KUNGFU AND THE DEVIL

There was a time when ordinary martial artists made pacts with the Devil and his Dark forces.
For the price of a soul, an aspiring martial artist had the chance to gain possession of superhuman powers, invincibility, ability to dash up the sides of tall buildings and hopskip past rooftops, gliding,somersaults in midair.
In return,the devil was to have the sole right to the man’s soul after a mutually agreed number of years of fame and invincibility.
At least this was what we had been told.
They certainly had a mysterious aura about them, these kungfu masters.The public,at least the young public admired and wanted to learn from them.They certainly were the heroes in those days.
Not that they did any public good, but at least the possibility was always there, if ever the enemy or the invasion arose. We felt safe. The town was safe.
I remember a cousin of mine met one of these mysterious heroes....and this was the story she told .....
It seems this particular kungfu master had already made his eternal pact with the Dark forces.
He was a stranger in our town, passing thru ..A visitor from mystical Burma.
The first night he visited a local cinema hall, and strolled around a bit after the show.
Way past every sane person’s bedtime.
Members of the dreaded local gang had seen the stranger, and they certainly did not like what they saw. A tough looking stranger, milling around in their turf. This was most unacceptable. NOW comes the best part.
As they surrounded him, the stranger stayed calm and said, ‘ my little brothers, plis don’t make this mistake , you are in no position to grapple with me’
This angered the gang even further. Bad introduction. Big mistake.. With chains and pocket knives a la Nicky Cruz they snarled at the audacity. But just as the first fist was about to land, the stranger suddenly swung backwards and disappeared in a flash. No smoke, no mirrors.
The stunned gang froze in horror……….. There, several storeys above them, stood the stranger ….balancing himself on the roof of the cinema hall.



As I look back on those days , after watching Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon honored with the Oscar, I realize the story had been true all along. HA
Only in those days we called him the Devil.
Nowadays they refer to him as stunt director, director or whatever term fits.
Perhaps he demands for more than the souls these days.