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Now, Yu Hai, who has passed his old age, is walking at the end of his life's journey. However, the traces of time have not extinguished his firm belief in his career and his deep love for martial arts culture. On the contrary, he still persists in exercising every day, maintaining the same enthusiasm, hoping to attract more people to devote himself to the research and exploration of Chinese martial arts culture through his influence in the film and television industry.
It is worth pondering that although Yu Hai has become a highly respected martial arts master, his lifestyle has always maintained an admirable simplicity. He does not have a mansion or a luxury car, but only lives in the staff dormitory building of Shandong Sports School, and mainly relies on public transportation for daily transportation. From this detail, we can see that no matter how brilliant Yu Hai has achieved, his inner humility and indifference have always been the same, which comes from the traditional virtues in the depths of his soul.
It is this persistent pursuit of martial arts and pious belief in traditional culture that inspires Yu Hai to forge ahead and achieve his status as a martial arts master today. Even though he is over the age of old, he still tirelessly shoulders the heavy responsibility of martial arts inheritance, and practices the wise saying of "live to be old and learn to be old" with practical actions.
Looking back on the past, let's go back to the time when Yu Hai was young. At that time, he was just an ordinary teenager from a poor family, living a difficult life and a difficult family situation. However, there was a blazing flame of martial arts burning in his heart, and his obsession with martial arts was almost crazy.
When he was 12 years old, Yu Hai was fortunate to worship under Lin Jingshan, the fourth-generation successor of mantis boxing, and since then he has embarked on the road of martial arts. However, at this critical moment, a seemingly insurmountable obstacle crossed his eyes - he was born with flat feet, which severely limited his jumping ability, and his training progress was far less than that of his fellow disciples.
Faced with such a heavy blow, many people may choose to retreat, but Yu Hai did not give in. After much deliberation, he resolutely decided to turn his flaws into motivation to move forward, vowing to perfect the study of mantis boxing.
Since then, the protagonist Yu Hai has embarked on a path of arduous cultivation that ordinary people can not imagine! He endured the torment, danced with the pain, worked hard day after day, and even captured hundreds of living praying mantis with his own hands, accompanied by these insects day and night, carefully observing their every move, trying to understand the mystery of mantis boxing.
In such a hostile environment, he was still able to absorb the nutrients of knowledge with hunger, and finally achieved remarkable achievements in the field of mantis boxing, which made his mentor full of praise.
This period of juvenile study has undoubtedly become an important cornerstone for Yu Hai to become a martial arts master in the future. With perseverance and a great love for martial arts, he has stepped through the arduous struggle step by step.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, Yu Hai has entered the prime of life. In 1960, at the age of 18, he was honored to be selected as a member of the Chinese Wushu Delegation for his outstanding martial arts skills, and had the honor of following the then national leader Premier Zhou Enlai on a visit to Myanmar, where he held a much-anticipated martial arts performance.
In the center of the stage, the young Yu Hai is vigorous and has light steps. He wielded the long weapon in his hand, and every movement was strong and powerful, and the momentum was magnificent.
The audience was all overwhelmed by his superb martial arts, and applause and cheers rose one after another in the venue. As the leader of the Chinese martial arts delegation, Yu Hai showed the world the breadth and profundity of Chinese martial arts through his wonderful performances, won honor for the motherland, and won the warm applause of the audience.
This trip to Myanmar was not only an important milestone in Yu Hai's martial arts career, but also paved the way for him to emerge in the martial arts arena in the future. After returning to China, his martial arts career flourished and was fruitful.
He has won many gold medals in various martial arts competitions at home and abroad, and has won numerous honors and is famous. What is even more commendable is that he also bravely assumed the heavy responsibility of the captain and head coach of the Shandong Wushu team, cultivated many outstanding martial arts talents for the country, and made outstanding contributions to the prosperity and development of China's martial arts industry.
