Internal Energy and External Energy(1)

About two weeks had passed since Mujin began the group PT session for the Three Musketeers of the Mu Faction."

"From today, we will learn a new martial art!"

There was a slight change in the repetitive daily routine.

"The martial art we will learn today is Small Hong Fist, one of the basic martial arts of our Shaolin."

With Hyu Jong's shout, the two disciples stood facing each other and sideways, respectively, and began to assume the ready stance.

Then, following Hyu Jong's spirited shout, the disciples began to slowly unfold the movements of Small Hong Fist, from the first to the fourteenth form.

While the two demonstrated, the rest of the disciples moved around the training ground, observing the postures of the beginner disciples and providing guidance, and the training progressed. As Mu-Jin practiced all fourteen forms, a natural question arose in his mind.

"Does striking like this really knock down opponents?"

To Mu-Jin, the movements of Small Hong Fist's forms felt somewhat bizarre. Most of the fourteen forms were inefficient postures that could be seen in comics or games.

They seemed impressive at first glance, but they were very uncomfortable postures for delivering power properly. They were postures not used in modern martial arts.

As Mu-Jin harbored doubts about such postures, the training had already moved on to the next stage.

"Now, I will teach you about the internal energy application of Small Hong Fist."

Again, following Hyu Jong's shout, the disciples began to assume the postures of Small Hong Fist, starting from the first form, and Hyu Jong walked around them, explaining the acupoints where internal energy should move.

Well, if he just pointed out the location of the acupoints, it wouldn't be a big problem. But...

"At this point, when the internal energy reaches the Kwanu (肩髃) acupoint, it should generate an 'Ongunhaju (應云何住),' not sticking anywhere, and move naturally..."

What worried Mu-Jin, was that the nonsensical talk he had feared began to appear.

"What nonsense is this?"

In a panic, Mu-Jin looked at Hyu Jong with a vacant expression.

At that moment, Beob Gang, who had been observing the postures of the beginner disciples around the training ground, approached him.

"What are you doing, Mu-Jin?"

Mu-Jin answered truthfully to Beob Gang's question. Admitting that you don't know something is not embarrassing, Mu-Jin thought. If you admit you don't know and correct it, you can move forward.

"I...I don't understand what Hyu Jong Saseung-nim's words mean."

"Hmm? The essence of Small Hong Fist is based on the Diamond Sutra. And haven't you all already learned the Diamond Sutra during the Buddhist scripture lessons?"

"Well, yes."

It wouldn't do to pretend to listen with one ear and let it go with the other. Seeing Mu-Jin making a puzzled expression without saying anything, Beob Gang smiled lightly.

Although he considered Mu-Jin good at everything and thought his character was well-rounded, Beob Gang found it cute that he still had childish weaknesses.

"This time, I'll explain. But from now on, you should do your best in studying the scriptures as well."

"I understand, Saseung."

"First, Ongunhaju refers to a question posed by Subodhi to the Buddha about how a practitioner who has made up his mind to enter enlightenment can maintain that determination. It can also be thought of as 'rectifying the mind.' However, it can also be understood as maintaining, enduring, or clinging. In other words, it means to let the energy stay at the Kwanu acupoint."

"Ah..."

"But to reach enlightenment, one must let go of attachment and accept the world as it is. Therefore, it is about not clinging. So, 'Ongwu Soju' means to let the energy flow freely without staying anywhere. In other words, it means to release the energy comfortably, letting it flow naturally from the Kwanu acupoint."

After explaining this far verbally, Beob Gang unfolded the first form of Small Hong Fist, which Mu-Jin had doubted, along with the explanation of the acupoints.

The first form of Small Hong Fist was a movement that could be seen in a wuxia film where the hero suddenly appears.

It was a posture of raising the arms to the chest and then unfolding them, striking with the back of the hand instead of the fist. It seemed graceful, but it was a posture that was difficult to deliver strong power, at least in a sensible way.

