Chapter 44: Kung Fu Comes Alive
“Look at building houses outside; they all need to lay the foundation first. If the foundation is not solid, the house collapses before it’s even built!”
“The principles are all interconnected. To build a skyscraper on flat ground, you must lay a solid foundation. In kung fu, stance training is this foundation!”
Zhou Qing learned that Chen Wujun wanted to learn Swimming Dragon Palm and showed no surprise, just spoke calmly.
“Your Old Bear Hugs Tree has built a foundation. Today, learn another stance: White Crane Explores Branch.”
“Old Bear Hugs Tree comes from the bear stance in pre-war Eight Trigram Palm, emphasizing heavy thickness, opening the hips, and standing on the central axis.”
“White Crane Explores Branch comes from the white crane imagery in pre-war White Crane Fist. Later generations combined it with the key points of Xing Yi Quan three-body posture, practicing clear strength, front and back mutually supporting, probing and pressing in a line, steady yet light steps, flexible reactions, and coordinated body.”
“These two stances, one heavy and one light, bear establishes the base, crane establishes the form…”
Chen Wujun listened carefully to Zhou Qing’s explanation.
Old Technique does not mean clinging to remnants; after all, later generations stand on the shoulders of predecessors, seeing farther, and innovate with changes in the times.
Today’s old technique has developed again from pre-war martial arts, containing shadows of pre-war martial arts, but completely different.
“When entering the posture, like a crane standing in shallow water, light yet not floating… three points of the sole support, heel suspended yet not dropping, one hand forms Crane Peck probing forward, one hand presses backward on the posterior iliac, top like suspended thread, neck lifted upward…”
While Zhou Qing explained, he supported on one foot, lifted the other leg, one hand forward in Crane Peck, one hand pressing backward downward behind, his back unfolded like a crane spreading wings, then the other leg stepped out, front hand lightning-pecked forward.
And at the moment his front hand pecked, a crane cry rang out, making Chen Wujun’s body hair stand on end instantly.
This strike was truly like a white crane hunting in shallow water, still as a maiden, moving like startling thunder.
Especially that crane cry shook him deeply.
“Use voice to transform qi, use voice to catalytic strength; when the sound arrives, your strength arrives.” Zhou Qing’s probe and peck smoothly changed.
Originally right hand in peck, left hand virtual press; now left hand in peck, right hand virtual press.
Zhou Qing’s left hand pecked forward again, another crane cry rang out.
This time Chen Wujun saw clearly: Zhou Qing’s abdomen first bulged like a ball, then rose upward.
It was like a mass of qi snaking from the abdomen straight to the chest cavity, finally throat rolling, spraying out this mass of qi.
“See it clearly? Without earth’s bearing, spirit crane cannot rise; without spirit crane probing the void, earth remains dead matter. The two complement each other, and your kung fu comes alive.”
Zhou Qing retracted the movement and turned to look at Chen Wujun.
“Understood a bit!” Chen Wujun said while recalling and pondering.
Zhou Qing did not rush him.
Moments later, Chen Wujun supported on one foot, gripping the ground only with toes and sole, head as if hung by a thread.
“Good, White Crane Explores Branch’s form must not scatter; stand like a straight line.”
“Like crane standing in shallow water: inhale to broaden back like wingspread, exhale to open shoulder well, strength flows to middle fingertip.” Zhou Qing nodded slightly beside him.
Just after one demonstration of a few key points, Chen Wujun could perform them quite accurately.
Though some issues remained, he had grasped the essentials.
Teaching Chen Wujun required little explanation; this comprehension alone was excellent.
“Shoulders sink, elbows drop, front hand probes one more line, rear palm brushes water downward… press, not push…”
“Still mind, listen to bubbling spring, find strength at the foot sole, not at the shoulder…”
“Inhale four, exhale six…”
Chen Wujun felt his right arm sliding forward along an invisible track, left palm secretly supporting rear-low at body side…
Soon, he felt his shoulders like two pebbles stuck there.
“Master, it’s like two buttons locked at the shoulders… tighter with each exhale, can’t move at all.” Chen Wujun stopped and couldn’t help saying.
“Use crystal to open it.” Zhou Qing said leisurely.
Chen Wujun took out a crystal from his body, held it under his tongue, and stood White Crane Explores Branch again.
Just corrected once before, Chen Wujun’s body remembered the movement; this time Zhou Qing found no faults.
