Cultivating From Obtaining Experience

Chapter 7: One Strike And He Flew

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Wang An accompanied Li Juewen to train in Tai Chi before they chatted for a while. He then asked the old man to have dinner with him to thank him for teaching him the past few days.

Even though they were strangers before, Li Juewen willingly taught him everything he knew about the martial art. Though the old man might have simply wanted to improve his own understanding of Tai Chi by having a student, Wang An believed that he should properly thank him regardless.

A few days ago, Wang An had already invited the old man out for a meal numerous times, but Li Juewen said that he would not go no matter what. However, he finally agreed to go this time after being persuaded relentlessly.

After leaving the park, Wang An went to the dojo to learn more about Tai Chi.

Yang Zhang, the first disciple of the dojo’s director, was a slightly plump man, who looked to be in his thirties with a square face and thick eyebrows. He looked energetic, and when he spoke, his voice was loud and confident.

Wang An had seen the 24 forms of Tai Chi in books and videos before, so listening to him explain them would deepen his understanding.

Yang Zhang demonstrated as he spoke. It was obvious that he was more skilled than Li Juewen in Tai Chi. However, his explanation was not detailed. Many of the key points about the correct posture were not explained clearly. He did not give an explanation for the position of his arms, feet, and palms.

Wang An looked around. There were all kinds of students who were here to learn. Their ages ranged from the elderly to young people in their twenties.

After Yang Zhang finished his explanation, he instructed the students to practice while he guided them from the side. Wang An took advantage of the break to ask Yang Zhang a few questions, but Yang Zhang’s answers were vague, which left him feeling unsatisfied.

He did not know if he was deliberately holding back information or if he actually did not understand the subject.

In the afternoon, Wang An went to the swimming pool to train. During this session, he learned breaststroke, butterfly stroke, backstroke, and diving.

Compared to Tai Chi, the experience bar for swimming filled up faster, and the experience bar was already halfway full.

[After a period of swimming training, your physical strength and endurance have been enhanced. Your muscles and organs have been exercised, and conditions such as tendonitis, cervical spondylosis, and pulmonary nodules have been effectively healed.]

Another unexpected gain that made him very happy.

‘If I continue to work like this, my body should get better soon, right?’

In the afternoon, he went to a high-end restaurant known for its healthy food early in the morning. He had already booked a table in advance.

As soon as the streetlights lit up, Li Juewen walked through the restaurant door to meet him. Wang An greeted him and lifted the bottle of fine wine he bought for this occasion. The waiter brought the food to their table soon after, and they both started eating while having a few sips of wine in between.

“Wang An, I see that you’re really into Tai Chi. Do you like it that much?”

Through getting to know him, Li Juewen could see that Wang An was very engrossed in training in Tai Chi. He did not think that he was doing it just to strengthen his body like himself.

“Yes, it was my goal to strengthen my body at first, but now I want to try and see how far I can go with it.” Wang An said.

Like he said, his initial goal of learning Tai Chi was to train his body, but now he thought differently. He wanted to explore it on a deeper level and not just do it for his health.

There were renowned Tai Chi masters from both distant and recent times. There was Zhang Sanfeng in the distant past and the Yang family Tai Chi, as well as the ancestors of the Sun family Tai Chi. These individuals were famous martial arts grandmasters in their time, and there were records documenting their expertise. It was especially so for Zhang Sanfeng. He was a grandmaster of his era, and he left a profound impact throughout history. He was so good that his skill in Tai Chi could not be exaggerated.

Legends such as these made people admire and yearn for skills like theirs. Almost every man had once dreamed of being a master and traveling the world with a sword in all of its splendor.

Wang An was the same. In the past, he could not hope to do so, and reality had crushed his dreams and made him jaded. But now, he had an opportunity.

He wanted to see what real Tai Chi looked like. He wanted to learn, practice, and master it.

[Mission: Tai Chi. Practice authentic Tai Chi. It combines hardness and softness, Yin and Yang, and wind and water.]

The notification appeared again.

“Another mission?” Wang An was stunned for a moment before he smiled.

‘Even without this mission, I would still want to give it a try,’ He thought to himself.

Both Wang An and Li Juewen enjoyed the meal.

The next day, he still went to the park and practiced Tai Chi with Li Juewen despite not having anything more to learn from him. They also exchanged their experiences before he went to the Tai Chi Dojo.

Apart from the basic routines, the dojo also included additional training elements like the Tai Chi stake and emphasized the practice of Tai Chi pushing hands.

Just like that, he practiced Tai Chi during the day, swam and exercised, ate a reasonable diet, and had enough sleep.

He practiced martial arts during the day and went back at night to summarize, read books, and watch informative videos.

The next day, he used that dozen or so illustrations as a foundation and repeatedly felt and contemplated the thirteen movements of Tai Chi. In this way, he diligently studied and trained.

His Tai Chi improved almost every day.

As time passed, in addition to forms, the Tai Chi martial arts school started placing a strong emphasis on practicing push hands. This included single-hand push hands, double-hand push hands, fixed-step push hands, and moving-step push hands.

Wang An liked the pushing hands classes very much because it was close to actual combat practice.

Practicing by himself and sparring with others were two completely different activities.

His improvement was most obvious when he was sparring. At first, he focused on defense at the beginning to reduce the opponent’s stamina.

Later, he began practicing the art of borrowing and redirecting force. He shifted and neutralized the opponent’s power. With a slight twist or a sweep, his opponent would either stumble lightly or, in more extreme cases, end up on the ground.

Vaguely, he felt how to use his opponent’s weight against them.

[You have practiced Tai Chi pushing hands and have gained some understanding of the 13 forms of Tai Chi.]

[Tai Chi experience +30.]

[Tai Chi experience +20.]

The experience gained from practicing Tai Chi this way was much greater.

This morning, when he entered the dojo, he saw that everyone in the dojo crowded around a man who looked to be in his forties. He was tall and well-proportioned, and he was greeting a group of students.

They were surrounding him like stars surrounding the moon. He had seen this person in the photo on the wall at the door. It was Yang Xianhua, the director of the Tai Chi Dojo.

The students insistently pestered him to give them a demonstration of his skills. Unable to withstand the pressure, he asked his eldest disciple, Yang Zhang, to put on protective gear, and then the two of them started sparring.

Wang An attentively watched from the side. Yang Xianhua suddenly shot forward and blocked Yang Zhang’s path. He then punched Yang Zhang’s body. Yang Zhang was sent flying back from the force. He stumbled backwards after his feet touched the ground until he fell on his rear.

“Tai Chi energy, shifting, blocking, and striking!”

Yang Xianhua demonstrated it three times.

[Tai Chi experience +5.]

“Amazing!” After the demonstration, one of the disciples started to cheer. Soon after, the other students applauded as well.

However, most of the students did not actually know what was so good about it. They just cheered along.