A line of poetry found in a temple divination lot foretold Xiong's life. Possessing a character that is free from restraint, Xiong always followed the beat of his own drummer-and he still does today. In the photo, Xiong Wei (left) watches students practice pushing hands. This is one of the few existing photographs of Xiong in his early years. (courtesy of Xiong Wei)

In The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, a martial arts novel by Louis Cha, the young Zhang Wuji is injured by the "Xuanmin palm" method. Initially, little hope is held for him to live, but his journey to seek medical treatment unexpectedly becomes a trip to the heights of kung fu prowess. The life of Xiong Wei bears similarities to Zhang Wuji's. Moreover, a line of poetry from a temple divination lot that he read as a youth-about a life that is not to be "confined by the narrow bounds of a small river"- urged him on during hard times. He ended up as one of the great martial arts masters of his generation.

"When I was little," says Xiong. "I'd rush here and rush there. It would really worry my family." Hunan's Liuyang was a small place, and in his early years it was occupied by Japanese troops. As a young boy, he witnessed Japanese soldiers raping a girl who lived nearby. Having to suffer such indignities silently made him think constantly of leaving home, and several times he was prevented from doing so by his aged grandfather. What's more, malnutrition was rampant in the countryside, and when he was 13, he contracted typhoid and was bedridden for a year and a half. "My family had already prepared my coffin!"