Muscle Stretching Technique

"Evening, after all the activities following the training session that took place during Ossi (11 am to 1 pm)."

In the front yard of the dormitory assigned to the young monks, Mu Yul tilted his head and spoke.

"Mu-Jin, what are you doing?"

"Hoo."

Mu-Jin, who had been repeating something for a while, took a break to catch his breath and stood up to answer Mu Yul's question.

"I'm practicing to defeat Mu Gung in one move."

"Defeat Senior Mu Gung?"

"Yeah."

"Huh? Senior Mu Gung's punches make a swooshing sound, and he's at least a chuk (about 30 cm) taller than us."

"Hey, he's not a whole chuk taller. Let's see... A chi is 3 cm, so he's about seven chi taller."

Confused by Mu-Jin's use of unfamiliar measurements, Mu Yul asked again.

"Huh? Senior Mu Gung is seven chi taller and his punches make a swooshing sound?"

"Tsk tsk, Mu Yul. Winning a fight isn't just about being bigger."

"Gasp. It's a fight? I thought it was a sparring match?"

"No, it's just a way of speaking."

Mu-Jin sighed lightly at Mu Yul's naive response.

'I can't say anything in front of this kid.'

There was nothing wrong with what the adults said about being careful with words in front of children.

"Anyway, what I'm saying is that in a sparring match, you don't win just because you're bigger. So even if someone bigger than you comes at you, don't be scared. Got it?"

Leaving Mu Yul with a life lesson, Mu-Jin resumed his previous movements.

'Hoo. I need to practice since it's been a while.'

Although he had been focused on building and maintaining his body for the past ten years, he had undeniably served in a special forces unit for seven years. Well, the last two years were spent recovering from injuries, but still.

During the five years before his injury, he had practiced and experienced real combat techniques extensively.

Most real combat techniques, if executed poorly, could result in serious injury or death.

The reason he was practicing so diligently now was not to beat Mu Gung, but to subdue him without causing harm.

It had been over ten years since he last used these skills, and his current body was not his original strongest form, but still unfamiliar as Mu-Jin's body.

Mu-Jin had determined that if he didn't practice to some extent, it would be dangerous in many ways.

While Mu-Jin was deeply engrossed in his training to subdue Mu Gung without harming him,

"Mu-Jin, are you an idiot?"

Mu Yul tilted his head again.

"You need to beat Senior Mu Gung, so why are you rubbing yourself against a tree?"

From Mu Yul's perspective, Mu-Jin's training was too profound to understand.

After honing his techniques for the sparring match with Mu Gung during free time, it was bedtime.

"Hey, if you just go to sleep like that, you'll get sick."

As Mu Yul lay down on his blanket, Mu-Jin quickly took it away.

"Why would I get sick from sleeping and resting?"

Mu Yul asked with an innocent face, and Mu-Jin clicked his tongue and explained.

"Your muscles have been overworked since dawn. If you don't relax those tense and tired muscles, they will harden in a contracted state."

"???"

"You don't understand, do you?"

"Yep! Hehe."

"If you don't know, just do as your hyung tells you. Everything he says is for your own good."

"Aww. So I'm sentenced to death?"

Ignoring Mu Yul's whining, Mu-Jin instructed him to sit cross-legged, placing his right arm over his left knee and stretching his left arm straight across to the right, stretching the obliques located around the side of the torso, connecting the pelvis and ribcage.

"How's that? Feels refreshing?"

"Huh? Refreshing? Does this create a cool sensation in the body?"

"No... it's more like relieving the discomfort in your muscles."

"Oh! Yeah!! It feels really comfortable!"

Seeing Mu Yul's straightforward understanding, Mu-Jin chuckled.

From then on, Mu-Jin demonstrated various stretching exercises, loosening up his own body and teaching Mu Yul some stretching moves as well.

"He's an interesting one. Seems dumb in the head, but quick to catch on with physical movements."

Mu-Jin marveled inwardly at Mu Yul's quickness in picking up the stretches.

---

The next morning, Mu-Jin, who rose early as usual for morning training, shook Mu Yul awake, still in bed.

"Huh, huh? Why are you up so early?"

It wasn't yet time for the morning bell to ring for morning training.

"You should stretch even before exercise."

He had only overslept due to being engrossed in a novel suddenly last night. Mu-Jin was a man known for his workaholic lifestyle.

He forcibly woke the drowsy Mu Yul and began stretching his body just like the previous night.

"But what's with this stretching you've been talking about since yesterday?"

Yawning, Mu Yul, who was stretching alongside Mu-Jin, asked, and Mu-Jin shook his head momentarily.

"Well, I can't use English in a world of martial arts novels."

He was sure people around him would find it strange if he kept using it.

"It means 'muscle extension technique'. Now I'll call it that from now on. Do you get what 'muscle extension technique' means?"

"Yeah! It means stretching the muscles."

"Good. If you understand it, then it's a useful word for you."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It was just me talking to myself, so don't mind."

"Hehe. Mu-Jin seems to like talking to himself."

As Mu-Jin and Mu Yul finished their stretching, the morning bell rang throughout the temple, signaling the time for morning practice.

They prepared themselves and headed towards the training grounds.

Once again, Hyu Jong, who appeared frighteningly as they arrived at the training grounds, glanced briefly at Mu-Jin before turning away.

Seeing Mu-Jin show signs of remorse yesterday, Hyu Jong thought, 'He's participating in training today. But since he's already decided to compete in the sparring, what's the point of this?' Tormenting a repentant child didn't fit with the kind-hearted nature of Shaolin. But Hyu Jong's worry was truly unnecessary because Mu-Jin had hardly any thoughts of repentance. 

