Training Methods and Fighting Methods

Noon at the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall. After finishing work, Li Xiuwen came to the teahouse, ordered a bowl of cart noodles and a plain boiled egg, five mao in total. "Brother Li, you only came at noon today." Old Chen walked over carrying his meal. "I had to work." "New guy, how did the bone assessment and acupoint location knowledge Master taught you yesterday go?" Ah Zhen asked with a smile. "Not bad, I've remembered about half, I guess." Li Xiuwen said. "A child prodigy, you remembered it that quickly?" Ah Zhen exclaimed in surprise. She had taken three days to digest most of this knowledge back then, which was already considered fairly fast. "I don't know, it doesn't feel that hard." Li Xiuwen said. "Ah Wen, I wish I had half your memory..." Cheng Kuiqiang said enviously. The other students, hearing that Li Xiuwen had actually remembered most of the first knowledge lesson in just one day, all showed expressions of astonishment. "You shouldn't be learning martial arts, Ah Wen. You should go study law—maybe become a big-shot lawyer, win one big case and earn an apartment." Ah Zhen said. "Law? Even dogs wouldn't study that." Li Xiuwen said with a smile. In his previous life, he had worked in law. As for the martial path, with the incense burner present, effort would surely bring results. Law? That wasn't necessarily true. Big-shot lawyer—it depended on one's background. He wouldn't forsake what was near to seek what was far to learn all sorts of miscellaneous things; focusing on the martial path was the right answer. "Comparing people can drive you to death..." Looking at everyone's gazes, Li Xiuwen wondered if he had been too high-profile. Actually, he had mastered all of yesterday's lesson, not just half. Even so, everyone seemed very shocked. The Walled City was full of mixed elements; in this chaotic era, it was better to be cautious, lest someone with ill intentions grow jealous and hateful. ... "Your brain works pretty well, stop boxing and go study instead." After learning that Li Xiuwen had mastered the theoretical knowledge in one day, Huang Sihai said with an expressionless face. "No wonder I feel a strong kinship with Brother Li; we are both descended from the Star of Literature." Old Chen said shamelessly. "Master, can I learn boxing now?" Li Xiuwen said, rubbing his fists together. "Today I'll teach you the real techniques." Huang Sihai said, "But before teaching you the real techniques, there are a few rules you must remember!" Huang Sihai sat in the master's chair, blew on his tea, and took a small sip: "First, you must strictly keep the school's secrets; without permission, you must not pass on our martial arts to outsiders, nor disclose the cultivation privacy of our style's disciples, martial techniques, or realms of attainment. Second, you must not touch opium. I've seen too many martial artists ruined by opium—don't think your willpower is that strong; once you touch it, your life is over. Third, never bully others with your power, use martial skills to violate prohibitions, or bring unnecessary trouble to the martial arts hall. Once discovered, I will expel you from the school." Li Xiuwen said, "Master, what if someone bullies me?" Huang Sihai glanced at Li Xiuwen and said lightly, "If they are far inferior to me, fight back; if they are stronger than me, then just endure it." That was very idealistic; Li Xiuwen said nothing more. Huang Sihai said, "Times are different now; before bullets, all living beings are equal." "Master is very perceptive." Li Xiuwen said. Old Huang was so cautious, showing that in this era, because of firearms, martial artists' status wasn't very high until they reached a certain level. Not like in the old days, where having some real skill meant you could become a mountain king. Huang Sihai said a whole bunch, and Li Xiuwen kept it in mind. When weak, everything is about rules. ... On the training ground, Li Xiuwen stood straight. Huang Sihai stood with his hands behind his back and said, "Do you know what style my kung fu belongs to?" "The Sea Sand style." "Our Sea Sand style, in terms of fame, might not compare to White Crane, Black Tiger, Iron Wire, or Buddhist Worship styles..." "Fame doesn't matter." Li Xiuwen smiled, "As long as it can fight." "Of course it can fight. Within the Walled City, styles are divided into three major levels: Wild Fist, Orthodox, and Famous Masters. Our Sea Sand style, though not up to Famous Masters, is still