Chinese martial arts: From being shot and killed by the armed police during a mountain search to bec

Huang Feihong's chopsticks fell swiftly, striking the table with a "thud" before bouncing back up. The chopsticks landed less than an inch from the teacup, but the vibration on the table barely reached the bottom of the bowl.

"Okay!" Chen Hongwu blurted out.

The brilliance of this move lies not in its speed, but in its control.

The force was immense when the chopsticks were driven in, but by the time they touched the table, Huang Feihong had already reduced his wrist strength by 70%.

Therefore, the tabletop only received 30% of the force, and the vibration was intercepted before it could reach the bottom of the bowl. This is an advanced application of the "crane beak" technique in the Tiger and Crane Double Form, where the force is withdrawn immediately upon striking the target and does not spread.

Chen Hongwu also became interested.

He changed the way he held the chopsticks horizontally to the Bengquan grip of Xingyiquan.

The chopsticks are held between the middle and index fingers, with the fist facing down, and the entire arm is stretched into a bow from the shoulder to the wrist.

"Master Huang has seen Senior Guo Yunshen demonstrate Xingyi Bengquan, so he knows it better than I do. Today I'll demonstrate the starting stance of 'Half-Step Bengquan,' and I would appreciate Master Huang's guidance."

The words were spoken.

His arm suddenly exerted force within a small space, and the tip of the chopsticks swept across the top of the teacup and stopped.

The teacup remained untouched. But suddenly a drop of tea spilled from the teacup, landing precisely on the table in front of Huang Feihong.

This drop of tea, propelled by the force of the liquid penetrating the teacup's walls, directly impacted the water's surface. It was strikingly similar to the residual force of Wong Fei-hung's Tiger Claw technique, which ripped through the water.

Huang Feihong stared at the single drop of water and remained silent for two seconds.

"Master Chen," he said slowly, "your talent is the best I've ever seen in my sixty-plus years of life. To be able to cultivate your strength to the point of penetrating external objects and reaching deep into the body at the age of eighteen, I can't find another like you among all the people I've ever met."

Li Shuwen only reached this level of skill at the age of thirty, and Guo Yunshen practiced for another ten years after his release from prison. It's truly remarkable that someone your age possesses such skill.

Chen Hongwu put his chopsticks back on the table.

"Master Huang, you flatter me. After the Thunder Sound Body Refinement, the speed of energy penetration will be greatly accelerated. I just took this step earlier, not because I have any special talent."

Wong Fei-hung shook his head.

"Thunder Sound is a technique, not a talent. But to be able to comprehend the true essence of Thunder Sound at this age is itself a talent. There's a line in the boxing manual, 'Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound, strong inside and strong outside,' how many boxing masters can recite those eight words by heart, but how many have actually mastered it? If you have mastered it, there's no need to be modest."

As he spoke, he suddenly stood up.

"Come on, let's have another round. This time it's not about winning or losing, it's about a duel."

Huang Feihong extended his right hand.

Chen Hongwu also stood up and extended his right hand.

This time, the partnership was different from before.

The two no longer tested each other's strength, but instead opened their arms to each other. Huang Feihong's tiger claw force penetrated deeper and deeper, while Chen Hongwu's silk-wrapping force coiled around his opponent's wrist.

Two forces alternated repeatedly between the two hands; sometimes the tiger claw force penetrated the silk-wrapping energy, and sometimes the silk-wrapping energy wrapped around the tiger claw. In the back and forth, the wrists of the two people remained still, but they could both feel the constant changes in the other's force.

"This step, tiger form transforms into crane form—" Huang Feihong's energy path changed, the heavy force of the tiger claw suddenly rose, and it became the light and agile force of the crane beak, pointing upwards along Chen Hongwu's wrist.

At the critical moment, Chen Hongwu's coiling energy rotated half a circle, deflecting the direction of the crane-beaking force and thus neutralizing the attack.

"Excellent coiling silk technique," Wong Fei-hung said sincerely. "Your coiling silk technique has incorporated the concept of 'listening to the opponent's force. You can listen to their force as soon as you touch them, and you can neutralize it as soon as you hear it. This is the essence of neutralizing force in Tai Chi, and you have applied it to the power path of Bajiquan."

"Master Huang's transition from tiger to crane is also quite fast," Chen Hongwu said. "The transition from tiger to crane form is seamless, without any pause in between. Normally, after a powerful strike, it takes at least one breath to adjust before switching to a softer one, but you did it all in one breath."

Huang Feihong stopped.

"I've been practicing this breath for twenty years," he exclaimed. "The hardest part of transitioning between hardness and softness is that instantaneous connection in between."

The first transition is a subconscious reaction after practicing hundreds or thousands of times. Tiger and Crane are two completely different paths of energy. The transition must be completed during the strike without pausing. If you stop, the attack will be broken, and if it is broken, it will be destroyed.

In the past twenty years, whenever I've fought someone, if my opponent forces me to pause even for a moment midway through a match, I've most likely lost.

