042 Fist Techniques for Shipboard Combat

"Master Li, you flatter me!" Chen Jue smiled gently, finding this slightly portly Master Li rather endearing. After all, they shared the same martial lineage, so he sat down and chatted with him for more than half an hour.

As the saying goes, knowledge gained from books always remains shallow. Through his conversation with Master Li, Chen Jue learned much about the origins and history of Boat Fist.

Boat Fist was first created during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Originally, it was a method for coastal fishermen to practice martial arts and strengthen their bodies. Later, during the Ming dynasty, the famous general Qi Jiguang, renowned for resisting Japanese pirates, took a liking to it, popularized it, and incorporated it into the ranks of his famous Qi Family Army, where it played a significant role in repelling pirates in the south.

Even in the boxing manual compiled by Qi Jiguang, traces of Boat Fist can still be discerned.

However, as China was plunged into turmoil, dynasties changed, and the south became a hotbed for anti-Qing and pro-Ming uprisings, the region was repeatedly purged by Qing forces. As a result, Boat Fist became increasingly rare, surviving only in a few small branches hidden in the mountains of southern Zhejiang and northern Fujian.

This Li Xiangning, Master Li, was the contemporary inheritor of the Li family’s Boat Fist.

He was in his forties and worked for the Wenshi Municipal Sports Bureau, responsible for promoting and passing down traditional boxing and martial arts routines in the Wenshi area.

His skills had reached the level of refined power, though he could not, like Chen Jue, freely open and close all the pores of his body at will—he could at most control those in his hands and legs.

As the two talked, their conversation grew more animated, and they even exchanged demonstrations of their respective boxing stances in the break room.

After Chen Jue exhibited some Boat Fist techniques and the Eight Immortals Stance, Master Li couldn’t help but sigh, "Master Chen, with your level of skill, in the old days you would have been more than qualified to found your own school!"

"I've only recently reached the peak of refined power; I still have a long way to go," Chen Jue replied modestly, shaking his head.

On hearing this, Li Xiangning’s face twitched.

In Master Li’s eyes, the astonishing punch Chen Jue displayed that morning, though a feat of refined power, was so forceful that even masters of hidden or transformative energy might struggle to match it!

To unleash such refined power, apart from some top African-American boxers, perhaps only the strongmen of the Russian Caucasus or those born with monstrous strength could achieve it.

"By the way, Master Li, I'm really puzzled by what people online say about hidden and transformative energy. I suppose my skill isn’t there yet, and my cultivation is still lacking. In your family’s tradition, have you ever met masters of those levels?" Chen Jue asked.

He was now devoted to his training, and such an opportunity to converse with an outsider was not one he would let slip.

"Hidden energy?" Li Xiangning mused. "That’s truly a superior skill! Very few can master it. When I was young, I once visited Wudang Mountain and encountered practitioners of hidden energy. Looking back, it’s amusing—I thought learning a little family martial art would let me roam the world, but after meeting those Wudang Taoists, I realized just how vast the world is, and that there’s always someone better."

A look of reminiscence crossed Li Xiangning’s face, and then he continued, "Boat Fist is a minor style, with a broken lineage. In my branch, my grandfather was the most accomplished, reaching the same level of refined power as you, able to control all his pores at will and channel his strength into a single force."

"But Boat Fist, being an internal style, does indeed have an entry formula for hidden energy."

"This formula was passed down to me by my father. It goes: 'The Eight Immortals cross the boat; once entering the water, the energy forms itself.' I’ve practiced Boat Fist for most of my life and never mastered refined power, and after years of studying this formula, I still couldn’t find the way in. I might as well teach it to you directly, rather than let the art be lost in the future."

Seeing Master Li so eager to dispel his doubts, even passing on his family’s secret formula without reservation, Chen Jue was deeply moved and bowed deeply to him. "Thank you so much, Master Li!"

"It’s nothing at all! We’re all part of the same tradition—it’s just a line of verse."

"Nowadays, with the internet, it’s not like before when everything was kept secret. If we keep hiding things, all the skills will eventually be lost! Besides, since you also practice Shaolin arts, perhaps you should visit Shaolin Temple someday."

"Among those Shaolin monks, there are surely masters of hidden and transformative energy. Back in the 90s, when Shaolin culture swept the globe, it couldn’t have reached such heights without real experts backing it up," Li Xiangning said, waving his hand with generosity.

Chen Jue, too, recalled the global rise of Shaolin culture that Li mentioned.

He remembered as a child, every TV station aired films and dramas about Shaolin monks, and Shaolin martial arts schools advertised everywhere.

Even in Hollywood blockbusters of that era, Shaolin masters often appeared as characters.

It was, in fact, a wave of cultural transmission, intimately linked to Shaolin’s martial prowess.

Without real experts holding the fort and demonstrating real skills in front of Westerners, Shaolin culture would never have spread so rapidly.

…

The conversation with Li Xiangning was truly eye-opening for Chen Jue.

Though after days of watching documentaries online he had gained some understanding of the various schools and family traditions of Chinese martial arts, his knowledge was still quite superficial.

After all, those making such documentaries were ordinary people—how could they grasp real martial skill?

But from the information Li Xiangning revealed, Chen Jue saw another, more authentic world of martial artists.

As Li had said, one cannot practice martial arts in isolation, shutting oneself off from the world. In this era of peace, many who dedicate themselves to the martial arts end up impoverished.

If one can’t even make a living, what’s the point of practicing martial arts? One might as well work honestly and live an ordinary life.

This was also why Master Li had taken the civil service exam and become a staff member at the Wenshi Municipal Sports Bureau.

As the saying goes, it’s easier to cultivate behind the safety of official doors—earning a living from public funds, promoting local martial arts, integrating martial arts into daily life and work. Master Li’s approach was infinitely superior to the countless frauds and charlatans found online.

…

A single lunch break, and Chen Jue felt he had broadened his horizons considerably. He and Li Xiangning exchanged contact information so they could stay in touch in the future.

As for the secret Boat Fist formula for hidden energy, Chen Jue kept turning it over in his mind, but since he still had martial exchanges to attend in the afternoon, he could only memorize it for now.

Once home, he would try to see if he could use this formula to grasp that elusive hidden energy.