The White Crane

Wuxian greeted examiner Ding with a martial salute.

Ding returned the gesture.

"I'll give you fifteen minutes to prepare yourself. Warm up, practise forms, whatever you need to do. During the examination, there is a real risk of injury, so go all out. The examination consists of two parts; first is the unarmed spar, second is the weapon spar." He said whilst loosening his joints.

"How does scoring work?" Wuxian asked.

Ding rotated his hips. "I'll tell you afterwards."

Wuxian nodded and stood back, doing his basic warm ups. The strength test had already helped activate his muscles, so he quickly moved onto stretching.

Sihai Wuxian, Mian Ji and Xiao Chong all practised the White Crane System of kung fu.

Also known as Calling Crane or Whooping Crane, it was an animal style developed by a female grandmaster, mimicking the movements of a crane.

Its forms contained a lot of movements that could be deemed strange- like using the arms to symbolise a pair of wings, flapping and fluttering- unusual actions to do in a fight.

The form was a "soft" form, where the practitioner would rely on a strong centre of gravity to put power behind their attacks and the elasticity of the body to attack swiftly from unexpected angles.

It focused substantially on controlling the opponent, using "hard" moves to attack and "soft" moves to defend, putting the aggressor off-balance. 

It also had a strong psychological component. The practitioner was to fan their fingers out like the individual feathers of a crane's wing. Each movement would brush the sleeves or smack the arms, emulating the sounds produced by the flapping of a pair of wings, sometimes graceful and sometimes sharp like a thunder strike.

Like Taiji, one could lean more into a 'Yang'-'hard' style or an 'yin'-'soft' style. 

In the yang style, the user would become unpredictable through the tensing of the muscles, resulting in the trembling of the arms, creating a skittish appearance.

This would make it difficult for the opponent to react to an attack, as the practitioner's tell would be harder to read. The idea was to create a buffer of time for the practitioner's attacks to land before the opponent could react.

The yin style would create unpredictability through a constant shifting of the body, but not the legs, which were required to maintain a strong core. It appeared less skittish than the yang style.

Its idle movements could be described as 'round', with the centre of gravity rotating a circular axis.

The two had one thing in common, however.

Both attacked abruptly, capable of attacking and defending at the same time.

Both also utilised softer attacks- rather than a solid punch with the full force of the body behind it. The styles preferred softening the arms and using them like whips to deliver quick blows upon the target.

The White Crane system also favoured disorienting opponents, often targeting sensitive spots like the eyes and ears.

Combined with the sharp sounds created by its movements, attacks were a mixture of physical and psychological. 

Most importantly, however, was the controlling aspect. 

When attacking, both hands would spread outwards and then inwards to mimic the bellowing of wings, fan forward and push the opponent around the head with one hand. 

When defending, the user would become soft and allow an opponent's attack to follow through.

They would need to be able to judge the amount of incoming power and to be able to allow it to pass by to the side or behind as the practitioner moved forwards, placing themselves in an advantageous position behind the opponent, recently off-balance.

This could be likened to charging full-force into a door, only for it to be unlocked, causing one to tumble forwards. Except this door was your opponent, and now they were behind you, poised to strike.

The major drawback to the style, however, was also one of its primary strengths. As it had originally been designed to close the gap against larger and stronger opponents, it relied on drawing power from a steady stance on the ground.

This meant the system was highly immobile and could not kick effectively without risking off-balancing the user rather than the opponent.

However for its original purpose, self defence, this was not a drawback, since the defender would not be chasing. That was the role of the aggressor.

The White Crane Style also had weapon forms. Wuxian had learnt the spear form, but there were also the staff forms, the sword forms and the emei dagger forms.

In truth, it would have likely been better for Wuxian and the others to practise a different style of kung fu, but the issue was that the only master residing in or near Xi county was a White Crane practitioner.

They did not go out of their way to find masters of other styles either since they already had their own busy lives to go about with.

And most importantly, Wuxian had never been in a real physical fight. His stature had always been intimidating enough that nobody would pick a fight with him.

"I am ready." Wuxian said.

Examiner Ding nodded. 

"Please." He saluted.

"Please." Wuxian responded.

He made a crane-like movement, his trembling arms forming a clenched fist and a flat open palm.