"Start the horse stance!"

With Hyu Jong's shout, other junior monks began to torture their own knees once again.

"Mm."

Mu-Jin, in a posture completely unrelated to the horse stance, focused on regulating his breath.

"I strained my lower body yesterday, so I can't do that again today. Damn."

Modern exercise science is based on the theory of supercompensation. It suggests that when the body is injured, during the recovery process, the injured area becomes stronger. And the crucial point here is 'recovery.' Forcing injuries on muscles that cannot recover or continuously accumulating injuries without allowing for recovery isn't exercise but self-torture.

But you can't just rest for a day or two after exercising for recovery. Hence, the creation of a weekly routine.

If one day is spent on working one part of the body, during the recovery period for that part, another part, like arms, chest, or back, is worked on instead. And when the legs recover during the period of working another part, the legs are exercised again. Through such a systematic routine, each part rests alternately, creating a beautiful schedule without rest days for exercise.

Today, Mu-Jin, who strained his lower body yesterday, chose the chest and back as today's focus.

Mu-Jin stretched out his arms on the ground with both hands and lay down.

"Mm."

Taking a deep breath, Mu-Jin focused on the movement of his pectoral muscles and scapulae as he slowly bent his arms.

"Huh."

Exhaling, he extended his arms again, lifting his upper body.

This movement, commonly known as push-ups, was performed by Mu-Jin in a posture that could be called exemplary, given his ten years of experience as a trainer.

'This, this, this guy dares to!?' 

Veins popped on Hyu Jong's forehead as she watched Mu-Jin, who had been closely observing the horse stance of the junior monks.

'Wasn't the display from yesterday an act of contempt towards me?'

One of the greatest teachings of Buddhism was mercy, so when she saw Mu-Jin actively participating in the training, Hyu Jong's heart softened slightly. 

'Is today even more extreme than yesterday!?' 

At least yesterday, he did horse stances and other demanding leg exercises. Why was he here alone doing push-ups today?

This action was nothing short of that little brat Mu-Jin mocking him.

"Namu... Badeuk... Amitabul."

Naturally, the chanting from Hyu Jong was louder and more intense than yesterday, but...

"Mm."

"Huh."

Mu-Jin, busy focusing on his muscles, didn't even pay attention.

***

During the morning training, after giving his all to torment his chest and back muscles, Mu-Jin was eagerly awaiting breakfast time.

"Please give me a bit more beans and mushrooms!"

The monks' plates were already filled with beans and mushrooms. Mu-Jin, who had already filled his bowl to the brim with beans and mushrooms, shouted as if unsatisfied.

"Oh! The unruly disciple is picky with food!"

Even the senior disciple, who was eating, shouted sternly, knowing Mu-Jin's notoriety.

"After all, won't all the other kids avoid beans and mushrooms? Isn't leaving food that farmers and herbalists worked hard to grow truly wrong? By eating up the remaining beans and mushrooms, I will show the Buddha's mercy."

"..."

Now, the innocent senior disciple, who appeared to be in his mid to late twenties and had hardly experienced proper social life due to more than ten years of training, couldn't say anything against Mu-Jin's words.

After briefly teasing the senior disciple, Mu-Jin created a mountain with beans and mushrooms overflowing from his bowl and approached Mu-Jin's side.

"Here. Have some too."

"Huh. Why should I?"

And he even showed mercy by giving some of the beans and mushrooms he had prepared to Mu-Jin.

The basis of exercise science lay in supercompensation, meaning that to recover lost parts of the body, one had to consume the necessary nutrients for that part. In other words, it meant consuming plenty of protein. And in this damn Shaolin Temple, there was not even meat, let alone protein supplements. So, to get enough protein, he had to force himself to eat beans and mushrooms, at the very least.

Of course, among the naive junior monks who had no knowledge of such scientific facts, there were children who, like children, avoided beans and mushrooms. Mu-Jin was one of them.

"Do you remember the muscle stretching I taught you since yesterday?"

"Yeah."

"Doesn't it feel much better in your body when you do that?"

"Yeah."

"It's the same thing. Just trust me and eat for now."

"Huh..."

Momentarily pondering Mu-Jin's coercion, Mu-Jin reluctantly started eating the beans and mushrooms Mu-Jin handed over with a defeated face.

'This brat. He'll probably feel grateful later and even bow to me.'

Mu-Jin, who was looking at his nephew's cute appearance, also began to chew and swallow the abundance of beans and mushrooms in his bowl.

The simple and ignorant training methods of Shaolin Temple, which he refused, were too harsh for children.

In modern times, it would have been sensationalized as child abuse in the news.

Although he wanted to personally guide the exercises, since he was still not recognized, at least he wanted to take care of stretching and eating. Then why wasn't he taking care of the other junior monks?

'Why should I take care of these brats who have no manners?'

Among the dozens of junior monks who could be considered peers, the only one who didn't laugh at Mu-Jin was Mu-Jin.

For goodwill, there's goodwill. For malice, there's even greater malice.

That was Mu-Jin's creed, having gone through all sorts of trials and tribulations.

***

During the morning training, he exercised his muscles, recalled the principles of supercompensation during the morning training, trained his body directly with the principles of supercompensation during the evening voluntary time.

During meal times, he forcibly ate beans and mushrooms like rice to recover his body, and whenever he had spare time, he did stretching exercises. Time passed swiftly, like a bolt of lightning, in these seven days and nights.

And finally, today.

The day of the sparring with Mu Gung had dawned.