"As the energy stays at the Kwanu acupoint and is then released, it flows much stronger than usual. Rather than forcibly holding it, if you let it flow naturally, it will move naturally. Like this."

Boom!!

A powerful burst of energy erupted from Beob Gang's backhand.

Mu-Jin, who had observed the demonstration, took a stance like Beob Gang and slowly raised his energy.

"So, in the end, am I supposed to just raise the energy like a levitating fist, but then stop it at the Kwanu acupoint on the shoulder, as if breaking a dam?"

Mu-Jin, having organized his thoughts in his mind, operated the energy as if experimenting. First, he raised the energy to the Kwanu acupoint. Then, as he extended his arms, he let the energy flow, which resulted in a denser feeling of energy than when simply letting it flow.

However, perhaps due to it being his first attempt, he didn't produce the refreshing burst of energy that Beob Gang did.

Still, there was some progress. His doubts about the other forms of Small Hong Fist had somewhat dissipated.

"Even in uncomfortable postures, with internal energy, one can increase power!"

It seemed that besides simply sending out energy, there was also a skillful technique of stopping and then releasing it to enhance its power.

But even after reaching this conclusion, Mu-Jin still had questions.

"But, Beob Gang Saseung-nim, why use terms like Ongunhaju and Ongmu Soju when you could just say to stop the energy at the Kwanu acupoint and then release it explosively?"

It just confused people unnecessarily.

"That's because Small Hong Fist was created by the respected Grandmaster Gong Hwan based on the Diamond Sutra."

"Doesn't that mean it was created centuries ago? Why not explain the essence at that time?"

"Compared to the Seventy-two Arts of Shaolin, the essence of Small Hong Fist is very simple. While the power of the Seventy-two Arts is formidable, the internal energy techniques required for those arts are very complex, abstract, and obscure. Therefore, the ancestors expressed the usage of those complex and obscure energies based on the scriptures. It's nearly impossible to explain in simple language like Small Hong Fist."

As Mu-Jin suddenly wondered why the Seventy-two Arts of Shaolin came up, he soon grasped Beob Gang's intention.

"So, leaving Small Hong Fist's essence as it is is to give practitioners a warm-up exercise to understand the essence of higher-level martial arts?"

"That's correct. The Daoist sects, too, are known to express their martial arts based on their scriptures, similar to us."

"After listening to Beob Gang's explanation, Mu-Jin understood why there are so many nonsensical talks in martial arts novels when using martial arts.

When explaining something to someone, people tend to express what they know well. Especially with higher-level martial arts, the more complex the content, the more likely it seemed easier to be expressed based on abstract teachings or scriptures.

'Only to those who have enlightenment.'

For those who have attained enlightenment, they might think, 'Oh! This flow of energy fits perfectly with this passage!' But for learners, it was a story that might make them say, 'What nonsense is this?'

***

Two days had passed since Mu-Jin started practicing Small Hong Fist.

Thanks to two days of practice, he somewhat understood the essence of stopping and then letting the energy flow. However, he still couldn't produce a sound as refreshing as Beob Gang's demonstration.

Moreover, Beob Gang only explained the essence of the first form and didn't provide any further guidance.

Since the internal energy techniques for the remaining fourteen forms of Small Hong Fist were all derived from passages in the Diamond Sutra, Mu-Jin would have to interpret the meaning of those passages by himself.

"Ugh."

In the end, Mu-Jin, who was deeply concentrating, threw away the Diamond Sutra he had been reading.

This was not like him at all. Although Mu-Jin wasn't bad-tempered, he didn't like such nonsensical stories.

If the situation with beginner disciples practicing Small Hong Fist was like this, how could they decipher and understand the essence of higher-level martial arts?

Moreover, even if this was just an interpretation of the essence, executing the martial arts according to that essence was another issue altogether.

Even the first form, whose essence Beob Gang had explained, was not yet perfect. When would he master the rest?

