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墨書 Inktalez
"Not wearing a uniform? Are you going to have your Brother Bi go in naked?" I said, pretending to be serious.
"Ah! No way!" Xu Zengjing blushed and retorted.
"What the hell! Old Wang, you're being perverted!" Old Bi said as he opened the back door.
"Heh heh, I was just going along with her words. You actually look decent in casual clothes."
"I don't have a military aura, do I? Only you do? You wouldn't stand out in a crowd!"
"Great concealment lies in the wild!" I added as I sat in the back seat. "Drive on, thanks, girl."
"Okay! Hehe, I think your banter is quite entertaining. I didn't expect you to be so serious usually; you have this side to you in life too," Jing said as she started the car.
"We all live behind various masks; how can you easily see the faces beneath them?" I mused lightly.
"That's too profound; I don't understand!"
Before long, we arrived at the entrance of the Provincial Military District. It was only a little past eight-thirty. Jing couldn't enter, so she had to find a parking spot and then go shopping while waiting for us. Old Bi and I adjusted our attire and walked in side by side.
After greeting the sentry, we followed the internal signs and made our way inside. Along the way, we noticed several patrols wearing Steel Helmets on duty. When we reached the Provincial Military District Cultural Activity Center, Old Ma was already waiting at the entrance with paper and pen for signing in. Seeing us, Old Ma smiled and greeted us, "Hurry in and find a seat; the Brothers are busy. We'll have lunch together at noon, and I'll introduce the situation to you."
"Thanks," Old Bi said as he patted Old Ma on the shoulder and stepped inside first.
"Old Ma, are there many leaders coming today?" I asked intentionally, as this related to how much importance was placed on this event by higher-ups. If there weren't any important leaders attending, the event would indeed lose a lot of its significance.
"The Military District Commander is coming, along with many leaders from various military district departments for observation," Old Ma replied excitedly, his eyes sparkling. "See? Didn't you notice how many guards there are? All our leaders are here."
"Hey, Old Ma, you're about to shine!" "Hehe, Brother, I still need you to light the fire!"
As I watched Old Ma walk inside, I couldn't help but think it was a bit unusual for such high-ranking leaders to attend the Observation event.
Upon entering the hall, I noticed quite a few people seated inside—there were officers and non-commissioned officers, members of the Air Force and Navy, and even two armed police sitting together!
"Hehe, all the best from the All Military Regions are here; this is exciting!" Old Bi said as he entered first.
Old Bi and I quietly found a spot at the back to sit down, waiting for the leaders to arrive. The event center was built in a gymnasium style, with an indoor basketball court in the middle and stands surrounding it. We sat on one side facing the stage; there weren't too many people—at most sixty or seventy. In the center of the venue was a row of tables covered with red cloth.
"There are quite a few people!" Old Bi said, looking around.
I didn't respond but carefully observed everyone present. Unfortunately, they all seemed ordinary; there was nothing special about any of them, making it impossible to tell who might possess extraordinary skills.
At exactly nine o'clock, the leaders began entering through the back door of the event center. Old Ma was standing by the venue to provide support. What surprised everyone was that a group of Colonels and a Major General escorted a Lieutenant General to take their seats in the center.
"Hey, Lao Wang, how long do you think he'll speak?"
"With a Lieutenant General here, it should be at least over an hour!"
After a Colonel announced the start of the meeting, the entire room fell silent. The first item on the agenda was a speech by the Military District Commander. To everyone's surprise, the Leader finished speaking in just over ten minutes. I remember his last words: "There's a saying: 'In literature there is no first place; in martial arts there is no second place.' The feast for masters begins now!"
That line was indeed very stirring; applause erupted from below. Old Bi and I clapped vigorously. After all, in the world of martial artists, there aren't many grand theories—strength is the only universal standard.
With the Military District Commander's example set, the speeches from subsequent leaders became much shorter. The meeting concluded in an enthusiastic and tight atmosphere as they announced the competition schedule: both the sparring and equipment competitions would take place simultaneously in the afternoon. The matchups had already been printed out and posted on the announcement board for all participants to check and attend on time. Additionally, it was announced that to maximize each athlete's potential, the event would adopt unrestricted Free Fighting rules, encouraging participants to strike lightly.
I couldn't help but say to Old Bi, "Hehe, the leader is truly impressive. With so many Leaders watching, who wouldn't hold back their attacks? Those with similar strength, once they go all out, won't be able to hold back. This really raises the difficulty of the competition."
"Old Wang, do the Leaders have other considerations?" Old Bi pondered for a moment.
I didn't answer and pulled Old Bi along, suggesting we check the matchups after the morning meeting.
The entire mobilization lasted about an hour. Once it concluded, everyone rushed to the announcement board at the activity center after the Leaders left. Surprisingly, only twenty-three people signed up for the Striking Group, while forty-seven signed up for the Equipment Group. Coincidentally, I got a bye in the first round! Hehe! I wonder if Maliao had something to do with it.
"I’m facing Seventeen tomorrow morning!" Old Bi glanced at the schedule and exclaimed, "What the hell! You actually got a bye in the first round!"
His comment drew sideways glances from others towards me. I quickly pulled Old Bi away from the crowd. "What the hell! Keep it down!" I whispered to him.
"Hehehe." Old Bi remained silent with a grin. Sigh, there's no helping it; that's just his loud personality.
