Chapter 73 - 71: Tiger Hugging Head, Internal and External
"What three years, ten years?" Liu Yuanbo didn’t understand Wu Li’s meaning at once.
Wu Li held back a smile, "It means that you might only be able to strike once every three years or ten years."
"Ah..." Liu Yuanbo finally understood what Wu Li was saying and asked uncertainly, "Is it really that exaggerated?"
Wu Li nodded, "The law strikes the law, one strike is illegal, and for many beginners, this is no joke."
"Internal Fist is somewhat better, as it also requires some hard work and talent to produce effects, while External Fist is easy to learn with fast progress initially. Once the true teachings of combat are acquired, injuring someone is just a matter of one strike. For instance, the Baji Fist, well-known for its ferocity, has many techniques that can’t be used in the ring because they make enemies too easily. Baji has never entered the ring for this reason."
Liu Yuanbo nodded, "Master, I often hear about External and Internal Fist, and some say Baji is an Internal Fist. How exactly are they distinguished?"
Wu Li explained, "I previously explained to you what Ming Jin and Dark Force are. You can distinguish them this way: If the striking method primarily uses Ming Jin and focuses on training muscles and physical strength, it can almost be considered External Fist. Some External Fists even use extreme training methods and drugs to train the body, like Iron Sand Palm and Iron Cloth Shirt, and some factions in Earth Skill Fist use drugs to strengthen the shin bones; these External Fists can enhance one’s fighting ability in a short period of time, but unavoidably cause damage to the body, and such training methods definitely do not help with health preservation."
"Striking methods that primarily use Dark Force, focusing on training the internal muscles and bones, can be considered Internal Fist. Internal Fist originally came from Taoism, such as Tai Chi and Bagua. The Xingyi Fist’s Body Training of Bone and Muscle Strengthening and Bone Marrow also stems from the Taoist Muscle Strengthening Sutra and Marrow Cleansing Sutra. Taoism has always been skilled at health preservation, so now Tai Chi, Bagua, and Xingyi are referred to as the three major Internal Fists, and many people recognize only these three as Internal Fist, with all others considered External."
Liu Yuanbo nodded, "So, Baji Fist is actually External Fist?"