"Alright, just now I was only helping you test your strength and explaining the principles, letting you feel how the Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound vibrates. Right now, your bones, tendons, and muscles aren't solidly trained yet. You can't shake on your own, and it's impossible for you to produce the Thunder Sound by shaking. Forcing it will only shake out emptiness. What I used just now was Taiji push hands—that requires a certain level of understanding of the human body and precise control of force to execute."

"Come, I'll teach you the basics now. Let's take it step by step!" Catherine Turner said, "I'll teach you Baguazhang first!"

Chapter 11: Such Powerful Leg Techniques

"Baguazhang is ever-changing, but when it comes down to it, there are only eight postures. Watch as I demonstrate." Catherine Turner assumed a stance, knees bent, five fingers gently spread into palms, slowly pushing forward, squeezing, pressing, and kneading.

As her footwork turned her body, her eyes always followed the hand exerting force, drifting up and down, glancing left and right, extremely agile.

"Double palm change, single palm change, following palm, turning palm, returning palm, upward palm, body rubbing palm, body kneading palm. These are the eight basic forms. Watch my legwork and footwork!"

Charles Warren watched intently, noticing that when Catherine Turner stepped, her legs never lifted but glided along the ground.

"All Chinese martial arts require training the legs. Look at a tumbler toy—the lower body is like iron, firmly rooted, while the upper body sways and dodges, never falling. Practicing boxing is the same! The way I walk is called 'mud-wading step,' as if walking through mud and water. You have to be light, steady, and cautious, holding in your strength. If you're even a bit heavy, the mud and water will splash onto you."

Catherine Turner practiced just as she had in the park that day. After finishing the eight forms, she raised both hands to her brow, pressed down to her abdomen, then exhaled sharply like an arrow.

Charles Warren followed along, learning slowly. In less than two hours, he had mastered the eight basic forms.

The eight forms of Baguazhang are also performed slowly. Charles Warren practiced them and felt his posture was very standard, feeling a bit proud. Unexpectedly, Catherine Turner immediately scolded him: "You're just practicing empty forms. Even if you do this for ten thousand years, you'll still be beaten. Your Santi stance is wasted!"

"What!" Charles Warren was surprised.

"Your posture is fine, your steps are correct, but why don't you move your spine when performing the forms? Internal arts, internal arts—you have to hold your breath in, not let it scatter, that's what makes it internal!" Catherine Turner demonstrated a pushing palm posture again. When her arm reached the end and retracted, Charles Warren saw the fine hairs on her arm suddenly stand on end.

"When practicing, your footwork must be correct, your gaze must be correct, and your spine even more so. The horse stance and Santi stance you practice—are they all the way in Java? You have no comprehension at all! When retracting force, you must bring out the Santi stance!"

Catherine Turner was extremely strict in her teaching.

"So that's it—integrating stance training into boxing. Standing in stance is like giving you a formula or theorem, and boxing is like solving a problem. Using the formula to solve the problem is integrating stance into boxing!" Charles Warren suddenly understood.

Catherine Turner was slightly surprised: "You little fool actually have some insight! Since you understand, practice these eight basic moves thoroughly!"

Charles Warren nodded and practiced earnestly, one by one. Both palms pushed slowly, footwork turning the body. The more he practiced, the more proficient he became. Each palm strike was forceful, his whole body heating up, and when retracting, his spine would drop, all the hairs on his body standing up, goosebumps rising.

The heat in his body surged back and forth with the palm movements. Charles Warren felt as if his body was a water jug, with energy sloshing around inside.

Last time, when Charles Warren stood in Santi stance, he had a similar feeling, but then the surging force was only in his upper body, from neck to lower abdomen.

Now, the alternating heat and cold surged through his hands, feet, and every part of his body.

Charles Warren pushed his palms step by step, the heat in his body never dissipating. After a while, he felt his hands, feet, and body were all swollen like a pig inflated with air. But Charles Warren knew that in reality, his hands, feet, and body hadn't actually swelled up—it was just the sensation caused by energy stimulating his pores and nerves.

Gradually, the power of the Santi stance to drop the spine and close the pores was no longer enough. Suddenly, the energy in his whole body accumulated thicker and thicker, his pores burst open, his jaw unclenched, and he couldn't help but let out a long howl. Immediately after, sweat poured down like rain, soaking him completely.

"You did feel something, but you still can't contain your energy. The Santi stance only moves the spine slightly, so the energy generated is small and you can still hold it in. Now, with the Baguazhang forms moving every part of your body, all the energy surges out. Your pores aren't strong enough to keep it in."

Catherine Turner saw Charles Warren looking as if he'd just been fished out of water and couldn't help but laugh: "You rushed your practice just now, overdid it. You have to stop at the right moment—when you feel you can't hold it in anymore, stop immediately, walk around slowly, and keep your whole body in a state of closed pores. Then the energy will gradually settle into your lower abdomen, between your waist and kidneys, and some will rise to your temples. Only then will your body be transformed, your pores' contraction power increased, and your health preserved."