Chapter 5 - 005: Balcony Martial Artist
"Practice the pile skill by starting with stance training, and stance training begins with hip opening."
The night breeze was slightly chilly as Wang Longhu stood on the balcony of his little house, consulting the martial arts encyclopedia he found on his phone.
The words that the white-haired elder told him in the morning had been etched in Wang Longhu’s mind. Through some online research, he now had a slight understanding of its principles.
The Three-Body Pose has effects of fitness, mental training, and enhancing body strength. It is said that when practiced to a profound level, it also has the effect of refining essence into energy.
If you are only exercising for fitness, like those elderly men and women Wang Longhu saw in the morning, there’s no need to concern yourself with stance training and hip opening.
But if you wish to advance and learn Xingyi Boxing, stance training and hip opening are indispensable steps.
Stance training targets the strength and balance of the waist, legs, and feet, essentially training the lower body. As they say, ’The force of your punch depends on the stability of your stance.’ The stance is also the foundation of any martial artist.
Hip opening, on the other hand, is tremendously beneficial for enhancing skills. The hips connect the body and the spine and are known as the ’force of the dragon and tiger,’ serving as the core area for internal boxing energy release, which is extremely important.
Those proficient in hip opening can punch as if they’re sitting on a bench; their hip flexors shake and release with a sound like a burst, making leg kicks resonate with a unique noise of tendons and bones.
"Hmm, this is interesting," Wang Longhu nodded in appreciation.
Stance training aims at strengthening the lower body, and in the prisoner workout I’m currently doing, squats, vertical leg lifts, and backbends also serve the same purpose.