走进浙江余姚红阳武术馆，正墙上的那幅“拳打南山猛虎，脚踢北海蛟龙”的对联显得气势逼人，对联两侧摆放着的十八般兵器更让人感到寒光闪闪，若不是靠门口由小到大整齐排列的17双练功鞋提醒这里是练功房，真让人感觉走进了冷兵器时代。
　　这些兵器都是武术馆的主人沈红阳的父亲沈傲脐亲手打造的，沈家几代人对中华传统武术的挚爱，都凝聚在那些剑锋刀刃上。
　　2006年10月8日，红阳武术馆收到“2007年第二届香港国际武术大奖赛”组委会的邀请函，祖传的武术又有机会在国际舞台上展示，沈家的十八般兵器又可以派上大用场了，这让沈家老小喜出望外！
　　
　　“大头鳄鱼”
　　
　　据80岁的沈傲脐回忆，沈家习武的历史可追溯到他的曾祖父。曾祖人称“红毛师傅”，爷爷人称“阿水师傅”，他们都曾在镇海保护过海防，沈傲脐的武功则是父亲沈宝山亲传。沈宝山130年前随几个老乡来余姚发展，在舜江楼边开了一家万顺糕饼店，人称“狗头颈”香糕店，店里的香糕、猪油麻酥糖、小方片等几十种点心很有名，香糕店一直开到解放前。
　　开糕饼店不过是个谋生手段，每到夜深人静时，沈宝山就带着6岁的儿子到姚江的北桥洞下偷偷练水上功夫，早上天不亮又躲在栈房里习武。因为那时候学武是秘密进行的，不敢张扬，怕惹祸上身。沈傲脐虽然对学武之事守口如瓶，但天性好打抱不平，加上水性好，所以有时候还是“偶尔露峥嵘”，孩子们因此称他“大头鳄鱼”。
　　
　　学武行善
　　
　　“学得武艺不为打打杀杀逞凶称霸，只为仗义行善。”沈傲脐一生牢记和践行祖上这一训诫。沈傲脐15岁就参加了“余姚义务救火会”，有次余姚一家国营饭店失火，沈傲脐在灭火时一根约莫20厘米长的铁钉从他的脚底穿透，穿到脚背，他忍痛拔下钉子又去灭火。沈傲脐至今保存着余姚县公安局颁发给他的一张“奋勇救火，保障人民资产有功”的“二等消防模范”奖状。
　　有一年寒冬腊月，一条装载大米的船遇风浪沉没在余姚通济桥北洞，水不停地打着漩涡，没人敢下去捞救，此时练得一套过硬水上功夫的沈傲脐赤膊跃入寒冰刺骨的深水中，他用父亲教他“钓大鳗鱼”的技巧，手执带钩长绳潜水从河底钩捞了87袋大米，每袋重达100公斤！
　　在姚江，沈傲脐凭着好水性先后抢救过十几个人的生命。他不但掌握了用脚踩水，还练就了倒立水面用手踩水的绝技，就是把他的手脚同时绑起来丢到河里，他也能照样浮水而不下沉，故乡邻又送他“浪里白条”的美称。
　　后来沈傲脐到上海江南造船厂工作，担任过上海老精武会会员、江南造船厂武术队教练，至今沈傲脐还保存着通过中国体育运动会一级游泳测试的徽章和国家一级举重运动员证书，还有他率领的举重队连续3年获得全国工矿企业团体冠军的证书，以及当年《新民晚报》《体育报》《江南工人报》等报道他表演水上特技和“江南大力士举重”的详细报道。
　　
　　子承父业
　　
　　
　　沈傲脐45岁时带着妻子和刚满5岁的儿子红阳回到余姚，为的是精心传授武艺。他特地为儿子自制了木刀、竹剑，因为习武之人喜欢家中每天有着“刀光剑影”。红阳很有武术天赋，每天从早到晚在老酱园街外婆家的天井里练拉韧带、练内气、抓沙袋、倒立蜻蜓、扎马步等，有时一个马步要一动不动地蹲三炷香的工夫。
　　沈傲脐为了让儿子练就眼观六路、耳听八方的防身快速反应能力，教儿子瞪着铜板练眼功、把铜板挂在窗户上练耳功。他把希望寄托在儿子身上，而红阳也没有辜负父亲，武艺越练越精，少林内功、少林八段锦、方大戟、宣花斧、月牙铲、双刀、春秋大刀、双钩等等，年仅12岁的红阳就集这些武艺于一身。
　　1990年上海举行精武国际武术邀请赛，邀请22岁的红阳参加。离比赛还有几个月了，但适合他的兵器却无处可寻。沈傲脐决定使出江南造船厂造万吨巨轮和造潜水艇的八级钳工手艺，用不锈钢为儿子量身打造了比武的兵器“月牙铲”，这把月牙铲竟做了两三个月。红阳用父亲打造的这把月牙铲拿到了国际武术邀请赛上比武，得了银牌奖，这是余姚获得的第一个传统武术套路银牌。
