UGB Chapter 33 Outmatched in skill, but defeated with complete acceptance.
Chapter 33 Outmatched in skill, but defeated with complete acceptance.
Time passed, second by second.
For the twenty special forces members on the training field, those two short hours were longer and more grueling than any of the grueling training weeks they had ever experienced.
For the first ten minutes, they were able to maintain the standard posture thanks to their strong physical fitness and willpower.
But ten minutes later, a problem arose.
Their bodies began to sway involuntarily.
My knees started to ache and tremble.
My shoulders felt as if two mountains were pressing down on them, incredibly heavy.
Sweat streamed down their foreheads, cheeks, and necks, soaking their training uniforms.
Even worse is the unbearable soreness, numbness, swelling, and pain that comes from deep within the bones.
It wasn't the soreness of muscle fatigue, but a kind of agonizing discomfort that emanated from deep within the bones and every joint, making one's heart ache.
Several times, they wanted to give up.
I want to plop down on the ground.
However, when they saw the figure standing at the very front of the line, motionless like a statue, they gritted their teeth and suppressed the thought.
Teacher Ma maintained the exact same posture as them from beginning to end.
But there was not a trace of pain on his face.
His breathing was steady and long.
His body was as steady as Mount Tai, as if he had become one with the earth beneath his feet.
They couldn't understand why Teacher Ma could stand in the same position so easily and comfortably, while they felt like they were being tortured.
"relax."
Ma Cong's voice suddenly rang in their ears.
"Don't use your muscles to resist. The harder you try, the more pain you'll experience."
"Try to imagine your body as an empty skeleton. Align your bones, one by one, and then hang them on it."
"Sink your shoulders. Loosen your waists. Put all your weight into your feet."
As Ma-Cong spoke, he slowly walked through the group, correcting their posture.
His hand would occasionally pat a teammate lightly on the shoulder or back.
"Your shoulders are too tight, it's making you feel stuffy. Relax them."
His finger lightly tapped one of the players' lower back points.
"If your waist is stiff, like a steel plate, you can't transmit power. Sink your waist and let your breath sink to your dantian."
Team members who were photographed or pointed at by him would feel a sudden jolt in their bodies.
A peculiar, warm current of air would flow through his entire body instantly from the point of contact.
Muscles that were originally incredibly sore will miraculously relax. Joints that were originally tense will become flexible, as if they have been injected with lubricant.
That feeling was truly magical.
Shi Lei's feelings were the most profound.
He was the one with the strongest willpower, but also the one who suffered the most. Because he had trained in Sanda and wrestling for many years, his muscle memory was deeply ingrained, making it very difficult for him to truly "relax".
His body was like a fully drawn bow, constantly in a state of tension.
When Ma Cong's hand gently pressed on his back.
He felt as if the fully drawn bowstring had suddenly been released.
An indescribable feeling of comfort surged from the base of my spine to the top of my head.
He couldn't help but let out a comfortable groan.
For the first time, he realized what "relaxation" felt like.
It turns out that not using force is more powerful than using force.
"Remember this feeling," Ma Cong's voice rang in his ears. "This is 'relaxation.' Even the hardest steel can be transformed into something as supple as silk. Only by truly relaxing can your strength come alive."
"Standing meditation is not just about strengthening the muscles and bones, but also about strengthening the mind."
"Your hearts are too restless. Your killing intent is too strong. These things are good on the battlefield, but they are the biggest obstacles when you are training."
"You must learn to calm your mind when practicing standing meditation. Feel your breath, feel your heartbeat, feel every subtle change in your body."
"When you can maintain a calm and composed mind even amidst a hail of bullets, then you will have truly entered the gate of skill."
Ma Cong didn't say much.
But every word was like a seed planted in the hearts of these soldiers.
They began to try to stop fighting the pain.
Instead, feel it and accept it.
They began to try to relax their bodies and find the feeling that Ma Cong described as "hanging up the bones".
Gradually, they discovered that when they truly relaxed, the unbearable soreness slowly subsided.
Instead, a warm current spreads from the dantian (lower abdomen) to the limbs and bones.
Their breathing became deeper and longer.
Two hours passed by in the blink of an eye.
When Ma Cong shouted the words "That's enough."
Everyone felt as if they had been pulled out of the water, their bodies soaked in sweat.
But there was no sign of fatigue on their faces.
On the contrary, it was an unprecedented feeling of spiritual rejuvenation.
They felt their bodies become incredibly light and transparent.
It was as if some shackles within my body had been unlocked.
"How are you feeling?" Ma Cong asked them with a smile.
"Report to Teacher Ma! Awesome!" Tank was the first to shout, his voice booming.
"Hahaha..." A good-natured laugh rang out from the group.
"It's amazing!" Shi Lei walked up to Ma Cong, his face full of amazement. "I feel like I've never understood my own body like this before. I can clearly feel my blood flowing and my heart beating. I can even... feel that 'qi' you mentioned slowly gathering in my body."
"This is just the beginning." Ma Cong nodded. "Keep going, and you'll discover many more unexpected changes."
The training sessions that followed were so simple they were almost boring.
In the morning, two hours of rounded stance training.
In the afternoon, I took a two-hour walk.
What Ma Cong taught them was the most basic footwork in Xingyi Quan – the mud-walking step.
The requirements are simple: maintain the posture of standing meditation, with your feet no more than an inch off the ground, and wade forward slowly, step by step, as if walking in mud.
To outsiders, this kind of training is practically a form of performance art.
But for these special forces soldiers, it was even more tiring than running a marathon with heavy loads.
Each step requires engaging all the muscles and bones in the body, coordinating with breathing, and smoothly shifting the center of gravity.
By the end of the day, they felt like their legs were no longer their own.
But the results were astonishing.
In just three days.
They discovered that their lower body had become unusually stable.
Every punch and kick they threw seemed to have an inexplicable "root strength."
Its strength is greater than before.
However, the physical exertion is less than before.
During an intra-team scrimmage, Shi Lei and Tank wrestled.
Previously, the two were evenly matched, and each time they would fight for a long time before a winner could be determined.
But this time, during a takedown, Tank was easily neutralized by Shi Lei with an extremely simple move similar to "leaning against a mountain," and was pushed away by a tremendous force.
Everyone was stunned.
Shi Lei himself was stunned and stood there.
He looked at his hands and felt the inexhaustible power within his body.
He got it.
This is Chinese martial arts!
This is what Teacher Ma meant by the power of "life"!
He only learned a little bit, yet he underwent such a complete transformation.
Just how powerful should true Chinese martial arts be?
At this moment, all the team members were filled with awe for traditional Chinese martial arts and boundless anticipation for the future.
The way they looked at Ma Cong was almost fanatical.
They knew they were coming into contact with a priceless treasure that could change their lives.
What they didn't know was...
While they were training hard, sweating profusely.
A military transport plane from the United States has landed at another airport in Beijing.
A group of tall, arrogant American soldiers were walking down the gangway.
The leader was a burly black man who was nearly two meters tall and whose muscles were like cast iron.
He had a ferocious seal tattooed on his neck.
He is the chief combat instructor of the U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six, who led the team this time.
Code name: "Butcher".