal their moves and skills subtly during a fi ght. They only hit a certain point, instead of trying to wound the other person with their every move. This way of trying to avoid making enemies is a good demonstration of Chinese philosophy. It is very different from westernsports such as boxing, in which both sides try to beat the other person down to the ground.”

An experienced Kung fu master with formidable inner force would not use his full strength during the fi ght. Instead, he would “borrow” his rival's strength artfully and strike back with it. With the help of inner force, a master can give out a strong move with little strength. When it is necessary, he would use his mind to forge inner force, powerful enough to penetrate walls.

The cultivation of the inner force is closely related to the essence of traditional Chinese medical science, which revolves around the balancing of human's mind and body. To achieve this balance, the practitioner should avoid too much loss of energy, and resort to the cultivation of mind and body for stronger body function. This explains why most great Kung fu masters are also experts in Traditional Chinese medicine.

Kung fu star Bruce Lee majored in Philosophy. Through comparing Chinese martial arts with western martial arts, he came up with a famous interpretation of Chinese Kung fu: it is just like water, shapeless and fl exible, yet it possesses the ability to penetrate rocks.

By reducing the rival's force and making it vanish, a great martial artist achieves the ultimate goal of ending the fi ght. This is the true artfulness of Chinese Kung fu.

In 2008, martial arts became an Olympic demonstration sport, and it has recently been made an of fi cial backup event in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. In the near future, martial arts may enter the Olympics, and by then, the Chinese Kung fu spirit will for sure embrace its deserved glory.

中國武術，有三重境界：上武得道，平天下；中武入喆，安身心；下武精技，防侵害。“這是中國修武之士千百年來的不懈追求。”佛山武術文化研究中心主任劉永峰教授如是說。

這一追求，顯形在武德上，被歷代修武之人所遵守膜拜。武德是武林的道德規范，一般以各派各異的“門規”的形式存在，但也有一些普世的價值觀，如重義輕生、除暴安良、鋤強扶弱等。“一代武俠黃飛鴻身上就凝聚了嶺南民眾一致認同的傳統美德。”佛山大學文學院姚朝文教授認為，“葉問能被譽為‘一代宗師’，也與他身體力行‘以力服人者霸，以德服人者仁’的理念息息相關。”在武林中，即便身手不凡，倘若沒有德行，就會為人唾棄，甚至廢其武功，逐出家門。

中國功夫注重“內外兼修”，外練筋、骨、皮，內修心、神、意、氣、力。“習武達到一定水平，往上走，必須練內功。”劉永峰介紹說，“內外兼修的武者，動起手來，必然會將技巧隱于無形，在過招時也點到為止，不輕易樹敵。這與西方拳擊等競技，要將對手打倒在地，有明顯的不同。這也正是中國處世哲學的表現。”

內力高深的老拳師，過招時不會拼盡全力，而是會巧妙地借力打力，以四兩撥千斤，展現謙謙君子之風。在必要時，以意念發出的內功，則有穿透千斤的力道。

這種內力的修煉，與傳統中醫理念息息相通，求身心的平衡，氣脈的相通，引而不發，含而不露，減少對身體的損耗。這也是功夫精湛的武者多通曉中醫的緣由。

大學專修哲學的功夫巨星李小龍在比較學習中西武術之后，這樣闡述他對中國功夫的理解：中國功夫，就好像水，是世界上最柔軟的物質，但它有穿透頑石的能力。

止戈為武，就是將力融于無形，化于柔軟，達到止戈的至高境界。這就是中國功夫。

2008年，武術成為奧運表演項目，2020年入圍東京奧運會正式候補項目。武術走向奧運指日可待，其承載的中華武術精神將隨之走向更廣闊的世界。

受訪專家

Experts Interviewed

Liu Yongfeng

Director of the Foshan Martial Arts Culture Research Center, Member of the Foshan Martial Arts Association, Professor at Foshan University.

劉永峰 佛山武術文化研究中心主任、佛山武協成員、佛山大學教授。

Yao Chaowen

Guest Professor of Kokugakuin University Japan, Professor at Foshan University

姚朝文 日本國學院大學客座教授、佛山大學教授。