"Of course, don’t think about breaking boards yet; you’re still far from that. Start with the soft targets and sandbags first."
After finishing his instructions, Shen Haoming put his hands behind his back and strolled to the other side to guide the advanced class students who were sparring.
Fang Cheng and several new students, following Karate etiquette, bowed in unison to thank him.
Soon after, the sound of vigorous shouts echoed around as everyone began their individual practices.
Fang Cheng did not start immediately but closed his eyes, replaying every movement Shen Haoming had just demonstrated in his mind.
Starting from the ground, channeling power through the ankle, knee, and hip step by step, then twisting the waist and extending the shoulder.
Finally, concentrating in the arm, swinging out with the "blade" formed by the closed fingers.
Piercing Hand, Inner Hand Blade, Outer Hand Blade, Hand Blade combined with reverse thrust, Horizontal Hand Blade striking the neck followed by a front kick...
The path of each movement was clearly etched in his mind.
Immediately, he performed according to the method.
Repeating these most basic movements over and over, feeling the contraction and relaxation of each muscle.
With his terrifying bodily control and memory, Fang Cheng quickly mastered the knack of exerting force, and his movements became increasingly skillful.
To outsiders, each of his hand swings seemed full of momentum and impressive power.
Almost equal to those elite students who had been practicing for months, or even professional athletes.
But Fang Cheng knew deep down that he was still far from true mastery.
At the very least, no expected animation or skill unlocking prompt appeared before his eyes.
All Fang Cheng could do now was keep repeating, using thousands upon thousands of practices to completely integrate these movements into muscle memory.
He wanted to see if he could unlock the "Karate" skill in this straightforward way.
More than half an hour passed, yet the panel showed no response.
Fang Cheng stopped, took a small break, and silently analyzed the reason.
According to past experience, to unlock a complete skill, merely mastering a few basic movements was far from enough.
All the core techniques of this kung fu must reach a certain proficiency and comprehension before it is possible to be recognized by the system.
Modern Karate has evolved to assimilate the strengths of many, with techniques that are varied and diverse.
Incorporating boxing, elbow strikes, hand blades, kicking techniques, throwing techniques, throwing techniques, sleeping skills, locking technique, choking techniques, counter techniques, grappling and many fighting skills.
Most of the techniques, in essence, are similar to other fighting styles.
Through the practice of boxing, Sanda, Muay Thai, and Jujitsu.
Fang Cheng’s punching and kicking techniques had long since reached the grandmaster level, and his Jujitsu foundation made it so that throwing, throwing techniques, locking technique, choking techniques, and other control techniques posed no challenge.
The only shortcoming was the open-palm techniques represented by the hand blade.
In other words, it was the kung fu of the palm and fingers.
Perhaps, it was simply because the hand blade techniques he had mastered were too basic and singular?
Once he mastered more variations and combination skills, it should be about right.
Fang Cheng listened to Shen Haoming’s introductory lecture.
Karate has four major traditional schools: Songtao Hall Style, Soft and Hard Style, Wado-Ryu, Shito-Ryu.
Each school has different emphases on techniques.
The Songtao Hall Style emphasizes large and open movements, focusing more on leg techniques and throwing techniques.
The hand blade moves in its routines are used mostly for defense or control, combined with boxing and leg techniques for counterattack, rather than an active attack method.
And the school that specializes most in using the hand blade as the main offensive weapon is the Soft and Hard Style, known for its hard techniques and fierceness.
This is the school where the Shijima Gorou family is from.
This school’s Martial Artists often practice enhancing the power of the hand blade by chopping hard objects, famous for their performances of breaking bricks and stones.
If one wants to learn stronger, more comprehensive hand blade techniques, studying under Shen Haoming of the Songtao Hall Style may not be the best choice.
Unfortunately, Shijima Gorou had been missing for almost half a year now.
Otherwise, he could have sought some advice from him.
After a little thought, Fang Cheng decided to visit Wu Datong’s video shop at Old Factory Street when he returned.
Maybe he could find some Karate tutorial DVDs to study on his own.
Regaining focus, he glanced at the new students beside him who were goofing off.
After just a short while of practice, they were already panting heavily, grimacing, with their arm movements distorting loosely like cotton swabs.
Fang Cheng shook his head and turned his gaze to the other side of the hall.
There stood a row of fixed dummies specifically for practicing strikes.
The class that had just finished training was leaving the area.
Fang Cheng then walked to the empty dummy, stood with feet apart, and resumed his stance.
This time, he was not striking the air.
But rather imagining the dummy as a real opponent, engaging in combat simulation.
Of course, he had to control the hidden fierce strength within his body, to prevent smashing the training equipment with a single strike.
The dull thuds of strikes continuously echoed in the training hall.
Fang Cheng treated the dummy as an enemy, practicing the techniques he had just learned.
Outer Hand Blade to block, immediately followed by a reverse thrust to strike the midsection.
Inner Hand Blade to slash the neck, swiftly followed by a fierce front kick to attack the lower body.
Every hand blade he executed precisely targeted the dummy’s neck, underarm, chest, and other vital points.
Gradually, his attack methods began moving beyond Shen Haoming’s taught range. This text is hosted at noveⅼfire.net
Instead, he continuously adjusted his attacking postures and footwork coordination based on his own intuition.
As the practice deepened, Fang Cheng also gradually developed a unique understanding of his own.