Cave Refuge

"Is cultivating qi sensation really as mysterious as you portray it?"

Before the catastrophe, Robinson William had served in a covert military unit for a while. For certain unmentionable reasons, he left and returned to his stationed unit in Pengcheng as a special training instructor.

Although he couldn't talk about his experiences serving in the military, to satisfy his family's curiosity, he told them some strange stories that weren't classified.

The most intriguing subject to them was whether Chinese martial arts could really be used in a fight.

After all, whether on television or self-media content, the results are essentially the same: Chinese martial arts can only perform, not fight.

However, when they asked Robinson the same question, he didn't answer directly, but instead asked them:

"What do you think of old sayings that have been passed down from ancient times? Could they have some merit?"

Hearing their older brother ask this, they nodded in affirmation.

"Then what do you think of this ancient saying: 'One who acquires martial arts can be sold to the Emperor's household'."

There's undoubtedly nothing wrong with this. After all, in ancient times, the emperor was the ultimate leader and everyone wanted to serve him.

"Thus, this ancient saying just proves the importance of martial arts in ancient times, equal to that of culture. You can't object to that, can you?"

Robinson's explanation silenced the rest of them present.

"There is also the old saying 'poor is literacy while rich is martial arts,' which simply translates as achieving culture costs less, while training in martial arts costs more."

Hearing Robinson say this, others wanted to argue, but Robinson didn't give them a chance to speak. "I know you want to say that obtaining knowledge was very hard in ancient times, ink, paper, and brush were costly, hence, learning literature was costly.

But doesn't that just underscore the greater costs in learning martial arts?

You might argue about how much a single work done by a distinguished ancient individual could cost, but the expenses for the medicinal herbs needed for martial arts training are countless.

So the meaning of the proverb 'poor is literacy while rich is martial arts' is that under similar conditions, the cost of martial arts training is higher than that of cultural studies.

For learning literature, having the Four Books and Five Classics is enough. There is even a saying, 'Half of the Analects governs the world' isn't it? This means to learn literature, all you need is one book.

As for martial arts, it's different. Martial arts practice consumes physical strength which means consuming a large amount of food, especially meat. In the past, it was not like the present - it was very hard for common people to eat meat daily."

Though they were unsure of how Robinson's explanation connects with the practicality of martial arts, they agreed with his analysis.

"Next, we talk about whether Chinese martial arts can be used in a real fight.

First, I want to ask you who would learn martial arts in ancient times.

Military families, aristocratic children, constables, soldiers, heroes of the green forest, escort masters; these are usually the types of people who would learn martial arts.

Their purpose for learning martial arts was clear: to become strong in battle and triumph over others.

And in what situations would these people use their martial arts?

Military families and soldiers usually use martial arts on the battlefield.

Aristocratic children learn martial arts to ensure their own safety.

Constables learn martial arts to catch fugitives.

There's no need to talk about the heroes of the green forest; it's either to rob the rich to feed the poor, to raid homes, or to take revenge.

It's even easier for escort masters; it's just to protect the items they escort.

These scenarios all share a common feature: it's a matter of life or death. Whether or not they've practiced well determines how long they can survive.

So, can you still say that martial arts aren't practical in real battles?"

When they heard Robinson's words, his sister wasn't pleased and retorted directly: "Then why, whether it's on TV or self-media, whenever martial arts are involved, they can't avoid being trounced?"

Hearing his sister-in-law say this, Robinson sighed helplessly: "Actually, there are many reasons for this, but there are two important ones. I'll explain them to you in detail. Just remember, don't spread it recklessly.

First of all, you have to understand that the terms 'martial arts', 'martial arts technique', and 'national arts' all represent different concepts.

Speaking of national arts, you should be familiar with the saying, 'National arts only kill and don't perform'.

In fact, national arts are just martial arts. In ancient times, they were referred to as external arts, mainly using a variety of techniques to subdue and kill opponents. The people who learned these were generally soldiers, constables, heroes of the green forest, escort masters, and such lower-level people in society.

As long as you put in the effort to master them, these skills can be quickly acquired. However, these skills require killing as soon as they are utilized and are only suitable for life-and-death fighting, not for friendly sparring.

You may not get an idea from all that I've said. There's a public figure I can mention, you can verify when you have the chance, Master Chen, the founder of Mad Dog Fist. The only sect with a record of killings since the founding of the nation. The sect's basic inner methods keep pace with criminal law, and the three top disciples all have records of facing multiple opponents and killing many.

None of those who dismiss martial arts would dare challenge him. Mad Dog Fist is actually an integration of various martial arts, a practical national art designed for real combat.

Conversely, martial arts technique is different. Martial arts technique can be considered as a dance form, for instance, the sword dance that emerged during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Although these forms look impressive when performed, their primary purpose is to be displayed, hence their practicality is quite low.

What I want to emphasize is martial arts. As per an old saying, 'External practice is bones and skin, internal practice is the breathing.'

You must understand external practice, so I won't elaborate on it further. Internal practice is the breathing, which is actually the concept of qi in martial arts. This qi is not as exaggerated as in TV dramas, but it's not entirely fabricated either."

Hearing Robinson William admit there's such a thing as internal practice caused everyone present to get excited. After all, as Chinese, who doesn't have a dream of martial arts?

Seeing the expectant look on everyone's faces, Robinson directly burst their bubble: "Internal practice is not as mysterious as you might think. Many people don't know this, but actually, they might have learned simplified internal practice."

When they heard Robinson say that many people have learned internal practice, their first reaction was suspicion. After all, internal practice, in their minds, represents mystique; it's hard to believe ordinary people could easily acquire it.

Noticing the doubtful look on everyone's faces, Robinson leisurely unravelled the mystery: "Internal practice methods are not as mysterious as you might think. Didn't I just say it beforehand? 'Internal practice is breathing.' Actually, internal practice can also be called breathing practice. I directly said that many ordinary people have access to it, and you didn't believe it.

But let me change my phrasing, and you'll immediately be able to judge whether I'm telling the truth or not.

For example...

And another example would be…"

After hearing Robinson's examples, they were dumfounded. The internal practice methods, which they originally considered to be mysterious, were surprisingly down-to-earth once simplified.