<--- | --->
Wang Shu Jin (aka Wang Heng Sun) was born in Tianjin in 1904 and began his studies of xingyiquan and baguazhang at age 18 with renowned master Zhang Zhao Dong (aka Zhang Zhankui), with whom he practiced until Zhang's death in 1940. Roughly at the same time Wang took up the practice of internal martial arts, he also became a devoted follower of Buddhism and vegetarianism. Although Zhang Zhao Dong remained Wang's primary teacher, Wang also spent a full year in 1934 exclusively studying the zhanzhuang methods of his gongfu uncle Wang Xiang Zhai. Later in 1938-39 Wang also spent more than a year learning Yin Yang Bapanzhang from Zhang Zhao Dong's gongfu uncle Xiao Hai Bo.

After moving to Taiwan in the summer of 1948, Wang founded the Chengming Martial Arts School and started teaching xingyiquan and baguazhang. Later in 1950, Wang coincidentally ran into his gongfu uncle Chen Pan Ling in Taichung and the two began exchanging ideas on martial arts. As a result, Chen taught Wang his 99-step synthesized form of taijiquan. Wang later incorporated Chen's taijiquan into his teaching. The differences in style between Chen and Wang's taiji have mainly to do with Wang's large physique, rather than a conscious departure from Chen's form. As he grew older, Wang did modify certain aspect of Chen's form, adding elements from bagua and xingyi but, by and large, the two forms remain similar.

Wang Shu Jin's approach to practicing and teaching the internal martial arts was very direct and great emphasis was placed on single movement practice, zhanzhuang and practical application. Wang's forms are relatively simple compared with many commonly practiced forms today, and used primarily as templates to fortify and internalise the principles of the arts in the individual practitioner. In Wang's method, the main purpose of form practice is to give the student guidance as to how the principles may be manifested in practice and provide the key for the student's own exploration of the art.

Wang's xingyiquan may perhaps be considered the backbone of the superb fighting skills he demonstrated on numerous occasions in China, Taiwan and Japan. Above all, Wang's martial arts emphasized simplicity and naturalness - practicing martial arts was to become part of the practitioner's natural movement, as natural as walking. Watching Wang perform one is struck by how simple, even casual, and completely effortless his techniques and movements came across. This was particularly impressive given Wang's large size. In sparring class, Wang would scold students if sparring was not ended with three strikes/techniques. Anything beyond was considered poor skill and would result in brute force, rather than skilled technique, and internal power. Wang was a no-nonsense teacher who emphasized the practical aspects of his art. Wang's students spent much of their time practicing the basics, standing in zhanzhuang postures, sparring and repeating the basics again. Wang was a living example of the success of his methods.

<--- | --->




Grandmaster Wang in Xingyi's trademark San Ti posture