“Ugh…”
Pushing aside my mental anguish, I asked Wolhyang why she had suddenly requested to show her skills.
“Oh, it’s nothing special. The benefactor asked me to teach Chilbong how to fight for the next two years.”
“…What?”
I stared at her in disbelief upon hearing something that hadn’t been previously agreed upon.
“Wolhyang is going to teach me?”
“Yes. Since it was a request, I’ll do my best.”
As she said this, Wolhyang tightly clenched her tiny fists.
No matter how I looked at it, she seemed far from a fighter, and honestly, I couldn’t fully believe it.
“Um, I don’t mean to be rude, but what kind of fighting style do you use, Wolhyang?”
Considering her small stature, which wasn’t suited for brawling, I expected her to use some sort of magical arts like Yangbang does. She couldn’t possibly mean for me to learn magic, right?
With a half-doubtful expression, I asked my question, and Wolhyang tilted her head and replied.
“Of course, it’s hand-to-hand combat.”
Rabbits, surprisingly, fight quite well, you know?
Saying this, Wolhyang began shadowboxing with her adorable little fists in the air.
Amazingly, her movements were clean and devoid of any fluff.
As the saying goes, “From one you can see ten,” it was clear that she was indeed stronger than I was.
‘It seems I’ve rarely met anyone weaker than myself.’
I thought I was quite strong, but perhaps it just didn’t seem that way because everyone around me was so powerful.
“So, how does your training generally go?”
“That depends on the martial arts Chilbong has learned. What techniques do you typically use?”
Upon getting her question, I answered without thinking for too long.
“Fist techniques and stealth skills.”
“Could you show me?”
“That should be easy.”
I looked around and picked a suitable wooden dummy.
Swish, swish, swish!
With five strands of wire extending from my fingertips, I controlled them like they were alive.
“Whoa!”
The wires flew out, wrapping around the wooden dummy’s limbs in an instant and then slicing it into seventeen pieces.
“Wow! That’s amazing!”
Clap, clap, clap!
With an innocent expression as if she had just watched a circus performance, Wolhyang clapped her hands.
It felt like being openly mocked, hearing praise from someone much stronger than me, but she seemed to have no such intention.
Anyway, after showcasing my techniques, it was time to demonstrate the Tangmun-gwon.
I sequentially showed her from the first basic moves like Jeopbi Bongchim to the eighth moves like Yongsa Bidtung.
After viewing all the forms of the Tangmun-gwon, Wolhyang’s evaluation was as follows.
“It seems the fist techniques you’re using, Chilbong, are a form of Xiangxingquan.”
“Xiangxingquan?”
“Yes. It’s a martial art that describes the movements of animals. The famous ones come from the Shaolin Temple like Tanglangquan or Heguan. You’re familiar with that, right?”
“Yes. I’ve heard bits and pieces.”
“Xiangxingquan originated from ancient humans mimicking the movements of stronger beasts. Initially, it began with strong animals, and gradually they even imitated the movements of small insects.”
As she spoke, Wolhyang approached me and began inspecting my body up and down before suddenly grabbing my thigh.
“?!”
I stiffened in surprise, but Wolhyang casually squeezed my thigh and said.
“I don’t know what training you’ve received before, but it looks like you have a solid foundation in lower body training. You must have had a good teacher.”
“Uh, thank you?”
“In my opinion, the fist techniques you’ve mastered are quite strong. However, due to the nature of fist techniques, you’ll always be at a disadvantage when against an opponent wielding a sword or spear because of your shorter range.”
“So, what do we do?”
“The solution is simple. Since humans have body parts longer than their arms.”
Wolhyang said this while looking at my legs.
“I’ll teach you the techniques to compensate for the weaknesses of the Tangmun-gwon with some kicking techniques.”
*
Basically, the Tangmun-gwon does not involve using the legs at all.
At most, it has a slight movement like Jinjak, but even that is just a means to gain propulsion for Jeopbi Bongchim.
When I previously asked my master, Tang Hochang, about the reason, he responded like this.
“Are you an idiot? How could the enemies you fight in the martial world always be unarmed? While it’s true that legs are stronger than arms, big movements with kicks inevitably expose gaps.”