The two stood three metres apart and Wuxian already encountered his first problem.

How would he close the gap?

He had only learnt White Crane for self-defence and the style itself heavily favoured defence too.

Unlike other systems where movement was heavily baked into their attack, White Crane's movement mimicked the measured steps of an actual crane, with lots of time spent on a single leg.

Ample time for the opponent to exploit.

After a moment of hesitation, Wuxian decided to slowly shuffle forward. As he did this, his core weakened naturally, but this was the trade-off required to allow below-the-waist movement.

His hesitation was sensed by the examiner who immediately pounced forward. After their initial salute, Ding had taken what appeared to be a defensive posture, yet he was able to instantly switch into an aggressive stance and launch an offensive.

It appeared that Wuxian had weakened his own position in order to move, only to serve himself into the attacking range of the examiner.

The examiner's sudden attack caught Wuxian off-guard and his mind turned blank.

He subconsciously executed the White Crane counterattacking form, his feet finding a stable position, his body transferring power from his core to his arms, which subsequently slashed out like razors.

Unfortunately, mere forms without proper application held no substance. Wuxian's palms clapped together right above examiner Ding's head, creating a cacophonous crashing sound. 

Wuxian had mistakenly used a counterattacking move to attack, exposing his underside to the opponent. Luckily for him, the nature of the style allowed for the almost-instantaneous withdrawal of his outstretched limbs.

Examiner Ding surged forward, executing a fist-palm push, the palm directed upwards, the first towards Wuxian's core.

With his arms withdrawn, Wuxian was able to defend- barely.

As he blocked the strike, he realised how difficult it was to apply theory to practice.

Clearly, an adept practitioner of White Crane would not have blocked, but have executed a counterattack to intercept the incoming blow instead.

And even then, if they did not counterattack, they should have woven past the attack to reposition instead.

Yet Wuxian blocked. If not for his own large stature, he would have been put into a significantly more passive position.

His attack having failed, examiner Ding had successfully ascertained Wuxian's experience and level of skill.

Knowing that Wuxian was a rookie, he took the initiative to withdraw into a defensive stance once again, creating an additional one metre of distance.

Once again, Wuxian was faced with the same problem as before. But worse. The previous exchange had shown that his opponent was of a higher skill level and that Ding was able to control the tempo of the battle, holding the initiative to attack and retreat.

Wuxian's self-confidence was shaken and he was being controlled by his opponent.

This was not a physical control, but psychological.

Ding had created a mental blockade around Wuxian, where every move the latter attempted to make, the former would be able to take advantage of the situation and come out of the exchange on top.

Both sides taking a defensive stance, Wuxian contemplated.

'What was the reason for my previous loss?'

'First, I made the mistake of moving into the examiner's range of attack.'

'Second, I failed to properly evaluate the trajectory of the incoming attack and ended up missing my strike.'

'Third, I responded to the attack poorly. I chose a method that would not reverse the situation and allowed the examiner to remain in a dominant position.'

'How can I improve?'

With these things in mind, Wuxian pushed forward again. This time, with the benefit of the knowledge gained from the previous exchange, he knew examiner Ding's range of attack.

'For him to launch a surprise attack again like last time, I would have to step into a range of 1.5 metres.'

Wuxian stopped at the 1.7 metre boundary and began to slowly circle the examiner.

This time, he was no longer worried about having a weak core during movement. This was because with the distance between himself and the examiner, he could root himself properly and have time to spare once Ding attacked or changed stances.

He registered a momentary flash of surprise in the examiner's eyes. But the examiner did not let up, shifting positions to match Wuxian's prowling movements.

A peculiar stalemate ensued.

Wuxian, a lad of 2 metres tall moved with a measured gait, like a crane. He circled Ding, who had his arms raised and his centre of gravity low, almost like a bull with its head low, ready to charge.

Suddenly, mid-step, Wuxian's entire body seemed to shudder.

He made a strange abrupt movement, almost like he was changing to an offensive stance, about to attack.

This was how Ding interpreted it, at least, deciding to step forward and bring Wuxian into his range.

In a split second, Wuxian planted his body staunchly into the ground, instantly creating a powerful base from which he could drive power out of with his arms.

And there was something Ding had overlooked. Wuxian was much bigger than him. So his range of attack was also larger.

