On the Salutation in Kung Fu, by my instructor Gabriele Goria.
During the Chinese Civil War, Master Chang was challenged in a duel against another soldier.
The two opponents spent long time studying each other: the soldier’s noble presence revealed that Chang was standing in front of another Master of Kung Fu.
Suddenly, attuned in a perfect synchrony of movements, they began to perform their greeting-rituals. That was indeed another strategic opportunity to gather information about one fighter’s background: Kung Fu-schools provide slight differences in their own respective greeting-ceremonies, due to natural diversifications happened throughout centuries of evolution and specialization in the history of traditional Chinese martial arts.
With great surprise, the two warriors acknowledged that they were performing exactly same gestures: no doubt, they were both pupils of same Master!
That day, two soldiers belonging to rival factions silently and mutually agreed not to fight: they performed their greeting-ritual once again and left the battlefield in peace.
I heard…
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