Cangmang Asks the Way 1: Guardian of the Lamp

On the afternoon of September 3rd, the training hall of Jixian Sports School was as stuffy as a steamer. The autumn heat lingered over the county town, making the tin roof scorching hot.

This was Cang Tianci's first training session after transferring to the routine class.

He changed into his new training uniform—a white short-sleeved shirt, black harem pants, and a blue belt around his waist. This was the uniform for the routine class, completely different from his previous Sanda shorts and shirtless attire. He stood at the back of the line, looking at the children in front of him who were a head shorter than him, and a strange feeling welled up inside him.

"Attention! Right dress!"

"Look ahead. At ease."

……

Chen Xuhua shouted various commands in a steady and powerful voice. He was wearing a black training uniform with his belt tightly fastened. He looked particularly energetic.

"Today is the first basic skills training class of the new semester." Chen Xuhua walked to the side of the line so everyone could see his movements. "I'll demonstrate, and you'll follow along. Watch first, then imitate."

He stopped, took a deep breath, and then slowly raised his right leg.

"Straight kick—Ready—Go!"

His leg kicked up, toes pointed, rising straight up, past his waist, past his chest, past his head, and stopping steadily before landing with a "thud" on the ground. His supporting leg remained motionless, and his back was as straight as a pillar.

Cang Tianci stared at his movements. This wasn't a kick from Sanda—the trajectory is straight, the range is large, and there's a feeling of "holding" at the highest point of the kick. It wasn't a kick out, it was a "swing" up.

Cang Tianci took a deep breath and raised his leg. The first kick went astray halfway through, and his supporting foot instinctively slid forward a step—a movement habit from Sanda (Chinese kickboxing).

"Again." Chen Xuhua walked to his side, not correcting his movements, but simply said.

Cang Tianci gritted his teeth and lowered his center of gravity. The second time, his foot didn't slip, but his leg only reached his chest. The third time, he deliberately reached upwards, a sharp pain shooting through his groin. He endured it, pushing his toes upwards as much as possible. By the fourth time, his leg finally went over his head. The moment he landed, he heard Chen Xuhua softly hum.

Next came the side kick, the inward kick, and the outward kick. Cang Tianci performed each kick better than the last. He didn't rely on physical memory; he relied on his brain. He would watch it once, memorize the movement trajectory, then break it down in his mind, and finally direct his body to execute it.

This is a learning habit he developed in the gifted youth program: practicing with his brain, not with brute force.

Chen Xuhua stood aside, watching silently. He noticed that by the time Cang Tianci performed the third movement, he had already grasped the essentials; by the fifth, he had made virtually no major mistakes. This learning speed was unprecedented among all the specialized trainees he had ever seen.

"Stance-based punches. Bow stance, horse stance, crouching stance, empty stance, resting stance. Each stance is accompanied by three punches." Chen Xuhua walked to the center of the field, lowered his body, and pulled into a standard bow stance. The front leg was bent, the back leg was straight, the knee did not go past the toes, and the heel of the back foot was firmly planted. When he punched, his waist and hips rotated, and the fist punched out from his waist, twisting sharply at the end of the punch with a crisp force.

Cang Tianci followed along. The lunge wasn't difficult; he had practiced the horse stance before when he was training in Sanda (Chinese kickboxing). However, the lunge in the routine required more "refinement"—the weight distribution had to be precise, with 70% in front and 30% behind, the back leg straight, and the toes turned inward. He tried to adjust it; the first leg was fine, but the second leg went astray.

Chen Xuhua walked over to him, squatted down, and tapped his knee with his finger.

"Straighten it," he said.

Cang Tianci straightened his hind legs and leaned his body forward slightly.

"The center of gravity is 70% front and 30% back, not 90% front and 10% back." Chen Xuhua placed his palm on his front knee and pushed it back half an inch. "Here."

Cang Tianci adjusted his posture according to his force, and his entire body immediately became stable. When he threw a punch, he felt the power rise from the soles of his feet, pass through his waist and back, and reach his fist—although he was still not quite used to it, the power was flowing smoothly.

"Remember this feeling." Chen Xuhua stood up and walked towards the next student.

