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Chapter 73 - 71: Tiger Hugging Head, Internal and External

Chapter 73: Chapter 71: Tiger Hugging Head, Internal and External

"What three years, ten years?" Liu Yuanbo didn’t understand Wu Li’s meaning at once.

Wu Li held back a smile, "It means that you might only be able to strike once every three years or ten years."

"Ah..." Liu Yuanbo finally understood what Wu Li was saying and asked uncertainly, "Is it really that exaggerated?"

Wu Li nodded, "The law strikes the law, one strike is illegal, and for many beginners, this is no joke."

"Internal Fist is somewhat better, as it also requires some hard work and talent to produce effects, while External Fist is easy to learn with fast progress initially. Once the true teachings of combat are acquired, injuring someone is just a matter of one strike. For instance, the Baji Fist, well-known for its ferocity, has many techniques that can’t be used in the ring because they make enemies too easily. Baji has never entered the ring for this reason."

Liu Yuanbo nodded, "Master, I often hear about External and Internal Fist, and some say Baji is an Internal Fist. How exactly are they distinguished?"

Wu Li explained, "I previously explained to you what Ming Jin and Dark Force are. You can distinguish them this way: If the striking method primarily uses Ming Jin and focuses on training muscles and physical strength, it can almost be considered External Fist. Some External Fists even use extreme training methods and drugs to train the body, like Iron Sand Palm and Iron Cloth Shirt, and some factions in Earth Skill Fist use drugs to strengthen the shin bones; these External Fists can enhance one’s fighting ability in a short period of time, but unavoidably cause damage to the body, and such training methods definitely do not help with health preservation."

"Striking methods that primarily use Dark Force, focusing on training the internal muscles and bones, can be considered Internal Fist. Internal Fist originally came from Taoism, such as Tai Chi and Bagua. The Xingyi Fist’s Body Training of Bone and Muscle Strengthening and Bone Marrow also stems from the Taoist Muscle Strengthening Sutra and Marrow Cleansing Sutra. Taoism has always been skilled at health preservation, so now Tai Chi, Bagua, and Xingyi are referred to as the three major Internal Fists, and many people recognize only these three as Internal Fist, with all others considered External."

Liu Yuanbo nodded, "So, Baji Fist is actually External Fist?"

Wu Li smiled, "The Martial Saint of the Republic, Sun Lutang, once said, ’There is no distinction between internal and external in martial arts, only between soft and hard. One trains from soft to achieve hardness, and another trains from hardness to achieve softness. Although softness and hardness are distinct, success in either leads to unity.’"

"Uh." Liu Yuanbo scratched his head, indicating he didn’t understand.

Wu Li explained, "What Master Sun means is that Internal Fist primarily uses Dark Force and Soft Power, while External Fist primarily uses Ming Jin and Hard Power. However, when Soft Power is trained to its limit, it can become Hard Power, and Hard Power trained to its limit can also transform into Soft Power. The distinction in martial arts is between hardness and softness, but once mastery is achieved, softness and hardness unify, naturally eliminating any distinction between internal and external."

"The Wave Flipping Power and Splitting Fist Power of Xingyi Fist, though mainly Dark Force, utilizing muscle and bone power, also need to be supplemented with Ming Jin in combat, using muscles and form to drive it, blending hardness and softness for great success. Although Baji Fist primarily uses Ming Jin and is fierce and domineering, when trained to the extreme, it too can use Dark Force to injure someone."

"Shanxi’s senior Song Shirong said that while breathing can be internal or external, there is no such distinction in martial arts. Those who excel in Qi Cultivation are considered Internal. Baji Fist has twelve factions, some of which also emphasize standing post and Breathing Methods and can be considered Internal. However, most of the time, we still regard Baji Fist as a typical External Fist."

"Master, is External Fist stronger or is Internal Fist stronger?" Liu Yuanbo asked a question that every beginner loves to ask since anyone learning martial arts hopes that the martial arts they learn are the most powerful.

Wu LI smiled and said, "As I just mentioned, both External and Internal emphasize blending hardness and softness, but External overcomes faster. However, to train Hard Power to its utmost to achieve the effect of Soft Power without stiffness, and although entering Internal is difficult, it emphasizes both hardness and softness from the beginning. So there’s no superiority between External and Internal, only differences in training methods. For example, stretching tendons and pulling bones, External relies on coil work with external help to stretch tendons, while Internal relies on standing post and slowly twisting muscles."

"Baji Li Shuwen in the past with his Six Harmonies Spear, undefeated across the world, was known as the Divine Spear. Can you say that his External Baji is weaker than Internal Fist?"

Liu Yuanbo nodded, "I see, it’s just like playing a video game, there are no useless skills, only useless players."

"Haha," Wu Li laughed, "Alright, practice this Tiger Hugging Head with gloves, with the gloves’ protection in the ring, it won’t be so easy to hurt someone. As for privately, given your status, it’s unlikely you’ll often need to get physical."

Liu Yuanbo shook his head, seemingly a bit regretful about this.

"This Tiger Hugging Head embodies the drilling and flipping of Xingyi Fist vividly."

While saying this, Wu Li again demonstrated the Tiger Hugging Head movement, raising both hands to hug the head.

"The Drilling, it should have the conception of a bullet being fired! The bullet spirals out of the barrel, fully penetrating, similar to the technique of Drilling Fist. In Drilling, you strike with this suddenness and penetrating power."

Then Wu Li stepped forward, turned his hands into palms, and chopped down forcefully.

"The Flipping should have the conception of a bomb exploding, bursting out with immense power suddenly, but the power should be concentrated, not dispersed, like using a hammer to drive a nail. When Splitting Fist hits the opponent, it should pin the opponent to the ground."

"The Drilling involves drawing the body inward, all muscles being twisted tight, while the Flipping releases the body’s power. This whole process is essentially unleashing the Dark Force, mainly relying on muscle and bone power."

Wu Li raised his hands and chopped down fiercely again, producing a crisp cracking sound.

"Tiger Hugging Head appears simple, but it involves a multitude of variations. First, practice well the rise and fall of your hands. When I return from Beichuan, I’ll teach you how to practice the rise and fall of your body, including some variations of the Tiger Hugging Head."

As Wu Li spoke, his body suddenly lunged forward, taking two quick steps to the window, then chopping down with one palm.

"Guo Yunshen’s Tiger Form, once covering thirty-nine meters! Tiger Hugging Head also subtly includes the Tiger Pounce; the rise and fall of the body is this pounce, and this is Ming Jin; the final Splitting Fist pins the person down, this is Dark Force, which shows that the Fist Power of Internal Fist, when trained to a profound level, is a combination of both hardness and softness."

Liu Yuanbo listened, mesmerized. The Tiger Form could cover thirty-nine meters—what kind of explosive power and speed was that? Such martial arts cultivation, even in a modern era dominated by firearms, if the distance between opponents didn’t exceed ten meters, even with a gun in hand, one would probably be killed by a punch.

Wu Li put down his fighting stance and turned to Liu Yuanbo, his expression serious.

"Martial artists must always set goals for themselves. Initially, when I trained in martial arts, after hearing about Senior Guo Yunshen’s exploits, my spirit was moved, and I wished only to reach Master Guo’s realm within my lifetime. Today, I share this story with you and hope it serves as a mutual encouragement."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuanbo’s expression became solemn, and he bowed to Wu Li, saying, "Yes!"

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