　　
　　自制兵器
　　
　　儿子在国际武术邀请赛荣获银牌，沈傲脐这位60多岁还在舞台表演头碎青砖、掌断青砖的硬汉子一时老泪纵横，在他心里这比别人送给他金山银山还高兴！他知道世代习武的沈家后继有人了，沈傲脐打算自己打造十八般兵器，以让这些传统兵器连同沈家世传的武艺一起流传子孙后代。
　　说起十八般兵器沈家祖辈也曾有过，但后来都被官家没收了，只有一杆130年前的红缨枪被沈傲脐保留下来。好在从小习武的沈傲脐对自己早先练过的那些兵器有印象，于是他靠着反复的回想画了图纸并开始选料，光选那些刀刃、刀背、刀柄的材料就难得如同沙里淘金，有的材料要用刀锉，有的要用凿子，而且每样兵器的长短、分量都要根据人的身高来定，有严格的比例。
　　沈傲脐把他浑身的力气和毕生技术都用在打造这些传世兵器上，他点燃煤炉露天作业，找出了土制的大号哑铃垫底打铁，冬去春来，周而复始，不知身上晒脱了几层皮，手上磨了几层泡。为了这18种兵器不走样，沈傲脐竟前前后后折腾了10年！
　　
　　合家习武
　　
　　
　　沈傲脐一家除了老伴不练武，如今个个都绝技在身。沈傲脐的次子沈江红、女儿沈红妹都和红阳一样自幼习武，连红阳的妻子叶秋红，也是红阳在余姚保安学校担任武术总教练时收的女弟子。8岁就习武的叶秋红进了沈家之后，公传夫教，武功日增，现在跟丈夫学的太极拳、太极剑、太极枪、双钩、单戟可谓炉火纯青；尤其可喜的是红阳的女儿沈小艺，4岁随父亲练功、拉韧带，5岁就能做“朝天登”，柔性达到了专业要求，现在7岁的小艺已经掌握了五步拳、初级长拳、初级单刀、棍术、螳螂拳等武术套路。沈傲脐看在眼里喜在心里，他觉得家门武术能传到第六代，总算上对得起祖宗，下对得住子孙了！
　　
　　A Legendary Family of Kongfu Masters
　　By Padi Guli
　　
　　A visit to the Hongyang Wushu House in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province seems to bring you back to the time of cold steel. The eighteen traditional Chinese weapons are tidily arranged on both sides of a couplet that emphasizes the magic power of Chinese martial arts.
　　The eighteen weapons were made by Shen Aoqi, father of Shen Hongyang who is the master of the Kongfu House. On October 8th, 2006, the house received an invitation from the organizing committee of 2007 Hong Kong International Wushu Competition. The kongfu masters of the Shen Family are happy about the invitation because they know it will be an opportunity to display their family martial arts to the world.