Next up was the horse stance. This was something Cang Tianci was very familiar with. He had practiced countless horse stances in his Sanda training, but Chen Xuhua's requirements were different—the toes must point straight ahead, the knees must not extend beyond the toes, the upper body must be upright, and there should be no forward leaning. Cang Tianci tried to squat down in a horse stance, with his thighs parallel to the ground, his back straight, and he remained completely still.

Chen Xuhua walked past him, pausing for a moment.

"The horse stance is not just for training your legs. In Sanda (Chinese kickboxing), you practice the horse stance to maintain stability. But in internal martial arts, the horse stance is for connection. The soles of your feet, knees, waist, hips, and spine are all in a line. Power originates from the ground, not from your muscles."

As Cang Tianci listened, he suddenly remembered what his master, Chen Jiren, had said when teaching him the Thirteen Postures of Tai Chi: "Lift the head lightly and keep the energy sinking to the dantian." At that time, when he practiced "Grasp the Sparrow's Tail," his master repeatedly emphasized that "the power originates from the feet, is controlled by the waist, and manifests in the fingers." He didn't fully understand, but he knew to do as his master said, practicing again and again until his body memorized it.

Standing in this horse stance, his soles were warm on the ground. He tried to lower his center of gravity, and the energy rose from his feet, past his knees, past his waist, and up his spine—exactly the same as his master's teaching of "energy originating from the feet." Only, his master used the Tai Chi form, while Coach Chen used the horse stance. The forms were different, but the underlying principles were the same.

Thinking of this, he lowered his stance even further.

Chen Xuhua walked past him, paused for a moment, and said, "Not bad stance."

Next came the practice of the crouching step, the empty step, and the resting step. Cang Tianci performed each movement cleanly and crisply.

Finally, there are the aerial maneuvers. These include the flying kick, the whirlwind kick, the outward lotus kick, and more...

Chen Xuhua walked to the center of the field, took a deep breath, and suddenly leaped into the air. His body rose straight up, as if suspended by an invisible thread. At the highest point, his right leg shot forward, and his right hand slapped the instep of his foot in mid-air with a crisp "smack" that echoed throughout the training hall. Upon landing, his knees were slightly bent, and his soles touched the ground lightly, almost silently. The entire routine was fluid and clean—the skill of the bronze medalist in the National Wushu Taolu Championships was on full display in that moment.

The students were stunned. Cang Tianci was also taken aback. He had seen many masters, but he had never seen anyone execute a flying kick as high, gracefully, and steadily as Chen Xuhua.

Cang Tianci took a deep breath and jumped. He jumped, but when he slapped his feet, his hands and feet were half a foot apart. He tried again, but was still a little short.

Chen Xuhua walked over and stood next to him.

"When you jump, your body is propelled forward," Chen Xuhua said. "For a flying kick, you need to move upward first, then forward. Only when you have enough upward momentum can your foot make the impact."

He slowed down and did it again. The jump, the ascent, the kick, the strike—each step was as clear as if it had been broken down.

Cang Tianci closed his eyes and thought for a few seconds, then opened them and jumped. This time, his body moved upwards instead of rushing forward. His right hand struck the instep—though the sound wasn't crisp enough and the height wasn't high enough, he still made it.

"Not bad," Chen Xuhua said, turning to walk towards the other trainees.

Cang Tianci wiped his sweat and continued practicing. He wanted to perfect this move until it was as crisp and steady as Chen Xuhua's.

The hour-and-a-half training session ended. Chen Xuhua blew a whistle, instructing the trainees to do relaxation stretches.

The trainees left the training hall one after another.

After Cang Tianci finished relaxing and was about to walk out, he heard Chen Xuhua's voice behind him.

"Tianci, come here."

Cang Tianci stopped and turned around. He saw Chen Xuhua sitting on a bench by the field, waving at him.

Cang Tianci walked over and sat down next to him.

"How are you feeling today?" Chen Xuhua asked.

"It's alright, but I'm not used to it yet."

"Your understanding of the movements is stronger than I expected. You are tall and slender, your movements are graceful, and your jumps are powerful. Given time, it's not impossible for your routine to win awards at the provincial or even national level."

"Thank you, Coach Chen! But..." Cang Tianci hesitated and didn't finish his sentence.

"Just say what you're thinking, it's okay," Chen Xuhua encouraged.