As Ding had changed stances and was about to engage, Wuxian's attack had already arrived. His arms were like whips, slicing through the air with a crack. 

Still, Ding was an expert. He judged this attack to be the same as the previous one and ducked slightly, despite having to compromise his own position to do so.

Usually, he would have blocked to retain his position and then continued to move forward and bring his opponent within range, but given Wuxian's large stature, the power he had gathered behind his attack and the sound created by his arms, Ding was not confident he could maintain himself unscathed.

He was now in an awkward half-kneeling half-crouching position. 

Wuxian capitalised upon this, redirecting his arms downwards. His feather-fanned fingers crashed against Ding's ears, causing the examiner's head to ring.

Wuxian then struck out with his left hand, causing Ding's head to roll back slightly. Followed closely by his right hand, which struck the man's Adam's apple.

The blow followed through into the ground, pinning examiner Ding against the floor.

Ding instantly rolled back, slapping the mat with his hand.

"I yield!" He exclaimed, turning over and retching.

This was the essence of the White Crane Style. To act enigmatically and to disable the foe.

After all, the best form of controlling was to directly put the opponent out of commission.

All of the excess movements were designed to confuse the enemy and lower their guard, to allow the decisive strike to sail through and decide the victor right then and there.

Wuxian hurriedly came over to help Ding up, patting him on the back.

"I'm sorry examiner, I didn't mean to hit you that hard." 

His apology mistakenly came out like a backhanded comment or sarcastic remark, but Ding wasn't offended.

After a few minutes, Ding was mostly recovered. There was still pain, but he was no longer dizzy or dry heaving.

He looked at Wuxian's bashful appearance, feeling a sense of incongruence.

"The combination of your size and that form is the strangest thing I've seen all day." He remarked.

Before Wuxian could respond, he continued.

"Anyway, for part one, you score full marks. Congratulations."

Wuxian was dazed for a moment, slowly coming back to his senses.

"Excuse me? Did you say full marks?"

"Yes. You performed terribly in our first bout. Had I not withdrawn to give you a second chance, you would have lost then and there, but our second bout was outstanding.

You instantly recognised your flaws and my limitations and exploited them for a decisive victory.

The unarmed test is not to see how expertly you can fight, nor is it to see how well you've perfected your forms. It is a test to see how you adapt and how you improve on the go."

Examiner Ding rubbed his throat before continuing.

"On the battlefield, things change quickly. In the chaos of things, it is easy to lose a grip on the situation, easy to lose a hold of your weapon also.

We are testing to see whether you can adapt while pressure. In fact, to score well on this test, you did not even have to defeat me. As long as you take the initiative to change your approach to the battle or to try something new out, even if unsuccessful, it would be deemed 'good'."

Wuxian nodded in response. It seemed fairly logical.

"And listen to this closely, boy. In war, repeating the same mistake over and over will spell the loss of innumerable men and supplies.

If someday you make it to a higher commanding position, responsible for the lives of others, you must be able to fight like you did today, with your men as an extension of your body.

Constantly changing, always unreadable. When you strike, be hard and fast. When you retreat, be shapeless like a phantom."

Wuxian gave a full bow and saluted.

"Thank you for the lesson."

"You deserve it. Well done."

The two spent a moment catching their breaths. Despite only fighting two bouts, they were thoroughly exhausted. The mental battle had been equally as exhausting, if not more exhausting than the physical battle. 

Wuxian felt the consequences. His legs were soft like tofu and his mind felt lethargic.

But he powered on, knowing there was still the second half of the martial prowess test left and an entire scholastic examination to follow.

"Are you proficient in any weapons?" Asked examiner Ding.

Wuxian nodded. "The Qiang spear."

"What length?" 

"Three metres."

"There's a spear rack over there. Take your pick."

Wuxian followed Ding's directions. By the edge of the chamber, there were several racks of weapons, ranging from the ordinary Ji halberd to the exotic wind and fire wheels.

There were five spears available, ranging from 2.5 metres long all the way up to 5 metres.

Wuxian casually took a 3 metre long spear, testing its weight, rigidity and balance.

Finding nothing wrong with it, he returned to the mat where examiner Ding stood.

At some point in time, Ding had procured a sword and shield.

Wuxian took a good look at Ding's weapon configuration.