In 1982, Yu Hai was favored by the crew of the action blockbuster "Shaolin Temple" with his excellent martial arts skills and superb acting skills, and successfully became one of the cast of the film. In this popular movie that swept the country and even the world, he played the role of the mentor of the actor Jet Li, and the two showed an extraordinary tacit understanding both on and off the camera, becoming the most eye-catching pair of master and apprentice partners in the film industry of that era, leaving an indelible impression on the majority of movie lovers!
However, without Jet Li, the absolute protagonist, Yu Hai's acting career did not stagnate. In 1996, he met a new "disciple" - Wu Jing. This witty duo met like a boy and quickly established a deep friendship.
In this year, Yu Hai and Wu Jing worked together for the first time and co-starred in the martial arts masterpiece "Kung Fu Kid Breaking Love". Although they had never crossed paths before, on the shooting set, they seemed to have known each other for many years, and they worked together seamlessly. In this film, they vividly performed an interesting master-apprentice story, which won the audience's applause and praise.
After the filming came to an end, the cooperation between Yu Hai and Wu Jing did not end there. On the contrary, they form a deep emotional bond like a true mentor and apprentice. Subsequently, they co-starred again in many popular classic film and television works such as "New Shaolin Temple" and "Tai Chi Grandmaster", and in these works, they still play the role of master and apprentice.
It is especially worth mentioning that the latter triggered a movie-watching frenzy as soon as it was broadcast, and the ratings continued to soar, and the word of mouth exploded, becoming the hottest topic of the year. And the success of all this is undoubtedly inseparable from the wonderful acting skills shown by Yu Hai and Wu Jing in the play, and even more inseparable from their sincere master-apprentice friendship outside the play.
During the filming of "Tai Chi Grandmaster", they also staged a blood-boiling fierce duel scene with the "Boxing King of the Century" Zhou Billy. At first, Wu Jing had suggested that Yu Hai and Zhou Billy wear protective gear when fighting, but the two teachers resolutely refused and insisted on going into battle in person. In the end, their showdown can be described as exciting and thrilling, which made the audience enthusiastic and thunderous applause.
From this scene, it is not difficult to see that Yu Hai treats martial arts with great devotion and extreme care for his works. It is precisely because of their professionalism and dedication and continuous pursuit of perfection that "Tai Chi Grandmaster" can achieve such impressive results.
In order to accurately inherit and carry forward the unique charm of traditional Chinese martial arts, in 2001, the respected Mr. Yu Hai and his son Yu Tao jointly established the "Yu's Martial Arts Cultural Exchange Center". Located in the beautiful scenery of Weihai, Shandong Province, this grand place is enthusiastically devoted to the noble concept of promoting martial arts culture, and is unswervingly committed to cultivating more outstanding martial arts talents for the country.
As a well-respected martial arts master, Yu Hai understands that if this long-standing martial art is to be passed on permanently, it is obviously not enough to rely on personal strength, and it is necessary to integrate modern operating models and adopt efficient communication strategies. Therefore, in the long years after the establishment of the exchange center, he resolutely decided to stick to the forefront of his acting career.
Yu Hai hopes to use his reputation in the film and television field to attract more audiences to have a strong interest in Chinese martial arts culture through his exquisite performance skills, and contribute to the promotion of Chinese martial arts to the world. Undoubtedly, this became the grandest wish of his later years.
It is with this firm belief that Yu Hai is still active in the film and television industry when he is over eighty years old, fully demonstrating the professionalism of elderly action actors. For example, at the beginning of 2024, he starred in the martial arts masterpiece "Zhang Sanfeng", and despite his advanced age, he still showed breathtaking acting skills in the play, winning the enthusiastic pursuit of many young fans.
As soon as the show was broadcast, it set off a warm response on the Internet with its fascinating plot and shocking action scenes, and won the top ratings of the current season's online dramas. Undoubtedly, this is another brilliant achievement of Yu Hai's career in his later years. Through his unremitting efforts, he has interpreted the precious spirit of "living to old age and learning to be old" with practical actions.