Mo Yung Bok = underachiever?

[Ken Cheng]

When he was just fifteen years old, Mo Yung Bok was able to easily defeat the Yellow-Browed Monk and similarly skilled wulin adepts. During the next five decades, Mo Yung Bok continued to train his martial arts...acquiring the skills of many different sects and individual martial artists. Despite this, however, by the time he was in his sixties, Mo Yung Bok was "merely" at the level of Kiu Fung. One would expect that with the talent that Mo Yung Bok exhibited at the age of fifteen, by the time he was in his sixties, his training should have placed him in the class of the Siu Yiu Sect Elders (if, indeed, not the Janitor Monk). Five decades of training after his spectacular demonstration of prowess at age fifteen, however, Mo Yung Bok was "only" at Kiu Fung's level. Was Mo Yung Bok an underachiever?

[Dirt]

Perhaps Bo and Fu both had the problems of not concentrating on a few martial arts. Excepting that Bo had far greater talent than Fu. Xiao Feng might have known more martial arts, but he only focused on a few.

[shortsight]

Rather than underachiever, perhaps he's a gifted early bloomer and got saturated at his 20's or 30's.

[Trien Chieu]

Well, there is a limit and when you reach the maximum, you can only going down, not up. Jon Jones has less experience and internal energy than other older light heavy weight fighters in the UFC but he is the champion. He beat Shogun Rua, Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida in dominated fashion. OOP, wuxia fighters are different than real life fighters. Oh, well.

[PJ]

Regarding this, Athena put things in perspective.

As impressive as it might seem at first, 14 or so years old MRB being able to kill 30 or so years old Huang Mei is not much more impressive than 20 or so year old Zhang Cuishan being able to kill one of the Shaolin disciples (Yuanyin, I think) in one stroke.

So if 14 yo MRB =~ Zhang Cuishan, then his current level is a huge improvement and thus not unreasonable.

[Ken Cheng]

Regarding this, Athena put things in perspective.

As impressive as it might seem at first, 14 or so years old MRB being able to kill 30 or so years old Huang Mei is not much more impressive than 20 or so year old Zhang Cuishan being able to kill one of the Shaolin disciples (Yuanyin, I think) in one stroke.

So if 14 yo MRB =~ Zhang Cuishan, then his current level is a huge improvement and thus not unreasonable.

I've never thought about putting Yeun Yum (from HSDS era's Shaolin) in the same class of martial arts as even a younger Yellow-Browed Monk, decades before the beginning of the DGSD story proper. Yeun Yum did not seem very impressive against any of his opponents in HSDS, whereas Yellow-Browed Monk could hold his own against the likes of Deun Yin Hing.

Similarly, I've never thought of putting Cheung Chui San in the same class of martial arts as Mo Yung Bok, even when the latter was just a fifteen year old boy. Mo Yung Bok's feats, even at that age, seemed more impressive than any that Cheung Chui San demonstrated during HSDS.

[PJ]

I've never thought about putting Yeun Yum (from HSDS era's Shaolin) in the same class of martial arts as even a younger Yellow-Browed Monk, decades before the beginning of the DGSD story proper. Yeun Yum did not seem very impressive against any of his opponents in HSDS, whereas Yellow-Browed Monk could hold his own against the likes of Deun Yin Hing.

Yeah, I don't think Athena accounted for the fact that old Huang Mei turned out more powerful (probably way more) than old Yuan Yin, so most likely the same applies when they were young.

[tape]

14 --> 20 is a huge jump imo. Especially when Zhang Cuisan had Zhang Sanfeng as a teacher.

[CC]

Well, being 'merely' equal to XF can be considered an honor.

At 60, he could wipe the floor with virtually everyone in wulin. You can't judge him by measuring him against a main char with plot device protection.

[Ken Cheng]

Well, being 'merely' equal to XF can be considered an honor.

At 60, he could wipe the floor with virtually everyone in wulin. You can't judge him by measuring him against a main char with plot device protection.

To reach Kiu Fung's level would be, for most people, an extraordinary accomplishment. Considering where Mo Yung Bok already was at age fifteen, however, and all the great skills he had access to, to top out at Kiu Fung's level after five more decades of training seems like underachievement. I doubt that Kiu Fung, at age fifteen, could have taken down the Yellow-Browed Monk.

[PJ]

Well, being 'merely' equal to XF can be considered an honor.

I think it's just a little embarrassing for MRB. But it's an absolute insult to the Xiaoyao Pai Elders that some people think they're only as good as XF. They're a generation older than MRB, 2 generations above XF, and were decorated with even more impressive feats than MRB at an even younger age.

If you think MRB is underachieving, than the Xiaoyao Pai Elders must have been sleeping under a rock since puberty.