　　
　　The 80-year-old Shen Aoqi remembers that the family Wushu tradition traces back to his great grandfather. The great grandfather and grandfather once joined the coast defense at Zhenhai, Ningbo. Shen Aoqi learned the martial arts from his father Shen Baoshan. Over 130 years ago, Shen Baoshan came to Yuyao and opened a cake shop, which shop closed in 1949. The cake business served as the means of winning their bread. The family’s real business was to pass along the family martial arts. Shen Aoqi started learning kongfu from his father when he was six. Every night, the father and son went to the riverside and practiced swimming and other Wushu tricks in water. Then in the early morning, they would practice in a secluded house. They dared not reveal to other people that they were a family of martial arts for fear that it might stir up trouble. Though Shen Aoqi never mentioned to anyone that he was learning Wushu, he was a boy who couldn’t stand injustice. As he was also a good swimmer, sometimes he would show his real skills to his playmates. For this reason, his little friends nicknamed him “Big-head crocodile”
　　“Learning Wushu is not to kill, not to be a tyrant who does evil things with the aid of violence. Wushu is for justice and kindness.” Shen Aoqi learned this family motto from his father who learned that from his father. And Shen Aoqi passed this family motto to his sons and daughters.
　　Shen Aoqi joined the Yuyao Volunteer Firemen Brigade at 15. He keeps a certificate of merit issued decades ago by the Yuyao Public Security Bureau for his bravery in fighting fire and salvaging public properties. One winter day, a freight ship loaded with sacks of rice sank in the Yao River. As currents were rapid and there were swirls, nobody dared to get into the river to salvage the rice. Shen Aoqi stood out. Barebacked, he dived into the chilly river and carried a long rope with a hook at one end and hooked up 87 sacks of rice, each weighing 100 kilograms. In his younger years, he was so good a swimmer that even if he was thrown into the river with his hands and feet tied, he would be able to float on the water. When young, Shen Aoqi rescued more than 10 lives from the river.
　　Later Shen Aoqi worked in Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard for years where he became a Wushu coach and won many honors and certificates. Under his coaching, the weightlifting team of the shipyard won three consecutive national championships. The local media in Shanghai ran detailed stories about his swimming prowess and weightlifting wins.
　　Thirty-five years ago, the 45-year-old Shen Aoqi returned to Yuyao with his wife and five-year-old son Shen Hongyang for the purpose of teaching his son the family martial arts. A genius for Wushu, the five-year-old boy practiced the basics of martial arts in the patio at his grandmother’s house. At 12, the boy was already a veteran master of various kongfu skills. In 1990, the 22-year-old Yu Hongyang was invited to an international Wushu contest held in Shanghai. With only a few months to go, the young master did not have a weapon to show the best of his arts. The senior, a top-class bench worker, decided to custom-make a stainless “Crescent-shaped Spade”for the junior. The father spent about three months on making the weapon. The son won a silver medal at the international competition. It was the first time that anyone in Yuyao had ever won a silver medal at any international kongfu competition.
　　
　　Shen Aoqi, in his 60s, wept happily at learning the news. He realized that the family tradition was now unfailingly carried on by a younger generation. To make the legacy complete, he decided to manufacture all the eighteen weapons again. When he was a kid, the family had all the weapons, but these weapons were later confiscated by the government. The only thing left over from 130 years ago is a red-tasseled spear. The senior wanted to make the arsenal complete. He recalled shapes and sizes of these weapons and chose materials to make the lost pieces. It took him 10 years to complete his re-making project.
　　All the family members of the Shens are masters of martial arts, except Shen’s wife, who does not practice Kongfu. His second son and daughter are masters. Shen Hongyang met a girl at his kongfu house, who started practicing martial arts at the age of 8. Later Shen Hongyang married her. Their daughter started learning Wushu two years ago and now the seven-year-old girl has mastered the basic skills.
　　Shen Aoqi is pleased. From his great grandfather to his granddaughter, Wushu has run through the family for six generations. And the family is determined to carry the tradition on to the future.
　　(Translated by David)