Orthodox." "Then why isn't your fame apparent?" Li Xiuwen asked. "Because I keep a low profile, only wanting to make small money, no great ambition." Huang Sihai said with a serious expression, "The tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind; remember this... These years, the Famous Master styles in the Walled City have had their turns of fortune, and some have even been wiped out of existence, but our Sea Sand style, after weathering wind and rain, has been passed down stably to this day." "Understood!" Li Xiuwen said with a smile. This Master Huang was also a man of the cautious path. "Every style is divided into training methods and fighting methods; the stake training I'm passing to you today is the training method." Huang Sihai assumed a stance, exhaled, and said, "Sea Sand Stake!" "Sea Sand Stake?" Li Xiuwen became spirited. Although he hadn't learned it, he knew stake training was the foundation of all martial arts, the foundation of a great building. Huang Sihai said: "Unless certain exceptionally gifted people, most people's physical condition cannot start practicing fighting methods right away; real fighting methods are not the fancy fist and embroidered legs you imagine. Without a foundation, if your physical condition isn't up to it, when you throw a punch, you'll break your own bones first. If your physical toughness is too poor, many fighting techniques—you could practice ten thousand times and still not perform them. So stake training is to straighten your body from a tangled mess into a white cloth, so that you can then imitate the tiger by drawing the cat and learn profound martial skills." Li Xiuwen nodded; that made sense. He wanted to learn true transcendent arts, not the Tai Chi taught in schools in his previous life: first train with the training method to polish the foundation, then advance step by step with the fighting method—it was more reasonable. Huang Sihai said with a serious expression: "The Sea Sand Stake is divided into four layers, corresponding to the four major realms of Entry, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Perfection. They are: Tidal Stake, Flying Fish Stake, Coiled Dragon Stake, and Sea-Covering Stake! These four layers are the foundation of our Sea Sand lineage; all fighting methods are inseparable from these four foundations!" ... That day, following Huang Sihai, Li Xiuwen began formal cultivation. For stake training, first watch the movements, second watch the breathing. After he started learning according to the specific movements and breathing rhythm taught, he only then knew how painful practicing boxing was. The acupoint locations learned in the theory class seemed as if thousands of silver needles were piercing them, pain beyond endurance. A crowd of students gathered nearby to watch the fun. Ah Zhen smiled, "Another poor devil who has stepped onto the sea of suffering." Old Chen stroked his beard: "As the saying goes, only by enduring the bitterest bitterness can one rise above others. Brother Li is no ordinary person; if he can endure half a year, he will surely achieve something in the future." Old Chen had been teased and ridiculed for most of his life; Li Xiuwen was the first to look him in the eye, and he and Li Xiuwen felt a strong kinship. "Isn't Liu Da able to endure hardship compared to him? It's been a month and he still hasn't entered the door." A tall, slender youth in a white shirt laughed; it was Liu Chun. "If I had Ah Wen's memory and Brother Ah Chun's innate physique, that would be great." Cheng Kuiqiang sat there, resting his chin on his big hand. Liu Chun's Sea Sand Stake: entry in three days, minor accomplishment in one month, far ahead among the martial arts hall's disciples, passed around as a fine tale. Thus, although he was the youngest, many already respectfully called him Senior Brother, and he had considerable prestige within the martial arts hall. In martial arts cultivation, the accomplished are honored; among fellow disciples, seniority is determined by level of attainment. "Head under the green sky, feet stepping on white sand, two elbows propping up the sea..." Li Xiuwen recited the mnemonic verse, assumed a strange stance, and remained motionless. Huang Sihai held a folding fan, tapped Li Xiuwen's acupoints all over his body, and asked, "Does it hurt?" "Hiss... it hurts, Master!" Li Xiuwen couldn't help but cry out. "Hurting is right; not hurting means you haven't trained properly. It seems your inward bone structure is passable; keep training well."