“Like crane standing in shallow water…” With breathing, Chen Wujun’s back muscles constantly expanded and contracted, like a white crane repeatedly spreading wings.
Soon, the locked-shoulder feeling reappeared, tighter and more sore, until the soreness passed, turning to coolness, like a line from shoulder pit along arm straight to fingertips, pulling his front hand probing one more inch forward.
He finally understood what Zhou Qing always meant by “clear strength.”
This line pulled, his body couldn’t help wanting to probe forward.
“Yes, this ‘line-like coolness’; when the line arrives, don’t chase, fix the form.” Zhou Qing said beside Chen Wujun.
After more moments, Chen Wujun felt his supporting foot steady, virtual foot forefoot like stepping on water surface, moving with the water, body involuntarily wanting to probe one more inch forward.
“Don’t be greedy!” Zhou Qing’s finger lightly flicked Chen Wujun’s hand back, startling him awake from the involuntary forward probe.
“Clear strength must ‘advance one line, guard one line’; advancing more now is snatching.”
Chen Wujun quickly steadied his mind.
Not knowing how long he stood, he felt a breath expanding in his abdomen, like water boiling in a kettle, constantly bubbling gas, then this qi surged upward from abdomen along chest, then throat rolled.
Chen Wujun opened his mouth like a kettle’s boiling hiss, emitting a crane cry.
But far from Zhou Qing’s clear, sharp cry.
Immediately, one step stomped out fiercely, hand lightning-grabbed forward.
This directly produced a whoosh, like a sword thrust forward producing a whoosh.
Then sweat surged from forehead and whole body, like fished out of water.
Yet Chen Wujun’s expression was not fatigued; his eyes brighter instead.
He knew he practiced correctly.
Only after two or three minutes did his heartbeat steady, feeling like his previous shoulders and back always carried a heavy load, now the load removed.
Upper body, shoulders, back, arms all extremely flexible.
“Master, what is this breath?”
“Old saying is qi gathers in dantian; now it’s diaphragm sinking, abdominal muscles tightening, forming huge pressure in abdominal cavity. This pressure stabilizes the spine, mobilizes deeper muscle fibers for contraction, and in this process, your abdominal cavity builds a high-pressure air tank.”
“So that’s how…” Chen Wujun half-understood.
Stance training and punching practice essentials, he understood on hearing, mastered on learning.
But Master’s these words, he understood hazily.
And this was too scientific!
“These days, first master this White Crane Explores Branch; kung fu comes alive, then practice others.” Zhou Qing tossed this, turned, hands behind back, and left.
Chen Wujun stood in place, moved his body, punched a set of Wolf Fist, feeling body never so relaxed and flexible; many movements had greater amplitude than before, balance better too.
Lower body rooted, upper body light and flexible.
“Before practicing Wolf Fist, though steady and fierce, it carried a ‘dead’ strength; after White Crane Explores Branch stance opened shoulders, back, arms, punching now carries a ‘live’ strength.”
“No wonder Master said the two complement each other, kung fu comes alive.”
After practicing Wolf Fist several times, he picked up the towel beside to wipe sweat.
Then suddenly thought of something.
“Oh no!”
“Before, standing Old Bear Hugs Tree needed five crystals per month; now standing White Crane Explores Branch, another five crystals.”
“From Senior Sister’s meaning, also need to master Tiger Descends Mountain and Spirit Monkey Hangs Beam stances; one month wouldn’t that be… twenty crystals?”
“One crystal five thousand, He Tu internal price; outside one is eight thousand.”
“Twenty, one month… one hundred thousand!”
Chen Wujun calculated with head down for a while, face changing.
“This old technique is more expensive than new technique… no wonder no one practices…” Chen Wujun felt his head swell.
Yesterday he was happy, from now on five or six ten thousand income per month.
Result today discovered this five or six ten thousand only covers half of one month’s crystal expense.
And this is just now.
Later might need even more.
“Forget it, overthinking useless. Always ways to make money.”
“Senior Sister said these days’ practice kung fu needed crystals covered by her; these days I just focus on martial arts practice.”
“If lose gambling battle, can’t even get off stage alive; spending money irrelevant to me.”
“As long as I win, that half street is mine, plus some industry on the street; even if not enough, shortage not too big.”
“I just need to spend a little thought, can scrape from elsewhere.”
“I kept the loan shark IOUs, can trickle long-term; wait for them to collect debts, then I rob a haul.”
