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An article from the Lianhe Wanbao on 3/11/01 about the revenge of a King Cobra.

This is a very interesting & true story about the power of hatred.
On the 30^th of October last month, in a restaurant in Shunde city, Canton, a chinese cook was bitten by a already beheaded King Cobra and had since lapsed into a deep coma due to the effect of its deadly venom.
This happened during noon, after this 28 yr old cook by the surname of Chen slaughtered the 2 meter long King Cobra from Thailand for the dinner table.
Although he had already chopped the cobra's head off, it seems that the cobra still had a surprise waiting for him.

Ten minutes after the slaughter, just when Chen was about pick up the cobra head with a pincer to dispose off in the rubbish bin, the cobra head (without a body) suddenly launched itself at Chen, biting deep into his ring finger & injecting its last lethal dose of venom before finally dying.
Chen was sent to the hospital at 12.35pm for emergency aid.
Normally snake venom can be neutralized by one jab of serum, but so powerful is this king cobra's venom that it took 6 jabs of serum before Chen's condition could stablize.
However his chances of survival are still quite slim.

From this story we learn of one truth - that the Mind is stronger than Death. When the power of the mind is transformed into hatred, into or "Killer Intent", it could sustain a cobra to seek vengeance on its murderer even after its physical body had been slain.
This strange incident about retribution reminded me of the legends of warriors that continued to fight on in the battlefield even though their bodies had already died from wounds.

It is only after each & every available enemy have been killed that they finally perish, still standing.
I think legends such as these inspired the movie series , which starred Brandon Lee as the undead avenger in the original version.
Unfortunately it is also through this movie that the Lee family curse claimed Brandon, its last victim.

The late Brandon Lee, immortalized as "The Crow".

The power of Killer Intent is so strong that it allows dead animals & men to conitnue to fight as if alive, until their hatred is totally fufilled.
Hatred, powerful as it is, is a double edged sword that cuts both ways.
It is also a fire that burns both enemy & self alike, consuming eveything in its path without discrimination.

Uncontrolled, it could bring about the death and destruction of every living being on this Earth.
That is why we as Seekers of the Martial Way, aware of both the power & danger of Hatred, need to harness our anger in a positive direction so that it would not bring about tragedy & great suffering.

It is the application of Killer Intent that brings out the true deadliness of any system of Martial Science.
Yet it is this very mental power that leads many invincible fighters to a tragic end.
Li Shuwen, the fearsome Baji master is one good example.

Having killed many kungfu exponents in duels throughout his life as a martial artist, he finally met his end at the hands of an unknown poisoner, probably one of the friends or relatives of his many enemies.

Knowing they could never defeat him openly, they resorted to this dirty way to satisfy their hatred on Li.
An unfitting death for a great man, but it is retribution too, for the blood on his hands.
So one may ask: is it worth it?

Therefore a student who wish to cultivate & harness Killer Intent must first be of high morals.
He must first demonstrate certain martial virtues before he could be taught to do so.
The right motivation would be to wield one's fists only for a just & righteous cause, not for personal delight, for blood, fame or fortune.
Only when he fights with a righteous mind that tragedy & suffering will not eventually befall him.
When one practices with killer intent, he transcends technique & enters the realm of the spirit.

Physically it requires the student to perform each strike with 100% strength, combined with an explosive breathing method.
Mentally it requires one to visualize, to project the striking part of the body through an opponent, with the intention of destroying him.
For example, when practicing the center gate elbow strike technique of Baji, one imagines that one's rising elbow is a short sword driving right through an opponents body, up to the hilt and beyond if possible.
This may even lift an opponent off his feet is done correctly.

Or when doing the double forearm side strike, imagine the whole arm as a saber cutting through the opponent's neck and beyond, projecting him off sideways.
In the case of Muay Thai, when one practices a low or mid round kick, one should always imagine one's leg as a metal bat or pole smashing through the opponent's leg or body.

Or when punching; imagine oneself ramming through the opponent's head or body, as if your arms are extendable rams.
With knees imagine they are short spears piercing through the opponent's body.. that's the idea.

Even when 2 persons practice the same technique, the person who practices it with a strong visualization will always be far superior to one who practices with a blank mind.

It is the union of mind, body & breath with killer intent that produces "one strike certain death" techniques.

Any warrior who has consciously or unconsciously awakened this killer intent in his mind will naturally emit an aura of death whenever provoked into action.

This is called "Killer Chi/Energy" or sometimes this aura or Chi is so strong that that an opponent may automatically lose the will to fight out of fear.

At the same time, this mental power also gives one the ability to sense danger, either from people or things that intent one harm - like a sixth sense.

That's why accomplished fighters & martial artists seem to always know ways to avoid danger ahead of ordinary people.

This is not fool proof, however, as in the case of Master Li Shuwen; especially so if you have too many enemies.
Even Masters are human too.
There will be times when their guard is down & that is when they get it.

Thus the important lesson here is that no matter how invincible or deadly you have become, always remain humble towards others & avoid making enemies if possible.
This is the Great Way - the true goal of Martial Science that leads to enlightenment.

author :chinese martial science