And for those wielding weapons, that’s the perfect opportunity.
“If a weapon breaks, that’s the end of it, but if a martial artist’s limbs are severed, they won’t grow back.”
Thus, most martial arts deliberately exclude kicks when designing their forms.
“…That’s what my master said.”
As I conveyed Tang Hochang’s opinion, Wolhyang nodded.
“That’s not an incorrect statement. However, it’s also not entirely accurate.”
It’s true that kicks have larger movements and more gaps than punches, but if you prevent the enemy from counterattacking, it shouldn’t matter.
With that, Wolhyang demonstrated directly.
“I’m going to kick the uvula, solar plexus, and abdomen in that order now.”
She took her stance and quickly unleashed kicks at a rapid pace.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With the sound of air bursting, she precisely struck the vital points of the human body.
Surprisingly, even after kicking in three large movements in a row, I couldn’t find a single gap in her defense, contrary to what Tang Hochang had said.
“How is this happening?”
As I asked in amazement, Wolhyang lowered her lifted leg and replied.
“The important thing about kicking techniques is maintaining proper distance and not exposing your back to the opponent.”
By minimizing hit areas, you make the enemy aware that you could strike them at any time.
Wolhyang said this and asked me to try a kick.
“Yes.”
Even though it may not look it, I had learned Taekwondo in the military, so I could do basic kicks.
I kicked the wooden dummy in the same order as Wolhyang had done before, aiming for the uvula, solar plexus, and abdomen.
But,
“Too slow.”
With a firm voice, Wolhyang said this, placing her hands on her hips.
“If you kick like that, you’re bound to expose gaps, allowing the enemy to counterattack. You need to strike the vital points more quickly and concisely.”
As she said this, Wolhyang kicked the dummy again.
Even though I was doing the same kick, she displayed no gaps unlike me.
‘It really is a difference in skill.’
To kick like her without any openings, it clearly seemed like it would require a huge amount of practice.
This issue would surely be resolved with time.
“By the way, I’m curious about something. What’s the difference between kicking techniques and retreating techniques?”
Then Wolhyang perked her rabbit ears and answered.
“Oh, the difference between kicking techniques and retreating techniques? To put it simply, kicking techniques strike with the balls and tops of the feet, while retreating techniques use the entire leg without being limited to a specific area.”
“Aha.”
So that’s the difference.
“Anyway, let’s call it a day here. I initially planned to simply give a brief introduction, but it seems I got a bit carried away.”
With that, Wolhyang scratched her head with an awkward expression and suggested we head back before it got too late, brushing off the dust from her clothes.
I watched her for a moment and then asked.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“What are you curious about?”
“Who’s stronger, you or Baek Yujin?”
Wolhyang blinked in surprise at the unexpected question before breaking into a playful smile.
“That’s a secret.”
*
After taking a lap around Myoseondong, we returned to the hut, where a dusty Dokgorin greeted us.
“Welcome back, Chilbong.”
“Rin, what on earth happened?”
“Well, some things happened.”
Perhaps out of pride, Dokgorin averted her gaze instead of answering directly.
It looked like she had been through a rough time with Baek Yujin, but I pretended not to notice as she wished.
“It’s pretty late. Did you take a detour somewhere?”
At that moment, Baek Yujin came out from the room and said this, looking back and forth between me and Wolhyang.
Then Wolhyang stuck out her tongue with an embarrassed expression and said.
“Did I get caught?”
“You could have explored Myoseondong in an hour, but it took much longer than that.”
As she spoke, Baek Yujin sat down on the porch, resting her chin on one arm while asking.
“So, is Chilbong teachable?”
Wolhyang nodded and replied.
“It seems he doesn’t have bad potential. With proper training, he could reach a satisfying level.”
“That’s good to hear. You won’t be bored for the next two years.”
As Baek Yujin said this with a grin, I felt that a tough road lay ahead, but I had no thoughts of running away now.
“Alright! Starting tomorrow, the serious training begins! So today, let’s eat and drink to our hearts’ content.”
With that, Baek Yujin looked at Wolhyang.
“Yes! I’ll get dinner ready right now!”
With a motivated expression, she clenched her fists together and scurried off to the kitchen.
