Tang Zichen instructed Wang Chao as he practiced the techniques "Groin Strike" and "Monkey Steals the Peach." She nodded approvingly, "Not bad; your stance is correct, and you've adjusted your force and center of gravity well. You've got potential. Now, let me formally teach you a form to build endurance."
Tang Zichen then traced a straight line on the ground with her foot, instructing Wang Chao to stand with one foot on each side of it. This line split his body into two halves. After he stood in place, Tang Zichen had him position one hand beneath his ribs and extend the other straight out, so that he seemed to be holding a spear or perhaps a bayonet.
"This line represents the center. The body's centerline is the spine. The spine's top is at the back of the head, and its base is the tailbone. Any martial art that doesn't involve training the spine is hollow."
She continued, "Listen carefully; what I'm about to teach you is the foundation of all martial arts, the root of traditional techniques. Without this understanding, you'll only ever be scratching the surface."
Wang Chao noticed Tang Zichen's solemn demeanor, and he immediately perked up, listening intently, fearful of missing a single word.
"When we talk about martial arts, a key word is 'qi' (energy). But this qi isn't simply the air we breathe or any form of atmospheric air."
"When you move, your body heats up; if this heat intensifies, you sweat. This heat is qi. Refining the essence into qi is essentially this heat generated through movement."
"But the body has countless pores. When you heat up, qi dissipates through these pores."
"That's qi!" Wang Chao's eyes shone with sudden comprehension. "When it dissipates intensely, it leads to sweat."
"Exactly." Tang Zichen nodded approvingly. "The body's pores are like the holes in a bamboo sieve; no matter how much water you try to hold, it leaks out. Similarly, no matter how intense the movement, qi will eventually escape through the pores."
"To retain this qi during movement, without allowing it to escape—that is the foundational and profound secret of traditional martial arts. This is also a Taoist principle for health."
"Qi disperses through the pores. To conserve qi, one must close the pores at the crucial moment."
"How can we close all the pores?" Wang Chao asked eagerly.
"Have you ever seen an animal when it's angry, like a cat or a dog? When they're furious, their fur stands on end like a porcupine's spikes. This is closing the pores. Humans are similar—when we feel a chill, we get goosebumps and the hair stands up. This reaction also closes the pores."
Tang Zichen loosened a ribbon from her hair, letting it fall freely as she assumed a stance. "Now, watch how I truly exert my strength."
Behind her stood a white ash tree, about the thickness of a person's arm. Wang Chao saw her twist her body and, with a sharp slap of her palm, strike the trunk. Her hair bristled upward as if charged, and then fell back down. At that instant, with a cracking sound, the tree split cleanly in two and flew off from the point of impact.
Tang Zichen then stepped lightly on the smooth concrete floor, and it cracked underfoot as though pressed by a hydraulic machine.
Wang Chao could only utter, "Whoa…" and quickly swallowed the rest of his exclamation.
Tang Zichen laughed, "That's inner power, also known as internal strength. You're still a long way off. Back in the day, masters of Xingyi (Form-Intention Fist) could step softly yet shatter tiles with their foot—internal power works silently and with great precision."
She then held out her hand to him, and Wang Chao saw that it was wet with sweat.
"All my sweat comes out through the palms," she said, noticing his surprise.
"Sister Chen, you barely moved, so how did you sweat so much?" Wang Chao asked, noticing something strange.
"Silly boy," she replied, "striking isn't just physical; you also need to stir the mind. When you're tense, heat rises, and you sweat even more than during vigorous exercise."
Tang Zichen continued, "There's a saying in martial arts: 'Facing the enemy, it's as if you're burning.' When you get tense, your entire body will start to sweat. But if the sweat comes from the whole body, it disperses without effect. That's why Cheng Tinghua taught that you need to focus tension in the hands during a fight—like a high-pressure hose, you let the sweat flow out only through the hands."
"Making only the hands sweat," she continued, "is what unifies qi with strength. 'Intent and qi align; qi and strength unify.'"
"Now," she said, positioning Wang Chao, "the stance I'm showing you helps you control the pores of your entire body. This is a posture that builds endurance and true skill."
"I previously taught you the horse stance to strengthen your legs and lower body. Today, I'm teaching you a stance that uses the spine to control the body's pores. Pay attention and feel my hand's pressure on each spot."
Tang Zichen placed her hand at the back of his head and slowly pressed down along his spine, vertebra by vertebra. Each inch she pressed, he felt his spine straighten, causing his entire body to warm and lightly sweat.
Finally, she pressed down on his tailbone, and he felt his center of gravity sink all the way to the base of his spine. In an instant, his entire body reacted as if startled—hair standing on end and goosebumps rising as if he'd been doused in cold water.
"Feel each vertebra, from head to body to tail—three as one. This stance is called the Three-Body Posture. For animals, the tail stabilizes them, letting them control their body. In humans, our tails have atrophied, so we're not as nimble."
"Where the horse stance brings out an imaginary horse, the Three-Body Posture brings out an imaginary tail."
"Achieving this posture means sinking your center of gravity to your tailbone, as if a cat's tail was suddenly stepped on, making its fur stand on end. Without this sensation, a hundred years of training would be worthless."
He described his sensations to Tang Zichen, who nodded in agreement. "Exactly. It's like taking a hot bath. When you soak in hot water, the pores open, letting qi seep out. That's why a prolonged bath can make you feel light-headed. But when you step out and feel a sudden cold, your pores shut tight, preserving the body's qi."
"That's the principle: Refining the essence to produce qi is like taking a bath, but preserving qi means stepping out into the cold."
"The spine is the body's central line. By moving the spine, you engage the whole body. Your task is to reach a state between sweating and not sweating, then sink your center to the tailbone. It's like acupuncture, except acupuncture uses needles, and the Three-Body Posture uses the weight of the entire body."
"True experts can train without sweating and only sweat at the instant of a strike."
Tang Zichen then handed him a heavy metal card, "I've explained the Three-Body Posture thoroughly, and I've guided your spine alignment. Now, practice on your own. When you're on break, come find me at Building 18 by Tianxing Lake in the provincial capital."
"You'll need this to enter," she said, handing him the card. "The code is **********. If you can't master this, throw the card away and don't come looking for me."
"Sister Chen, how will I know if I've succeeded?" Wang Chao asked eagerly.
"When the temples on your head start to bulge, that's your sign," she replied sternly.