the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

Master Zhang Youngliang, was born in 1920, and started martial arts training at age of 5, until 14. His family ran a shoe factory at the time. Since 14 he joined the family business and needed to ship the handmade soles from Tongzhou to the City. On the way he had to cross a river on foot and carried his bicycles/soles on his shoulder.

The cold water hurt his legs over the years and he had to stop when he was 25. He began Ba Gua training from his second master by then, and practised the art for 17 years. In 1962, 4 years before the Culture Revolution, he started his Taichi training from his third master. In fact, he had been practicing in the park where his Taichi master had met him, and observed him for quite some time.