11 Training Diary II
(Entry #47)
I have found the man Master Matsuda talked about, Chu Chin Li. He was a renowned master martial artist and would be able to teach me a lot, as well as acupuncture. I am interested to see whether he already expects me. I think Master Matsuda contacted him.
Well, let's see how it goes.
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(Entry #48)
I was indeed expected. I asked him how and he said that some things are not to be answered...
It was probably pigeon mail.
I was asked to do basic training but he found out very quickly that my muscles are not for showing off. So we skipped that part of the training ... thankfully. Jumping from teacher to teacher can be exhausting as I always have to establish myself again. But I don't care about that. I'm here to grow stronger and that's what I'll do.
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(Entry #52)
I was introduced to acupuncture today. Master Chin Li used multiple needles and inserted them all over my body. It was an exercise to get used to the pain and get control over the body again. Master Chin Li blocked multiple muscles which were important. It was painful in the beginning but I managed to use Master Matsuda's training.
"The pain ... has it subsided?", Chin Li asked.
"Should it have subsided?"
"That is not the answer I am looking for."
"It doesn't hurt anymore and I can use any muscle I wish. Is that good?"
"It seems that you understand. Had you still been in pain, it would not have been a problem with your body but ..."
"... but understanding. I understand though."
"Do you know Confucius, my son?", Chin Li asked me.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because you seem to follow his saying: I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."
"I guess it is somewhat accurate. Only ... I don't forget."
"I can tell."
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(Entry #53)
I have almost no time to write in my diary. It has been two weeks since the #52 entry. Master Chin Li has a lot to teach and he knows many martial arts. I am going through all sorts of weapons at the moment. Thankfully I pick up new things instantly and can get experience by sparring with the other students.
Chinese Triads as well as the Red Army has students here. Chin Lin seems to be under surveillance and wishes to find a successor. He must believe that that is me. But I have no such interest.
I enjoy using the Katana. Master Matsuda taught me a lot but you should never stop learning. Master Chin Lin has different styles than Master Matsuda and teaches different styles to his students. Some are more suited for different weapons but I ... well I get to learn them all.
One that I like is the Sai. The sai is a traditional Okinawan melee weapon used for stabbing, striking and disarming opponents. It is primarily used in ninjutsu and kobudō. Kobudō is a collective term for Japanese traditional techniques for the use of armour, blades, firearms, and techniques related to combat and horse riding.
I like to spin around the sai's and just take my mind off of things. That can be relaxing. But almost all of the weapons are fun to use. I am demolishing all my sparing partners. Although I know that they are trying to hurt me or even maim me.
Joke's on them, I'm into that shit ... ok for real though. I like the little real-life situations more than the simulated ones. It doesn't get my blood pumping. I'll see where this leads.
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(Entry #58)
I mastered the art of acupuncture ... is what I would like to say. But Master Chin Lin said that he wasn't a doctor, so there was still more that I could learn. I guess I could also start my own research on the matter. It has been a very interesting part of my training. Acupuncture is a hidden gem in my opinion. What comes to mind is the absolutely bonkers martial art called 'Hokuto Shin Ken' (Big Dipper God Fist) is an ancient Chinese martial art, dating back 1,800 years from China.
Sadly I am not in an anime right now, so I am not sure whether learning this technique would be possible. But now with acupuncture, I think there could be a way to replicate it or create something similar. I might need Chi for that though. I guess I'll stop by in Japan to meet O-sensei ... or is he in America, like Richard Dragon?
I guess I'll see when the time comes.
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(Entry #65)
"You wish to speak to me, Master?", I say as I enter Master Chin Lin's study. I say study but it is just a small room he has to himself with various weapons on the wall and a chair.
"Yes, my son. You are my dearest pupil and yet I sense a great ambivalence in your heart. The 'Way' is no mere discipline to be studied and sampled. It is a philosophy of life. It requires absolute submission. There is nothing more I can teach you ... until you choose between this world ... and the one you left."
"I never tried to fool you, master. I just never told you about my goals. To this day you don't know much about me ... and that is good. It would be disrespectful otherwise."
"Why would it be disrespectful?"
"Because you as well as I know the choice I would make when you confront me the way you just did."
"... It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.", Chin Lin said.
"True ... but that only applies ... if we were friends. I wish you all the best, Master Chu Chin Lin."
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(Entry #66)
I think that was a successful time I spent under Chu Chin Lin. I always said that I was only there to study and learn. I was never interested in taking over his school. Submission is not something I do.
Right now, I am going to North Korea. I am interested in finding the Dojang of Master Kirigi. And if my information is correct, I will find him on Paektu Mountain in North Korea. So that's where I'll head.
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(Entry #70)
I have found a new way to pass the time. I have officially started ... to cook! Oh yes future me, you better not have stopped practicing that skill. Although I guess forgetting is hard for me now.