'It suits him well. The sword requires finesse and expertise to manoeuvre, while the shield allows for the rapid switching of offence to defence and vice versa.'

It would be good to note that these were mock weapons, with dulled tips and blunt edges.

Both sides gave martial salutes and engaged.

Wuxian attempted at all times to keep Ding at an arm's reach, controlling the zone using his own long reach.

His already long arms paired with the king of weapons, the spear, gave him the ability to instantly exploit any opening as soon as they occurred.

Ding's shield was made of leather. It was a modest size, unable to fully shelter his body from Wuxian's possible attacks.

Wuxian made a few probing strikes, all soundly blocked by the shield. He then fainted into a sweeping attack.

Ding expertly read the faint, placing his boot onto the spear, attempting to leverage it out of Wuxian's control.

Much to his surprise, Wuxian did not try to pry the spear out of his grip but used it as forward leverage instead.

Wuxian pushed forward, shoulder bashing Ding's raised shield.

The examiner was knocked off balance and the spear was returned to Wuxian's control.

Wuxian shifted his grip of the spear, both hands moving to the spear tip half of the shaft.

He twisted his body to generate momentum, causing the blunt end of the spear to bash Ding's lower left calf.

To Ding's credit, he appeared to be unfazed by the hit, merely retracting his leg into his area of control and pushing forward with his shield raised.

Wuxian steadied himself, creating a strong centre of power before stabbing forwards rapidly from multiple angles. 

Ding deflected most of the strikes and shifted to avoid the others. Finally, Wuxian was within his reach.

As Wuxian turned over into an overhead spear strike, Ding had preemptively raised the shield above his shoulder, easily blocking the blow. He struck out with his sword at the same time, gently tapping Wuxian on the head with the flat side of the blade.

As Wuxian fell onto his bottom, gasping for breath, Ding passed him a flask of water.

"No need to fret. You've done well in the weapons test."

Wuxian chugged the flask, returning it to the examiner.

"What was the scoring criteria?"

"Well, the main marks are awarded for the first part of the test. The weapon spar is just to see whether you can handle a weapon if it's your first time and how quickly you can adapt to it, or how well you handle a weapon if you're previously trained.

It can be treated as a second chance for those who do not perform well in part one."

Wuxian nodded slowly, rising to his feet.

"Thank you for the spars. I have learnt much and am greatly indebted to you."

"No need, no need. I look forward to your future career in the army."

Both sides saluted with a half-bow.

"By the way." Ding scratched his head.

"Hm?"

"With a range advantage like that, there is no need to use risky moves like sweeps and wide strikes."

Wuxian frowned in contemplation. "But White Crane Style emphasises taking the initiative to rapidly defeat the foe."

Ding shrugged. "Think about it this way- ignoring everything about your style. With your reach, against an opponent like me who has a short range, you automatically gain the initiative in a fight.

This means that it is you who decides the pace of the battle. Now consider this, for you to attack me, you merely need to jab here and there without much risk.

The energy I expend predicting your strikes and attempting to read your moves is much more than the energy expended on your part."

"In this mental battle, you most certainly have the advantage.

It is easy for you to tell when I want to attack, since I will first need to bring you into my reach, whereas for you, you merely need to step forward once or twice. When I do go on the offensive, I still need to focus heavily on defence."

"By executing sweeps and flashy moves like that, you not only put yourself at risk, but you waste your advantages.

The recovery moves from a sweep are few and predictable- hence that is the best opportunity for me to attack."

Wuxian nodded, stroking his chin in thought.

"And finally, consider this.

We are in a stalemate situation, where you are constantly executing stabs and jabs, while I am fully defending, waiting for an opportunity. If I take the initiative to rush forward, I expose myself to the full range of your attacks- it will be harder for me to defend.

If you were to merely continue holding the range advantage, probing here and there, I will eventually make a mistake and create an opening."

"Your sweeps and swings are most threatening when they go unused. Though they are capable of ending the fight instantly, your opponents will always be on guard for such a scenario, hence why it is better to keep them as a real threat- a sort of ever-looming possibility."

Wuxian's eyes widened in realisation.

"Examiner Ding is full of wisdom, please accept my bow."

Ding accepted the bow. "It is my pleasure to guide the younger generation."