Chapter 34: The Flow of Hardness and Softness

Slap!

Slap!

Goro Majima stripped off his shirt, revealing broad, thick back muscles.

With every stance he assumed, he took a deep breath.

Two assistants swung wooden clubs, striking his back and flanks.

Or they would use their feet to kick violently at his thighs and shins.

Soon, patches of red and purple appeared across his skin.

Yet, Goro Majima remained motionless.

After exhaling a sharp breath, he continued into his next pose.

His entire body was like forged iron, seemingly incapable of feeling pain.

Fang Cheng stood to the side, observing.

Through days of watching instructional tapes and studying related knowledge, he knew that what Goro Majima was practicing at this moment was the *Sanchan* kata of Goju-ryu Karate.

In traditional Chinese martial arts, this was known as *Paidagong*; in other Japanese combat styles, it was referred to as *Hard Body Technique*.

The *Sanchan* kata belongs to the "Hard" aspect of Goju-ryu.

It requires the entire body's muscles to be in a state of maximum tension, using breathing techniques to regulate strength, thereby training the fundamentals of attack and defense.

The most important and combat-applicable part of this is the pain tolerance training.

By using breath to tighten the muscles, the practitioner allows training partners to continuously strike their vulnerable areas.

Ultimately, this makes the muscles dense and the stance stable, enhancing the endurance required to withstand heavy blows.

The essence of this training method was captured by the common saying: "To learn how to hit, one must first learn how to take a hit."

You strike me with a punch, and I feel no pain.

I strike you with a punch, and it could take your life.

While watching the tapes at home, Fang Cheng hadn't felt much.

But seeing it so clearly from a close distance, he couldn't help but feel a spark of interest in these traditional training methods.

Although his physique was already far superior to an average person's, if he could make his body even more solid and durable, it would naturally be for the better.

As Fang Cheng gained these insights, Goro Majima clenched his teeth, remaining silent.

It wasn't that he was mentally numb or devoid of sensation.

He was simply addicted to the brief sense of dissociation brought on by the physical torment.

Before coming to China, he had been full of hope.

But in the past six months, everyone he encountered was either a fraud or a useless waste.

None of them could take a hit!

He could only use this form of self-mutilation to vent his accumulated emotions and suppress the terrifying monster lurking in his heart.

Goro Majima's eyes betrayed deep disappointment and fury.

Suddenly, he exhaled sharply and growled lowly

"Enough."

He then broke his stance, stepped onto the ring, and pointed a hand toward Fang Cheng.

"You, come up!"

A simple sentence and a gesture.

No translation was needed; Fang Cheng understood his meaning.

He immediately picked up the red rectangular foot pads and followed him onto the ring.

Just as he had settled into his position, he looked up to see Goro Majima's stepping roundhouse kick sweeping toward him.

Slap!

Fang Cheng reacted swiftly, raising the pads in front of his chest just in time to block the sudden kick.

Because the movement was rushed, the force transmitted through the foot wasn't massive; he only retreated half a step to neutralize the impact.

Fang Cheng was currently at the most basic level: a "human target."

The coach had already informed Goro Majima that he was a novice.

Therefore, the first lesson was primarily focused on practicing fixed target positions.

In other words, the sparring partner stands in an appropriate spot, acting as a stationary target in various ways to guide the client's kicks and strikes.

Fixed foot pad training is a mandatory course in Karate, helping to form basic movements and develop a sense of distance.

For mid-to-high-level fighters, it serves to consolidate technical forms and cultivate bodily instinct.

After absorbing the roundhouse kick, Fang Cheng quickly adjusted his stance and stabilized his lower body.

Goro Majima's next attack came without pause, following a pivot.

In an instant, he began circling Fang Cheng, unleashing a rapid succession of kicks—*pa, pa, pa!*

For a moment, the wind from the strikes brushed against Fang Cheng's face, fluttering his hair; the offensive was incredibly fierce.

Under normal circumstances, the sparring partner should guide the client through the training, maintaining a sense of rhythm.

But Goro Majima was clearly not a normal person!

At this moment, he was purely on the offensive, driven by a desire to kick the "target" flying to vent his inner rage.

Bang!

Another flying spinning back kick.

The weight and power of the leg technique were so immense that Fang Cheng was forced to stumble back several steps.

Fang Cheng breathed slightly heavily, looking at the ferocious Goro Majima with a solemn expression.

Watching him fight others previously hadn't allowed him to truly experience it.

Only after stepping onto the ring himself did he feel the opponent's violent, beast-like brute force.

Every time he was attacked, it felt as if a charging bear were lunging at him.

If measured by his attribute panel, Goro Majima's strength was definitely above 15, perhaps even approaching 20.

It was significantly higher than Fang Cheng's strength of 11.

However, Fang Cheng felt no urge to retreat.

His eyes shone brightly, as if a raging fighting spirit had been ignited.

Even if he was just acting as a junior sparring partner, it didn't mean he should just wear protective gear, hold the pads, and act as a human punching bag.

A sparring partner has another extremely important role: "feeding moves."

One must observe the opponent's habitual techniques, movement patterns, attack power, and speed, allowing the client to execute combos more smoothly and utilize their skills.

Therefore, an excellent sparring partner should possess keen observation and the judgment to capture the timing of transitions between offense and defense.

This is what is commonly called "rhythm."

Fang Cheng still remembered a sentence a boxing coach used when teaching elite students

"The deciding point in a battle between masters is seeing who can disrupt the opponent's rhythm first, forcing them to follow yours."

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng's gaze calmed.

Since the beast was stubborn, he would simply tame it and make it obey his call.

Goro Majima possessed immense stamina; he continued to kick and plant his feet without rest.

His legs rotated like whips, lashing against Fang Cheng one after another.

It was as if he didn't even view Fang Cheng as a living person, but merely as a breathing, humanoid target.

Front kicks, roundhouse kicks, front thrust kicks, side kicks, knife-hand kicks...

Various technical movements struck like a storm from every conceivable angle.

Fang Cheng gripped the foot pads firmly, constantly adjusting his footwork and position.

While blocking the attacks, he attempted to sense the trajectory of every strike and locate the opponent's points of power.

In the past, this would have been extremely difficult.

But now that his mental attribute had surpassed 20, it became much easier.

Every time a person throws a punch or a kick to initiate an attack, there are precursors.

Breathing, heartbeat, changes in gaze, foot movement, the shifting of shoulders...

The difference between a master and a novice is merely that the master's moves are cleaner and more decisive, knowing how to hide their intentions.

However, force cannot be generated from nothing.

Ultimately, it must be transmitted through the body to complete an effective strike.

Fang Cheng observed while feeding the moves, capturing the fleeting opportunities of combat emanating from Goro Majima.

Gradually, he completely mapped out the opponent's attack lines and began to grasp a certain sensation.

*Whoosh!*

Goro Majima suddenly lifted his knee and unleashed a knife-hand kick, aiming fiercely at Fang Cheng's face.

Fang Cheng's pupils constricted. In an instant, the world before him seemed to slow down by a fraction of a second.

He saw it with absolute clarity.

He saw Goro Majima's pupils flicker slightly and the muscles in his face twitch.

He saw the kick cutting through the air, carving a crescent arc, with ripples of wind flowing outward.

He saw the power transferring from the sole to the knee, then through the twisting of the waist and hips, accelerating back through the calf, the instep, and the toes...

*Slap!*

The foot, sharp as a blade, struck—the pad that had been placed in advance along the line of attack.