Thus began the full-fledged training with Dokwang Tang Hochang.
On the first day, we tested basic physical strength and reflexes. However, starting from the second day, we began to learn each of the eight essential techniques of Tangmun-kwon in earnest.
The first thing we learned was the Jabbi Bongchim, which Tang Hochang had demonstrated first.
“The essence of Jabbi Bongchim is to swiftly thrust in when the enemy is off guard, thinking they’re out of your range. This is achieved using a special footwork called Wolbo.”
“Wolbo?”
“I’ll demonstrate.”
With that, Tang Hochang straightened his posture and lifted his right leg slightly.
Then he softly tapped the ground.
Boom!
At the same time, Tang Hochang’s body sprang forward like a spring.
“!”
Seeing this shocked me, and as I stared wide-eyed, Tang Hochang had already advanced nearly 2 meters in the blink of an eye and smiled.
“This is Wolbo. Even if the enemy’s weapon is a spear, with this technique, you can swiftly get into their arms.”
“How did you do that?”
Upon hearing my question, Tang Hochang explained the principle of Wolbo.
“The key is the shift of the center of gravity.”
“The shift of the center of gravity?”
“What was the preparatory move I showed you before using Wolbo?”
“You lifted your right leg slightly.”
“Then which leg was I applying strength to in that position?”
It’s usually the case that choosing the opposite is more likely to be correct, but I twisted it again and answered based on what I saw.
“…The right leg?”
“Logically, that would make sense. But actually, the leg I was putting strength into was my left leg, which was grounded.”
Saying this, Tang Hochang took the same position as before once again.
“Come closer and observe.”
“Oh, okay!”
Listening to him, I approached and observed Tang Hochang’s Wolbo preparatory stance closely.
And I realized.
Due to the slightly lifted right foot, my gaze was drawn in that direction, preventing me from noticing that the calf muscle of his left leg, which was supporting the weight of his whole body, was rather contracted.
“From the outside, Wolbo looks like just two steps forward, but in reality, it’s three steps, including the initial stillness. This is how you generate the momentum to suddenly dive into the enemy’s arms.”
“It really feels like watching Gungshin Tanyoung.”
“No, it’s a bit different… but whatever. To a layman, it all might look similar.”
Hearing my admiration, Tang Hochang moved on to the next step.
“Anyway, once you learn Wolbo, you can use it to cover short distances in an instant. And the first technique of Tangmun-kwon, Jabbi Bongchim, utilizes that.”
“I see.”
“Then you should try it once.”
With that, Tang Hochang lowered his right foot from where he was holding it.
Based on the explanations I just heard, I attempted to mimic Tang Hochang’s movements.
‘First, lift the right foot but keep the center of gravity on the left foot…’
‘The key is the shift of the center of gravity.’
‘In other words, I change the center of gravity from the back to the front in an instant and use that inertia to slide forward?’
Surprisingly, I understood the principle of Wolbo in an instant, but understanding it with my head and my body were two different things.
“Huh? Huh?”
Thud!
Initially, there was no problem when preparing for the move, but just as I tried to push off strongly with my right foot and move forward, my foot tangled, and I toppled over.
“Hahaha! This is how it goes when you first learn!”
Tang Hochang laughed cheerfully at my predicament, as if he had anticipated my foot getting tangled.
“…Why did I fall?”
Logically, it was perfect.
I thought Wolbo was about momentarily sending the center of gravity forward and using that inertia to slide forward.
But the moment the center of gravity shifted, one leg alone couldn’t bear the inertia, and my forward-leaning body fell unceremoniously.
Hearing my explanation, Tang Hochang acknowledged that the theory was correct but added, “But you focused so much on moving your leg that you forgot about the movement of your upper body.”
With that, Tang Hochang demonstrated again.
It was then that I realized what he was trying to convey.
Despite the rapid shift of the center of gravity, Tang Hochang’s upper body didn’t move at all when using Wolbo.
“If you don’t stabilize your upper body, which acts as the pivot, the balance of your center of gravity will get disrupted, and you’ll fall forward. That’s the point you need to pay attention to when executing Wolbo.”
