Chapter 63: Zhao Family Spear, Resistance Stance
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Martial arts were equivalent to skills.
Skills equaled attributes.
In fact, after hearing about Zhao Honglei’s background yesterday, Lu Ming became interested in this matter. But considering that the zombie wave had just passed and everyone was very busy, Lu Ming did not rush to bring it up.
Now that the other party had taken the initiative to come knocking on his door, Lu Ming had to make a request for the sake of his attributes.
Fortunately, Zhao Honglei and Zhao Yongchun were very easygoing people.
After a simple discussion, Zhao Honglei said, “If Mr. Lu is truly interested in our farming techniques, my son and I will certainly teach you everything we know!”
The Zhao Family’s martial arts skills were not some closely guarded secret in the martial arts world—although in Nanxiang before the apocalypse, the Zhao Family Spear was quite famous.
However, times had changed…
In this day and age, spears were fast beyond seven steps, and within seven steps, spears were fast and accurate. No matter how awesome the Zhao Family Spear were, could they beat firearms?
Definitely not.
One could even say that in the pre-apocalyptic era, there was no martial arts world, nor were there any exclusive martial art techniques that were not passed down. If you wanted to learn, you could pay to learn. Even if you learned it, it was not of much use. Would you still dare to fight someone?
Now that Lu Ming had spoken, the Zhao father and son could not find any reason to refuse.
They were even secretly delighted.
Being able to have dealings with Luming using their family’s inherited martial arts was fantastic! Profitable! It was worth it!
Lu Ming, however, was a little impatient.
“There’s no better time than now. Shall we start immediately?”
Facing Lu Ming’s eager eyes, the Zhao father and son nodded without hesitation. “You decide. We have plenty of time!”
The Zhao Clan Martial Arts School primarily taught spear techniques.
The spear technique was called the Zhao Family Spear.
Despite its ordinary name, Zhao Family Spear was indeed rare in modern times and it focused on practical combat.
Of course, because of its emphasis on practical combat, there were not many disciples. The business of the former Red Thunder Martial Art School was just average, so there was no need to dwell on that.
Lu Ming stood upright in the open space in front of the house. Opposite him, the one responsible for teaching him was not Zhao Honglei but Zhao Yongchun.
According to Zhao Honglei, his son, Zhao Yongchun, had mastered his authentic techniques and was a better teacher than him. As for whether there was any deeper logical reasoning behind it, Lu Ming did not know.
He did not need to know.
At this moment, Lu Ming had already changed into sportswear, and Zhao Yongchun had also put on a loose white training suit. The two faced each other, with Zhao Yongchun looking solemn as he slowly spoke.
“I think what Mr. Lu wants to learn isn’t just a superficial physical training routine.”
Lu Ming: “That’s correct.”
“In that case, I’ll skip the preliminary physical training and get straight to the point.”
“Martial arts and striking techniques.
“As for the so-called striking techniques, the greatest secret can be summarized in one sentence: Faster and stronger!
“It was not just about striking faster and stronger; it also applies to being quicker and stronger in terms of physical abilities!
“The so-called traditional martial arts actually share similarities with the mixed martial arts that Wang Xiong practices. If one truly really wants practical combat, the party with greater strength will definitely have a significant advantage. In fact, when his strength surpasses his opponent to a certain level, the techniques and skills will become meaningless.
“This is the fundamental reason why boxing, mixed martial arts, and other combat sports have heavyweight divisions—the weaker ones hardly stand a chance against the stronger ones.”
Of course, Lu Ming did not need to consider physical fitness issues, so there was no need to go through physical training.
Beside him, Zhao Honglei handed over two long spears.
“The Zhao family practices the long spear.
“The long spear is four meters long, made of iron, and belongs to the category of hard spears. However, for the convenience in travel, our ancestors in the Republican era improved the Zhao family’s spear technique to make it usable with a two-meter spear. However, generally speaking, it’s better to use the long spear for actual combat.
“This follows the principle that strength increases with size.”
After taking the long spear, Lu Ming casually swung it, creating sonic booms, which caused Zhao Yongchun’s face to stiffen as he heard Lu Ming speak again.
“This spear is quite stiff. It’s not as elegant as it looks in TV dramas.”
In the past, when Lu Ming watched period dramas, he had also seen ‘martial arts experts’ wielding spears.
Their spears were as soft as cloth, and with a swing, they moved like a wriggling python, which looked impressive.
However, Zhao Yongchun scoffed and said, “That’s all just for show. It might look good, but it’s not practical in actual combat at all.
“This is also the first point I want to emphasize about spear techniques—the essence of spearmanship.
“Actually, there’s only one key attack for spearmanship—thrust!”
After saying that, Zhao Yongchun suddenly raised his hand and his spear shot out like a dragon!
The long spear accurately pierced a mud slab in front of him, shattering it on the spot.
“With the spear, there’s only one way to attack! Thrust! Thrust accurately and swiftly, that’s all there is to it. As for fancy twirling, using the spear as a staff to strike people… it’s just for show. It’s useless in a real fight.
“The logic behind this is easier to understand.
“Is it the force of the spear shaft stronger or the spearhead that is stronger in terms of lethality? If you say that the spear shaft can also kill people, then why don’t you go learn the staff instead?
“Thrusting is the core attacking technique of Zhao Family Spear and even all spear techniques. That’s why we only use hard spears and not soft ones.
“Hard spears thrust accurately with low energy loss, making them much more lethal than soft spears.
“Just imagine using a soft spear to thrust at someone. You aim for their throat, but the spear shaft is too soft, and it ends up crookedly stabbing their thigh- how embarrassing…”
Zhao Yongchun continued, “Many people say that there are similarities between spear techniques and boxing techniques, and that’s quite true.
“Thrusting is like the jab in boxing. It emphasizes speed. Combined with a sharp spearhead, when you have both speed and strong killing power, you have all the necessary elements.
“So, the first thing I want to teach Mr. Luming is actually just a simple word, ‘thrust’.”
Lu Ming raised his eyebrows. “Aren’t we supposed to learn martial arts?”
Zhao Yongchun laughed. “This is martial arts!”
“Some things seem mysterious until you come into contact with them.
“But once you do, you realize they’re not that special.
“The so-called traditional martial arts, when you get down to it, are simply a form of striking technique. To put it bluntly, most traditional martial arts are not as powerful and effective as modern combat techniques.
“As for the martial world, martial arts, inner strength… just listen and don’t take it too seriously. I don’t know if there was inner strength in ancient times, but what I can say for sure is that in modern and even recent times, no one in the Zhao family has attained inner strength.
“Furthermore, I want to correct a misconception you have, Mr. Lu. That is the idea of martial arts routines.
“The martial arts in TV dramas always have routines and techniques, but true martial arts actually don’t have many set routines—because you face different opponents with different techniques, it’s impossible to use the same set routine against different opponents.
“That leads me to the next thing I want to teach you, the fundamentals of spear techniques.
“Footwork, parrying, and thrusting. Parrying for defense, thrusting for offense. Once you master these, spear techniques will naturally come.”
This was completely different from what Lu Ming had imagined.
However, upon further contemplation, Lu Ming had to agree with Zhao Yongchun’s logic. Without fixed techniques, there’s no constant form. If you just perform a set of techniques for 10 minutes, that’s not martial arts, that’s gymnastics.
But then another question arose, “So, what you can teach me is just the basics of spear techniques, right?”
Then it seems like I can learn from videos myself.
To this, Zhao Yongchun smiled slightly, “And finally, what I want to teach Mr. Luming is the foundation training of our Zhao Family Spear and our renowned technique.
“The Frosty Glow..”