Chinese Martial Arts: My Super Beast Clone

Chen Wu's stance looked simple, but once he sank down, he was like a nail embedded in the ground.

Chen Wu remained still, continuing to speak.

"Standing exercises are the foundation of all martial arts. Don't be fooled by the simple posture; there are many intricacies involved."

He slightly adjusted the angle of his knee.

"Your knees shouldn't go past your toes, and your tailbone should be tucked down as if you were sitting in a chair. But your buttocks shouldn't be fully seated; they should be suspended. The power of your legs should go down and sink into the ground. The power of your arms should push forward as if you were trying to push a wall away."

Lin Hai squatted down in his place.

My thighs started to ache after standing for less than ten seconds.

"Lower your shoulders." Chen Wu walked to his side, placed a large hand on his shoulder, and pressed down. "If you shrug your shoulders, your breath will rise to your chest and you won't be able to calm down."

Lin Hai adjusted his posture.

Chen Wu's hand moved to his lower back and gave him a gentle push. "Your back can't collapse; you have to support yourself backward."

"Yes, that's it."

Lin Hai gritted his teeth and held his position, but after only a few minutes, his legs began to tremble.

"If you can't hold on, get up." Chen Wu took two steps back and looked at him. "Standing exercises can't be rushed. It's normal to not be able to stand for the first few days. The important thing is to have the right posture. If you're crooked or twisted, it's all for nothing even if you stand for a hundred years."

Lin Hai stood up only when his legs were shaking violently, panting heavily.

After Chen Wu waited for him to recover, he demonstrated the second pile frame.

"The second stance, the Crouching Tiger Stance."

This pose is lower than the first pose, almost a half-squatting posture, with the center of gravity shifted backward and the arms drawn back to the waist.

"The Twelve Forms of the Tiger-Taming Stance is a continuous set of stance training exercises. Each form has its own method of generating power. The first four forms train the legs, the middle three forms train the waist, and the last five forms train the arms. But no matter which form you choose, the root is in your feet."

Chen Wu spoke slowly, and Lin Hai could tell that this senior brother taught with great care and sincerity.

"What does Master mean by cultivating 'strength'?" Lin Hai asked.

Chen Wu thought for a moment, then stretched out his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and slowly punched out in the air.

The punch was slow, but Lin Hai clearly saw that the moment his fist was thrown out, the muscles in his forearm seemed to come alive, tensing up sequentially from shoulder to elbow, and from elbow to wrist.

"Ordinary people rely on brute force when they throw a punch. The amount of flesh in their arms determines their strength." Chen Wu withdrew his fist. "But martial artists are different. We train integrated power. It travels from the soles of the feet to the waist, from the waist to the shoulders, and from the shoulders to the fist. A punch is delivered with the power of the whole body."

He looked at Lin Hai.

"When you can feel the force rising from the soles of your feet during stance training, like a warm current flowing through your legs and waist to your hands, then you've entered the first stage. At that point, I'll teach you the boxing techniques."

"Senior Brother, how long does it usually take?"

"It depends on the person," Chen Wu replied. "Some people can practice for a month or two, others for a year or two. There are people who practice for several years and still can't get past that threshold. That's not uncommon."

several years.

Lin Hai didn't reply, but simply squatted down again, assuming the first stance.

Chen Wu looked at him, said nothing, and stood by, continuing to correct his movements.

In one morning, Chen Wu demonstrated all twelve stake frames. Lin Hai followed along and learned, but by the end, his legs were numb and he was shaky when he walked.

But he had basically memorized the postures of the twelve stakes.

"It's noon, time to eat." Chen Wu patted his shoulder, not with much force, but Lin Hai still almost stumbled.

The dining hall was located on the east side of the front courtyard, in a low-lying tile-roofed house. Several long tables were pushed together, and more than twenty disciples had already taken their seats. The food was very simple: a large bowl of brown rice, a bowl of stewed radish, and a bowl of minced meat stir-fried with pickled vegetables.

Lin Hai picked up his bowl and found a seat.

A thin young man nearby took the initiative to come over.

"New here?"

"Um."

"My name is Ma Liu." The thin young man grinned, revealing a set of slightly crooked teeth. "And you?"

"Lin Hai".

"Brother Lin, what do you do?"

"He works as a police officer."

Ma Liu's eyes lit up.

"The police station? That's a secure job." He lowered his voice. "Then why are you learning martial arts?"

"We need to consider more options," Lin Hai said vaguely.

"That's true." Ma Liu nodded, shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth with his chopsticks, and said indistinctly, "I used to be a rickshaw puller. I pulled one for four years and saved up some money. My family wanted me to use it to get married. But I thought that if I learned kung fu, I could become a bodyguard for a wealthy family or a porter in a security escort agency. That would be better than being exposed to the wind and sun on the streets."

Just as Lin Hai was about to reply, someone sat down opposite him.

A burly man, holding a large bowl piled high with rice, started shoveling it into his mouth.

Ma Liu pursed his lips and whispered.

"That's Sun Datou, the dockworker who carries heavy loads. Don't let his quiet demeanor fool you, he's incredibly strong. He joined the martial arts school six months before me. The senior brother said he was born with brute strength, but he's not very bright. He's been learning on and off for almost a year and still hasn't grasped the essence of 'strength'."

Sun Datou seemed to have heard something, and looked up to glare at Ma Liu.

"You think you can touch it?"

Ma Liu immediately shrank his neck and smiled apologetically.

"I didn't touch it either, so we're evenly matched."

Sun Datou snorted and continued eating with his head down.

Lin Hai didn't reply, silently eating the brown rice in his bowl. His mind was still replaying the twelve stances Chen Wu had taught him that morning, the details of each posture, and the direction of muscle exertion.

Ma Liu was still rambling on beside him.

"Let me tell you, this Tiger-Taming Stance looks simple, but it's actually incredibly difficult. You'll lose focus while standing there, and once you lose focus, your posture will be crooked, and if it's crooked, you've stood there for nothing. For the first few days, I got scolded by my senior brother every day."

"And you now?" Lin Hai asked.

Ma Liu chuckled.

"I don't curse anymore." He held up a finger to indicate a number. "I can stand in the stance for almost half an hour after just one session. My senior brother said I'm almost there, and in another month or two, I might be able to get to the top."

After the meal, the disciples dispersed to rest. Some leaned against the wall to bask in the sun, while others huddled together chatting. Lin Hai, however, did not rest. He went alone to the open space where he had practiced his skills that morning and resumed practicing the first stance.

His legs were still sore, but he gritted his teeth and persevered.

Chen Wu's voice had been echoing in his mind since morning, and his strength rose from the soles of his feet.

He closed his eyes, trying to feel the power beneath his feet.

However, just like in the morning, he felt nothing except for muscle soreness.

This process was repeated over and over.

As the sun began to set, Lin Hai's clothes were soaked with sweat. His thighs were trembling, and his feet felt like they were stepping on needles.

But he didn't stop.

Senior Brother Chen Wu glanced in this direction occasionally as he passed by.

He stopped, looked for a while, didn't say anything, and then turned and left.

When he finished his training in the evening, Lin Hai practically used his legs, which had become like two wooden sticks, to slowly walk out of the martial arts school.