"Okay, Coach." Cang Tianci paused, as if organizing his thoughts, "I think these moves are all just for show and are useless in actual combat."

Chen Xuhua was quite surprised; he hadn't expected Cang Tianci to speak so directly. He asked with a smile, "Why do you think that?"

"Take what we just practiced, for example." Cang Tianci stood up, walked to the center of the field, and demonstrated a front kick. His toes were hooked, the kick went over his head, and stopped smoothly. "A front kick, no matter how high, how straight, or how stable, is useless in actual combat. A front kick in Sanda is a forward and upward sweeping kick, targeting the groin or chin. The power is short and sharp, and the kick is immediately retracted. It's not a sweeping motion."

He then executed a lunge punch. The front leg bent, the back leg straight, the waist and hips rotating, the fist thrusting out from the waist. "A lunge punch, with the center of gravity so low, makes movement difficult. In Sanda (Chinese kickboxing), punches are thrown standing up; you have to move and dodge at any time. If you punch from a horse stance, and your opponent shifts to the side, your punch will miss."

He walked back and stood in front of Chen Xuhua.

"And those aerial moves. Flying kicks, whirlwind kicks, outer lotus kicks—no matter how high you jump, no matter how loud your slap, by the time you land, your opponent will already be rushing up and throwing you down. The ring isn't a stage; no one waits for you to get back on your feet before they start fighting."

He finished speaking, stood there, and looked at Chen Xuhua.

"Coach Chen, am I right about what I said?"

Chen Xuhua was taken aback by Cang Tianci's remarks. He hadn't expected a 14-year-old boy to possess such insight. This forced him to take this somewhat precocious boy seriously.

He was silent for a few seconds, then stood up and walked to the center of the field.

"You're right, but not entirely." He turned to face Cang Tianci and said, "Straight kicks, lunge punches, and flying kicks—these moves certainly won't work in a direct fight. But have you ever wondered why they're still included in the fundamentals?"

"The front kick trains ligament flexibility and stability of the supporting leg. The lunge punch trains power from the waist and hips and weight transfer. The flying kick trains jumping ability and aerial coordination. These are not for direct use, but for building a foundation. With a good foundation, you can move quickly in any style."

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"You were able to pick up Sanda so quickly because your older brother laid some martial arts foundation for you. Without that foundation, you would have to start from scratch if you switched to Sanda."

Cang Tianci fell silent. He recalled the days when he learned Southern Fist from his elder brother, practicing those seemingly simple stances, punches, and kicks countless times. Later, when he fought in Sanda (Chinese kickboxing), those fundamentals were indeed put to use.

"I'm not defending competitive routines." Chen Xuhua walked back and sat down on the bench. "It has its flaws. It pursues 'high difficulty, beauty, and novelty' too much, detaching itself from actual combat; the scoring standards are too subjective, with laymen setting the rules; for the sake of competition, martial arts are broken down into individual scoring points, losing the overall picture. I acknowledge all of these."

"But it also has its value. The first gold medal in Wushu of New China was won in Taolu (forms). Wushu was able to enter the Asian Games and go global because of Taolu. Without Taolu, Wushu wouldn't even have a name in the international arena."

He looked up at the ceiling.

"Sometimes I wonder, if one day Wushu really makes it into the Olympics, standing on the podium, with the national flag being raised and the national anthem being played—what would that feel like? Wouldn't I feel that, despite all the flaws in what I've practiced for so many years, at least the world has seen Chinese Wushu?"

He turned his head and looked at Cang Tianci again.

"I'm not trying to convince you. I just want you to know that things in this world aren't black and white. There are problems with conventional methods, but it's wrong to completely reject them."

Cang Tianci lowered his head and put his hands in his pockets. He recalled the Thirteen Postures of Tai Chi that his master had taught him. Each move contained the principles of Yin and Yang, both offensive and defensive, beneficial for health and self-defense. But what principles were behind these improvised, fancy routines he was now practicing?

He looked up at Chen Xuhua and said, "Coach Chen, I acknowledge what you mean by fundamentals. But those aerial maneuvers and fancy moves, I still think they do more harm than good. You say routines have brought martial arts to the world, but is 'martial arts' that has gone global still martial arts?"

Chen Xuhua was stunned for a moment, unsure how to respond.