"There's a saying in Xingyi Quan: 'Hard strikes, hard advances, no obstruction.'" Chen Hongwu said, "In the end, it's actually no different from the bridge hand and hard stance of Hung Kuen."

Wong Fei-hung nodded: "Xingyi is hard, Hung Kuen is tough, Bagua is fluid, and Tai Chi is transformative."

"It's all the same thing in the end."

The two exchanged a glance, smiled simultaneously, and sat down to take a sip of tea.

"There is a set of Vajra Eight Forms in Bajiquan." Chen Hongwu put down his teacup. "One of the forms is called 'Supporting Strike.' This movement is not for hitting people, but for aligning one's own skeletal structure."

Stand with your feet parallel, knees slightly bent, tailbone tucked forward, and spine pulled back. This forward and backward movement stretches each lumbar vertebra, creating negative pressure between the bones, allowing blood and energy to flow naturally. Standing like this for half an incense stick's time each day can significantly alleviate lower back pain.

He stood up and demonstrated.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and tailbone tucked forward, stretching your entire spine segment by segment from bottom to top.

The bones made a faint crackling sound, like bamboo bursting in a fire.

Then he straightened up and sat down again.

"The key to the support punch is 'a rope tied above and a wooden support below,'" Chen Hongwu said. "The Baihui acupoint on the top of the head goes up, the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of the foot goes down, and the waist arches in the middle. When you pull the arch, the fascia behind the lumbar spine tightens."

When the fascia tightens, the pressure between the bones decreases, and blood and qi flow more freely. In martial arts manuals, this is called "opening the hips and sitting on the hips, arching the lumbar spine." Much of the power in Bajiquan relies on this arching force, but it also nourishes the lower back.

After listening, Huang Feihong remained silent for a while.

He had been suffering from this back injury for many years, and had tried all sorts of folk remedies, including plasters, medicinal wines, massage, and acupuncture.

It can provide some relief, but it won't cure the underlying problem. The root cause of lower back injuries isn't in the muscles, but in the bones.

After the bone fractured, it was not fully repositioned, and the gaps between the lumbar vertebrae are narrower than normal, causing nerve compression when force is applied.

But Chen Hongwu's Eight Vajra Techniques were exactly the right remedy.

"Interesting." Huang Feihong stood up and, imitating Chen Hongwu's posture, also assumed a stance resembling a hammer-wielding stance.

His back injury made it difficult for him to maintain the correct posture. When he curled his tailbone forward, a sharp pain shot through his lumbar spine, but he gritted his teeth and did not relax.

After holding on for less than half a minute, the soreness began to lessen, and a long-lost feeling of clarity spread from my lumbar spine upwards and downwards.

Huang Feihong stopped his stance, sat down again, his expression solemn, and bowed in thanks:

"Master Chen, this 'supporting punch' technique is worth a fortune."

Chen Hongwu shook his head: "It's just a stance training exercise, nothing special."

"If this can be of any help in the upcoming duel with the Japanese, it would be my humble opinion."

Huang Feihong said solemnly, "The most important aspect of Northern style boxing is stance training. The Two Forms Stance of Bajiquan, the Three Body Stance of Xingyiquan, the Wuji Stance of Taiji, and the Turning Palm Stance of Bagua are the lifeblood of Northern style boxing."

"If an outsider wants to learn, even three years of prostration might not be enough to teach them everything. If you break down the Vajra Eight Forms' supporting and striking stance for me today, that's the true transmission."

He paused.

"I can't take your things for free."

Huang Hansen coughed lightly and stepped forward.

"Father, Master Chen, the banquet outside is almost over. Most of the guests have left, and the remaining tables are all family members. Senior Brother Ru Mian is waiting outside and asking if you two are about to go out."

Huang Feihong glanced out the window and nodded.

"It's getting late indeed." He stood up, patted the hem of his clothes, and said, "Master Chen, tonight's conversation was very enjoyable. I even learned a true skill from you. I guess I got the better deal."

If Master Chen is free tomorrow, you can come to Po Chi Lam so we can chat again, and I can repay the kindness of teaching you today.”

Chen Hongwu clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Definitely."

The two stood up at the same time, and Huang Hansen and Ip Man also stood up.

The four men walked toward the side hall door. Wong Fei-hung reached out and grabbed the doorknob, pulling hard.

The door opened.

The clamor in the lobby was like a bucket of water being poured over you; the smells of alcohol, cigarettes, and leftover food mingled together, churning in the lobby.

The opera troupe on stage had all disbanded, leaving only a few empty tables and chairs. Several workers were bending over sweeping the floor, the bamboo brooms making a rustling sound as they swept across the blue brick pavement.

Most of the guests remaining at the table were flushed from drinking; some were snoring on the table, while others were being helped out. Chen Rumin was standing at the door, bowing to the last few martial arts masters leaving, looking exhausted, clearly having spent the entire night dealing with their affairs.

Chen Hongwu had just stepped one foot over the threshold.

His gaze swept across the lobby.

The next instant, his body tensed up abruptly.

His spine twisted like a dragon turning over, his toes gripped the ground, and his whole body shot out from the side hall door without warning, like a leopard that had smelled blood.