Fang Cheng’s heart stirred, he immediately stood up and cupped his fist towards Wu Dewang:
"I humbly request Uncle Wu to impart your teachings."
Wu Dewang was also intrigued, readily agreeing: "Let’s go over there, I’ll demonstrate once for you."
A group of people followed them to the open space in the courtyard, eagerly watching the teaching.
"I won’t talk about boxing."
Wu Dewang glanced at the corner of the courtyard, at the limestone rockery missing a large piece.
Recalling Fang Cheng’s inhuman punch, he wisely refrained from showing off.
He cleared his throat and began the formal explanation:
"White Crane Boxing, as an important representative of Southern Martial Arts, its essence lies in mimicking the form and movements of the white crane. Its palm techniques are actually more unique and important than its boxing."
While speaking, Wu Dewang had already taken a stance, his body slightly settled, arms spread out, his aura suddenly changed, truly embodying a bit of the leisurely cloud and wild crane’s elegance.
"Look, this is the ’Crane Beak Palm’!"
Before the words were finished, he brought his five fingers together, slightly bent, shaped like a crane’s beak, his wrist flicked, pecking forward with lightning speed.
The motion was quick and abrupt, carrying a sharp force, directly targeting vital points.
"This is the ’Swing Palm’, simulating the crane wing’s flapping!"
He swung his arm horizontally, palm facing outward, using the edge of the palm as the force point, tracing a beautiful arc, and slashing horizontally.
The motion seemed gentle but contained the skillful force of softness overcoming hardness.
"And the ’Scraping Palm’, issuing force like a blade..."
"’Pushing Palm’, utilizing Waist and Horse Integration to form penetrating pushing power..."
"The core of these techniques lies in the combination of short power issuance and curved force application, paired with our sect’s unique ’Ming Sound’ Breathing Technique, capable of being rigid or flexible, with countless variations."
Wu Dewang was explaining while practicing.
With the alternation of palm movements, his throat occasionally emitted one or two clear and high crane calls, matching with the sound of the palm’s wind.
There was even a faint sense of the crane’s cry reverberating across the heavens, a sound moving through the wilderness.
After demonstrating a set of palm techniques, his movements were graceful, like flowing clouds and water, fully displaying the style of a renowned expert.
Fang Cheng watched intently, feeling enlightened in his heart.
He discovered that the palm techniques of White Crane Boxing shared a striking similarity in principle and attack routes with Karate’s Hand Blade and Piercing Hand.
Swing Palm and Scraping Palm are virtually variations of the Hand Blade; whereas Crane Beak Palm is identical to the piercing concept of Piercing Hand.
Previously, he focused solely on standing in place, performing chopping motions with the Hand Blade.
But neglected the changes in fingers, footwork, and even coordination of force throughout the body.
Perhaps, the reason he couldn’t unlock the skill lies in this aspect.
Watching Wu Dewang demonstrate all the basic moves, Fang Cheng pondered for a moment and asked: Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel•fire.net
"In traditional martial arts, do palm techniques also include finger techniques and claw techniques?"
Wu Dewang nodded with approval:
"In a broad sense, indeed they do, the fist is the closing of fingers, the palm is the opening of fingers, palm techniques, finger techniques, claw techniques, the hand shapes are similar, so they belong to the same origin."
"For example, the ’Crane Beak Hand’ in Crane Boxing seems to belong to palm techniques, but it actually contains the pecking technique of the fingertips."
"And in ’Pushing Palm’, at the moment of contact with the target, the fingers can also seize the opportunity to grapple, transforming from palm to claw."
"In martial arts terminology, this is called ’Hand and Finger Origin’, not falling into conventions."
He paused, then continued to explain:
"You work at the fighting club, so you should know that on the ring, it’s almost never seen that people use their palms, right? Because when initiating an attack with the same strength, a heavy punch causes far greater impact than a palm strike."
Fang Cheng nodded, this is the consensus in modern fighting.
Wu Dewang changed his tone, a gleam flashed in his eyes:
"Why is palm technique so important in traditional martial arts?"
"Because, besides the palm technique having a strong composite action, capable of flexibly converting into other techniques, the most crucial point is its integration with ’Qi’."
Wu Dewang raised his right hand, spreading out his five fingers.
"Imagine, when True Qi is circulating, is it , with the fingers straight, allowing the Qi to flow unhindered to the fingertips more smoothly? Or..."
Without waiting for Fang Cheng to answer, he gently closed and clenched the five fingers.
"...is it , tightly gripping into a fist, with True Qi flowing more smoothly?"
Fang Cheng’s eyes brightened, he answered without hesitation:
"With fingers extended, the breath flows more smoothly."
Wu Dewang nodded slightly and said solemnly:
"Once clenched into a fist, the various meridians in the arm are compressed, Qi and blood stagnate, instead obstructing the circulation of True Qi."
"Therefore, for Martial Artists proficient in Inner Strength, palm techniques are far more suitable for using True Qi compared to boxing, and when reaching the realm of True Qi Emission, the power exhibited is far beyond that of a fist."
"It’s just that the majority of people never reach the level of needing ’Qi’, so naturally they feel that palm techniques are useless."
This explanation gave Fang Cheng a deeper understanding of the relationship between the "Qigong" skill and combat moves.
"Good, you try it, first perform the routine once."
Fang Cheng walked to the center, feet apart, slowly raised his hands.
Then he unfolded his posture, swinging his palms, and performed the White Crane Boxing routine that Wu Dewang had just demonstrated flawlessly.
Especially in terms of palm techniques, from the Crane Beak Palm’s pecking to Swing Palm’s flapping, and then to Scraping Palm’s chopping, his movements were smooth and fluid, with precise power, as if he had been immersed in this way for many years.
This sight made several elders applaud and praise.
No wonder he is the genius of our Martial Arts Research Association, with such high comprehension!
Fang Cheng stopped and stood still after finishing.