As Mu-Jin pondered whether there was no other way, a strange thought came to his mind.

And preferring action over sitting idly, Mu-Jin got up and assumed the posture of the first form of Small Hong Fist.

"If I just use this movement as a demonstration, it might be a bit awkward."

Mu-Jin focused not only on operating the energy according to the essence but also on the movement of his muscles.

As he stopped the energy at the Kwanu acupoint, he concentrated his muscles from his shoulders to his fingertips as much as possible.

And when he released the tensed muscles simultaneously with extending his arms, he emitted a sound.

"Phew. I understand now why there's a need for technique."

It wasn't perfect, but it was a significant achievement.

***

"The morning before the next day's training, Mujin and the three arrived early at the training ground. 

'How much of the Small Hong Fist's basic form have each of you mastered?' 

'Not as much as the Sasuk group, but I can manage it.'

 'I, I've understood the stances and transitions, but it feels like there's a bit lacking in power.'"

"Hehehe. I can mimic the form, but I don't understand the essence."

Mu-Jin's inquiry was answered sequentially by Mu-Gyeong, Mu-Gung, and Mu-Yul.

"As expected."

As he anticipated, Mu-Gung and Mu-Gyeong were at a similar level to himself. And Mu-Yul was struggling with interpreting the essence.

"Hmm. Then let's have Mu-Yul observe first, and Mu-Gyeong and Mu-Gung, would you each demonstrate the first form slowly about five times?"

At Mu-Jin's words, Mu-Gung and Mu-Yul each demonstrated the first form smoothly in their own ways.

Although the postures were somewhat correct, the power seemed lacking, as if moving the energy according to the essence was awkward.

After scrutinizing their postures for a moment, Mu-Jin reached a conclusion.

"Okay. Here's the conclusion. Mu-Gung lacks flexibility, so we need to increase the time for stretching exercises, and Mu-Gyeong lacks core strength and arm strength. We'll need to double the weight of the sandbags."

This was the conclusion he drew.

"...Why is the stretching time suddenly increasing instead of mastering the essence?"

"Mu-Mu-Jin Saseung? Why, why are we doubling the weight of the sandbags?"

The two of them still couldn't understand Mu-Jin's way of thinking.

Looking at them with a bewildered expression, Mu-Jin replied with a tongue click.

"Tsk tsk. Do you think just interpreting the essence will increase the power? Everyone has different body shapes and constitutions."

This was something Mu-Jin realized as he practiced Small Hong Fist with external exercises last night.

More precisely, it could be seen that he had realized that the fact he already knew applied to martial arts as well.

Think about modern combat sports. It's simple.

When a martial artist tackles someone, some may use sophisticated techniques to take them down, while others may simply rush in with brute strength and flexibility.

Both approaches have different processes, but ultimately, they create enough force to take down their opponent.

Even in the posture of taking down someone, there are differences in posture depending on whether someone has long arms or legs or whether they have strong arm or core strength.

Each had subtle differences in posture according to their own physique.

So, in modern combat sports, professional fighters find their own posture through countless training sessions and develop strength and flexibility through strength training or stretching.

And that was the same story in martial arts. The only difference was...

"Why do you think there are techniques for handling internal energy, essence, or energy flow in martial arts?"

"Well... Isn't it to generate tremendous power or speed that can't be achieved without internal energy?"

"That's right."

The point was that what is overcome through physical training in modern sports is overcome through internal energy in the martial arts world.

"But there's one problem here too. Just sending out energy won't produce proper power in an uncomfortable posture where power transmission is difficult."

"So, that's why we interpret the essence and create the flow of energy according to the essence?"

Mu-Gung responded with a puzzled expression to Mu-Jin's explanation. But ironically, that was exactly the counterargument Mu-Jin wanted.

"Yeah. Small Hong Fist teaches internal energy techniques that can overcome such discomfort and generate power. But think about it. Do all people feel the same discomfort in the same posture?"