• GENERAL
• CHEN XIAOWANG
• FENG JINGCHUN
• FENG ZHIQIANG
• HUANG ZHENHUAN
• TIAN QIUXIN
• WANG BO
• WEI SHUREN
• ZHAO ZENGFU

WANG BO

PRESENTATION

Wáng Bo was born in Shanghai in 1932, just 21 years after the foundation of the Chinese Republic. Those times were a bit hectic and his family had to leave their home and move to an area called Si Ming Shan. When he was 6 years old he initiated into budhism, at the Deng Dai temple. There he became disciple of the budhist master Hui Liang and studied budhist meditation, martial arts and also calligraphy. He took the budhist surname Yuan Xiu.

Later on, as his master fall in enmity and was harassed because of rivalry with other martial artists, he followed his master to the Leng Shui temple, in Si Ming Shan.

Again, after the Japanese invasion and the “cleaning” operation, and due also to the fact that soldiers and highwaymen were harassing the monastery, they lacked calmness and had to move to the village of Shan Lin, in the district of Feng Hua. There he continued to practice meditation and study martial arts.

When the Japanese invasion ended, 8 years had passed since Wang Bo had became budhist monk. Because of respect to his master and following his advice, he went to the Jiu Hua mountains to search for new masters. He look unsuccessfully for master Shu Hui Xin, moving around over all places and taking a wandering life, selling his art for living.

Later on he met a hero in Shang Dong, a man named Zhang Song Shan (also known as Hou Wang – The Monkey Emperor), who was very good at horse riding. Wang Bo was taken as a disciple, and for him this man was as an adoptive father. This master taught him horse riding, the art of the sword and wrestling (san da). From that time on, they always help each other. They worked together as body guards and in other jobs. Following orders by his master, he moved to Shanghai and met master Tong Zhong Yi and his disciple Du Bao Kun, from whom he learnt Shaolin boxing and sword.

In 1954, working hard in Shanghai, he got a serious illness that kept him away from practicing Shaolin. Then he started to study the internal arts of Wudang, such as Taiji Quan, Xing-Yi Quan and Ba Gua Zahng. He decided to become disciple of a well-know doctor, Yuan Tie Jin, from whom he learnt Yang style, tui shou and also studied Chinese medicine, massage and acupuncture.

Later he became disciple of the famous martial artist Jiang Rong Jiao, from whom he also studied Ba Gua Zhang and Xing-Yi Chuan. After that, Wang Bo concentrated in the study of Taiji Quan. He was in Beijing studying with Chen Fa Ke (17th generation of the Chen style) "yi-lu", "er-lu" and tui-shou (first and second forms, and pushing hands) as well as "pao-chui" (bomb fist). When he returned to Shanghai he became disciple of Zhao Lin (who was a disciple of Yang Shao Hou) and studied the Yang style and tui-shou. He also studied with Zhang Hai Dong, a disciple of Chen Wei, and learnt the simplified form of Beijing (24 movements) and tui shou.

In spite of having studied with many masters, he was still eager to increase his knowledge and went with master Zhang Ming Yu (Yang Cheng Fu’s disciple) to study Yang style, broadsword, sword, long stick, tui-shou and wrestling (san da)

After that he went to study with the old master Gu Zi Liang, who was a disciple of Wu Jian Quan (Wu style). He studied daoist qi gong, wu qin xi (5 animals boxing) and wu-style tui shou, and also the 13 movement forms for sword and stick. He still took another master, Chang Yun Jie (disciple of Quan You), to study old style Quan You, tui shou and san da.

Since the death of Chang Yun Jie, he has not stopped, in the last 10 years, to practice tui shou techniques with his classmate Bang Cai. He has also practiced tui shou with the well-known budhist master Hai Deng, and visited frequently the Yan Yan temple at the Si Ming mountains to practice martial arts with the monk Chan Hui. Despite the fact he had not much money, he has traveled and visited many temples and monasteries searching for well-known masters. He also studied with He Jian, a student of the famous martial artist Gai Jiao Tian, and learnt the Long Xing Ba Gua Zhang (Dragon Form Ba Gua). To understand from a closer view the internal styles he also studied with Wang Wei Shen, 20th generation representative of the Song Xi sect at the Wudang mountains.

In the last years Wang Bo practices Shaolin and the tui shou of Taiji Quan for pleasure, although he always thinks it is not enough, as he says, because according to the masters boxing is something one must practice all life long to be able to understand its mysteries. His biography full of masters is an example to encourage us to continue in the study of this art.

BOOKS

The old structure of the Quan You style of Taiji Quan, in Chinese.

The old structure of the Chen style of Taiji Quan, in French (I ignore the title in French, I have translated it directly from Chinese).

Ba Gua Zhang, in French (Again, I ignore the title in French, I have translated it directly from Chinese)

He is about to publish another book in China (in Chinese)

ANECDOTES AND IMPRESSIONS

What impresses me the most about him is his elasticity. Also, his look is very lively, expressing well his cheerful spirit. I would say he is a man with “nerve” – not nervous – but at the same time quiet and stable. On the one hand, he looks playful and spontaneous like a child, but on the other one, he takes very seriously what he does.

Group picture in one of the workshops held in Barcelona.
On his left, his disciple Gabi; on the right, Zhang Xiumu

(Translation Spanish to English: Enric Saiz)