I began to cook (lol) at Master Matsuda when I helped his wife with cooking. I wanted to study her at the time but now I think that it is a good skill to have. I will see the local dishes and try to learn them. After that, I will create my own recipes and become a renowned chef ... ok maybe not that, but I will surely teach it to Sebas when I go back.
There are a lot of rice-dishes around here and also soup. Wonton Soup already exists as well as what was known as Kung Pao Chicken. That might seem stereotypical but it's what I find all around.
EDIT: I haven't stopped practising, past me.
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(Entry #71)
I had an interesting call with Sebas today. He said that he found a stage magician called Giovanni Zatara who had a magic show in Las Vegas. I am indeed interested in visiting the man. Maybe I can learn from him as well. I see potential in the art of illusions, sleight of hand and escape artistry. You never know when you might use it.
Another man I will visit is Don Miguel in Brazil, to learn how to drive like a Torretto and Luka Jungo A.K.A the Swiss Mark. I'll see where my journey takes me after Master Kirigi.
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(Entry #76)
Short entry today. I think I found a way to get into North Korea unnoticed ... Who am I kidding I am certain. The solution is simple. You offer the officials something they can't refuse ... money. It's good to be wealthy.
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(Entry #86)
What a drag this was. Let me write down what I experienced.
So I managed to make my way into North Korea, by bribing the right person. I got through the border control and then went to find myself the nearest black market to buy information. That's what the last entry was all about.
So I get the info, make my way up the cold and snowy mountain ... once again and when I finally get here to the Dojang and ask if I could be trained ... I am shoved to the floor without a word.
I knew that force was the last thing that I should think about. So I did what I had to. I just sat there. For. Three. Weeks. I sat there for three weeks straight. I wasn't even offered something to eat. Like seriously. What a bunch of dicks these guys are. But to each their own. T'was to be expected.
So now I am sweeping the floor. Wow, what progress I made.
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(Entry #94)
I'm still sweeping.
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(Entry #98)
Finally!! I am finally moving up in the world. Guess who now not just sweeps, but also washes the dishes ~
Yes, it's me. What tremendous progress after an entire MONTH of sweeping. I don't say a word though. I use the time I sweep to try something new out. I thought about the Ultra Instinct things again. I was wondering if it was possible to make sweeping instinctual ...
Yeah after sweeping for a month and meditating in the evening, you get to very weird theories. But why not just try it out?
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(Entry #108)
This is ~amazing~ I finished my month of sweeping and washing dishes. Now I am honoured to write, that I have once again advanced in the sacred art of ... sweeping, washing dishes aaaaand ... cooking rice!
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about baby. Cooking rice. I mean they say that they want rice cooked but they didn't say how I should cook the rice. So guess who will use this chance to increase his proficiency in the art of cooking?
PS: No update on the Ultra Instinct sweeping at the moment.
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(Entry #110)
This is the first entry after nearly two months. I finished my 'probation phase' if you will. I am ashamed to write that I am now in my fifth month here in the Paektu Mountains and have nothing truly good to show for it. I didn't take this long in ANY of my other places I crashed for a time.
And yet ... I don't feel like I wasted that much time. Playing games with me is ok, as long as you don't go overboard. Any more than this and I would have had to use other means to get what I want. Although I have to say that I might have made the students here my slaves. Yeah, training how to cook was a good idea. And also a very bad one. Now they might never let me leave...
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(Entry #112)
It has been ... a week ... since I was finally introduced to the martial arts. Master Kirigi is well regarded as a Japanese master of martial arts and ninjutsu. His arsenal of fighting styles is numerous but I am by no means an amateur. It took me a week to fully grasp the techniques I didn't already know and I am pretty much finished already. This brings me to the talk I had with Master Kirigi.
"Nature has been kind to you. You are of exceptional intelligence and your physique is extraordinary. Reflexes, vision, strength ... all are seemingly perfect. Almost beyond a human ... how terrible for you.", Master Kirigi says.
"Why?"
"You cannot value what comes so easily. The only thing I can teach you now is how to ignore all I have taught you thus far."
"And why would I wish to forget what you taught me?"
"Some great violence has marked you. I can see it in the calculating look you have all the time. It speaks of control over your emotions. It gives you your genius for combat, but unless you are very lucky, it will destroy you. I can take you past it, to what lies on the other side."
"So ... you're saying ..."
"I will require another twenty years ... but with your genius ... I might take more.", Master Kirigi concluded.
"You know my answer to that."
"Indeed. That is why I will introduce you to the final part of your training. I have already taught you patience, peace, and clearing of the mind and honing your strength, speed, and reflexes to perfection, things which you either already knew or picked up instantly. So now there is only my most valued and famous martial art left.
The Vibrating Palm technique."