Nodding at his explanation, I tried Wolbo once again.
As a result,
“Did it work?”
I was able to successfully perform Wolbo surprisingly easily.
Tang Hochang, watching from the side, exclaimed in amazement, “It seems you have talent. To succeed on your second try is impressive. But it’s a shame that your body was too tense. To truly call it Wolbo, you should be able to perform that series of movements as naturally as breathing.”
“…Okay!”
“Now that you’ve learned Wolbo, let me teach you about its application, Jabbi Bongchim.”
As he said this, Tang Hochang raised his right fist to be level with the ground.
“You must have heard that the essence of Wolbo is the shift of the center of gravity? Jabbi Bongchim is the same.”
Wolbo is special footwork that can quickly close the distance in short spans, requiring just two steps, making it easy to execute surprise attacks.
“First, the back leg supports your whole weight, then the front leg provides the thrust, and finally, the forward-leaning center of gravity is channeled through your fist to pierce the enemy. That’s Jabbi Bongchim.”
Bang!!
From Tang Hochang’s perspective, he merely punched the air lightly, but the sound of the air bursting indicated his formidable power.
“What do you think, can you replicate it?”
“…I’ll give it a try.”
With that, I took the preparatory stance for Wolbo once more.
“Huuh-”
To regain my composure, I took a small deep breath and aimed to perfectly mimic the series of movements Tang Hochang had shown.
One step, two steps, three steps.
To attack, just those three steps were needed.
If Shaolin has its Baekbo Shingyeon, then couldn’t this be called the Sambo Shingyeon?
Bang!!
Just like Tang Hochang’s fist before, the sound that erupted from my hand was so strong it was hard to believe it came from me.
“Oho.”
I wasn’t even sure what I just did, but I knew from the completely different sound that it was powerful.
So, this is what they mean by martial arts, huh?
As I stared at my fist in awe, Tang Hochang cleared his throat.
“To succeed in Jabbi Bongchim after just one or two tries is really impressive, but to use that technique whenever you want, you’ll need to practice it repeatedly. So let’s start with 100 repetitions today.”
“Excuse me? 100 times?”
“Why? Don’t you like it?”
“No, it’s not that, it’s just… would 100 really not take too long?”
Aren’t we nearing lunch soon?
“Are you the type to set time limits when you read books?”
“Yes.”
“Then from today on, change that. How long the training in martial arts takes doesn’t matter.”
By the way, I won’t feed you until you’ve completed all 100.
“!”
Feeling like I had just received an unexpected threat, I hurriedly started practicing Jabbi Bongchim.
*
Tang Hochang was astonished by Chilbongi’s terrifying talent.
“Rin has a good eye after all.”
When people talk about someone having a brilliant mind, they often say they’re exceptional in ‘wisdom.’ The guy right in front of me, Chilbongi, belonged to that category.
Though a bit clumsy in handling his body, he compensated for it with a genius understanding and exceptional insight.
For instance, when he first learned Wolbo, it took him a week just to physically grasp the principle.
However, this Chilbongi managed to follow along not just once or twice but even succeeded in the next-level technique, Jabbi Bongchim, in a single try.
He likely had very keen observation skills.
“Insight is among the most crucial abilities for a warrior.”
Humans rely most on sight compared to their five senses.
Because of this, simply having good insight gives one an edge over ordinary warriors, allowing them to spot gaps in their opponent’s techniques.
“If it weren’t for Rin being his beloved, I’d consider marrying him off to our family as a son-in-law.”
Internally feeling regretful, Tang Hochang was momentarily shocked that he was even thinking this after initially being displeased with him.
“Is there something charming about Chilbongi that draws people in?”
If so, he would indeed be an alluring talent.
It’s not easy to earn someone’s favor just through looks or skill alone.
Even Tang Hochang, who bears the title of Dokwang, is treated like an eccentric old man when out in public.
“Making him my adopted son under the pretext of passing on Tangmun-kwon might not be a bad idea…”
Thus, unbeknownst to Chilbongi, a scheme was beginning to unfold.