As we were about to leave, we ran into two acquaintances—one was Lin Hao, that opponent I met during training years ago, and the other was the Cultural Instructor. The Cultural Instructor didn’t notice us, but Lin Hao casually greeted us.
"Familiar faces!" I pointed them out.
"Hehehe, your defeated opponent! But why is the Cultural Instructor here too? Hahaha, still clueless in old age."
"Old Bi, don't forget he's a Special Operations Team instructor," I said quietly as I looked in their direction. "I just saw that the Cultural Instructor signed up for both groups!"
"So what? I never faced him back then; who knows if he’s just a paper tiger?" Old Bi laughed dismissively.
I silently patted Old Bi on the shoulder. "Let’s go find Xu Zengjing. We can grab a bite somewhere at noon and watch the matches in the afternoon."
As I stepped out of the Provincial Military District, I called Xu Zengjing, and we agreed to meet at a nearby restaurant for a meal. As soon as Jing entered, she exclaimed, "I'm so exhausted!" She dashed to the table, carrying a large pile of bags.
I frowned and asked, "You weren't just shopping? How did you end up with so many things?"
"Hehe, isn't shopping what girls do? Look, I bought a short skirt! It's really pretty!"
I helplessly glanced outside, where Old Bi was still animatedly discussing whether short skirts or long skirts were better with Jing.
The Jian, a type of iron whip, is long and blade-less with four edges, measuring about four feet long (which is approximately 1.2 meters). The Jian is often used in conjunction with Twin Whips and is classified as a short weapon suitable for close combat. It is quite heavy and requires considerable strength to wield effectively; its lethality is significant enough to crush someone even through armor. In terms of technique, it resembles swordplay. Originating between the Jin and Tang dynasties, it is made of copper or iron and resembles a rigid whip but lacks segments and points. The cross-section of the Jian is square with grooves, hence it is also known as the "Concave Jian." The length of the Jian can vary according to the user.
The Nine Section Whip is one of the soft weapons in martial arts and belongs to the third category of other equipment in modern martial arts competitions: soft weapons. In ancient times, it was used as a concealed weapon that could be wrapped around the waist or folded for easy carrying. The Nine Section Whip consists of a whip handle, a whip head, and eight steel sections connected by rings, which is why it is called the "Nine Section Whip." The whip's length is generally measured when standing upright, with the handle touching the chin and the whip head touching the ground. Besides the Nine Section Whip, there are also seven-section and thirteen-section whips. The Nine Section Whip is an exceptionally fierce soft weapon; it can also be referred to as "Seven Section Dragon," "Nine Section Whip," "Eleven Section Thunder," or "Thirteen Section Chain," but it is commonly referred to simply as the "Nine Section Whip."
The Nine Section Whip combines both soft and hard elements. A saying in martial arts goes, "Strike like a meteor with finesse; follow through with the whip." This means that during practice, movements with the Nine Section Whip must flow naturally. Practitioners are required to use their arms to ensure that movements are executed smoothly. The whip should move in circular motions—vertical circles, diagonal circles, and upward diagonal circles—to increase the inertia of the whip head during motion for greater striking power. The techniques primarily involve swinging, sweeping, entangling, wrapping, hanging, throwing, and dancing with the whip. During practice, arm movements serve as the starting point for speed and force while utilizing prominent body parts such as hands, feet, legs, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, back, and buttocks as pivot points along with footwork for flipping and jumping techniques to accelerate strikes while also changing direction.
During practice sessions, practitioners aim for unity between themselves and their whips; each whip flourish must closely follow their body in circular motions. Footwork should be steady yet agile; during flips, one must be stable, precise, and quick. The techniques require "striking vertically in a line while sweeping horizontally across a wide area; rotating vertically while sweeping flat; turning back to entangle." In routine practice sessions, every movement must be deliberate: "One step equals one action; one action equals one flourish; one flourish can transform into three variations; variations are endless." Thus in overall routine practice sessions, one can see whip flourishes intertwining unpredictably—sometimes wrapping around heads, shoulders, necks, elbows or knees; sometimes sweeping forward or being thrown into the air; sometimes dancing like a staff—truly captivating in its diversity.
The speed of the whip varies from fast to slow; when entangled correctly it appears skillfully wrapped yet swiftly released. As it spirals around the body producing resonant sounds with each strike following through seamlessly creates an overwhelming visual spectacle filled with endless variations.
The Nine Section Whip features characteristics such as vertical flips and agile transformations that can be retracted or extended. Its unique technical style emphasizes entanglement—these entangling actions are collectively referred to as whip flourishes. By combining these flourishes with basic techniques like swinging, striking, sweeping, hanging or lifting forms a dynamic interplay of “flourish connecting flourish,” “flourish encircling flourish,” showcasing diverse technical features often described as “spinning like wheels” or “retracting like insects while striking like dragons.”
Based on the Nine Section Whip's movement principles and patterns of motion can be categorized into three types: vertical circular motion where the whip moves like rolling wheels creating strong three-dimensional effects; horizontal circular motion where its trajectory runs parallel to the ground playing an integral role in connecting attacks above and below; diagonal circular motion which lies between vertical and horizontal styles where its trajectory forms an angle relative to an upright human figure.
(To be continued tomorrow with more excitement!)
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