“So, I will first briefly tell you what swordsmanship is.”

“Swordsmanship, as the name implies, is an ancient combat skill used in battles. It involves the techniques and movements for offense and defense using blades.”

“The characteristics of swordsmanship are also very distinct. It is renowned for being brave and swift, overwhelming in momentum, with powerful and vigorous moves, like a fierce tiger.”

“In the real combat of swordsmanship, body technique is exceptionally important. It requires practitioners to coordinate the change of sword with body movements in advancing, retreating, turning, and jumping. These techniques include offensive actions like thrusting, chopping, sweeping, hooking, hacking, slashing, alternating, and cutting, as well as defensive actions like pressing, guiding, entangling the head, and covering the brain.”

“Simply put, any action in swordsmanship is not a mere hand movement but requires coordination with the entire body.”

“I don’t know why you specifically want to learn the chopping action, but even just one chopping action is not merely standing or squatting there and swinging a blade.”

“Moreover, chopping can be subdivided into horizontal chop, splitting chop, slanted chop, chain chop, advancing chop, backhand chop, whirlwind chop, etc. Each chopping action requires coordination with different body postures to exert better force and leave room for changing moves, balancing offense and defense.”

Su Xin listened earnestly to Coach Xing’s explanation, nodding slightly from time to time to show understanding.

After the explanation was finished, he said:

“Then Coach Xing, please teach me a simple chopping action first, and let me try.”

“Alright.”

Coach Xing nodded: “Then I’ll teach you the most basic splitting chop first.”

Saying this, he walked over to the weapon rack by the wall, picked up two wooden swords, handed one to Su Xin, held the other himself, and led Su Xin to the center of the room, the two standing side by side two meters apart.

“Follow my actions.”

“Bend down slightly, legs staggered front and back… continue, stagger a bit more!”

“That’s right.”

“Next, hold the sword handle with both hands, lift it, not too high, right hand about chin height…”

“That’s right.”

Coach Xing walked over to Su Xin, checked his posture, nodded with satisfaction, and said:

“Maintain this posture, remember it, familiarize yourself with it, your body must be steady, hands must be steady, but the body shouldn’t be tense, nor should the grip be too tight. Only exert force when necessary; using too much strength now will only tire you quickly and cause tension.”

“Keep your breathing steady first.”

“Remember, when you strike downward later, grip the sword handle tightly with both hands and use about eighty percent strength to chop downward.”

“When the blade reaches about knee height, immediately stop the force.”

“We often refer to this as rapid acceleration and deceleration.”

“Doing this has three major benefits.”

“First, it helps us better control our sword and our strength, continually exercising our control.”

“Second, performing rapid acceleration and deceleration well makes your attack faster and more sudden, making it harder for opponents to defend and counter.”

“Third, under such techniques, we find it easier to change moves. Even if facing an unexpected attack, we can quickly stop the force and switch from offense to defense to protect ourselves.”

Coach Xing returned to his position, posed with the sword as before, and suddenly, with sharp eyes, shouted:

“Prepare… chop!”

“Whoosh!!”

A sharp sound pierced the air suddenly.

The wooden sword in Coach Xing’s hand almost turned into a blur, then instantly stopped, steady in his hands, unmoving.

Su Xin’s performance was far inferior to his counterpart, not only slower in sword swing but also unable to stabilize the sword, which lightly oscillated with his breathing rhythm.

“It’s okay, beginners are all like this, it’s very normal, just practice slowly.”

Coach Xing comforted, then raised the wooden sword again, holding it steadily in mid-air:

“Repeat the previous action.”

“Come, lift the sword again.”

“Hold for five seconds… chop!”

Under Coach Xing’s guidance, Su Xin kept practicing the splitting chop.

Though it was just the simplest chop, focusing fully, each strike unleashed nearly eighty percent of his bodily strength. Only after a dozen strikes, fatigue quickly set in, even professionals like Coach Xing showed obvious signs of labored breathing after dozens of continuous chops.

Su Xin was even more exhausted, with sore and weak arms, barely able to lift the sword.

But, just in time for the death period, Su Xin excused himself and sat by the field, claiming to rest with closed eyes, but actually fell dead on the bench after a minute.

Resurrected, he opened his eyes again, the fatigue in his body was swept away, fully restored with energy and physical strength.

“Coach Xing, let’s continue.”

Su Xin stood up, picked up the wooden sword placed beside him, walked back to the field.

“Hmm? You’ve rested well?”

Coach Xing stared blankly at Su Xin, who stood in the middle of the field again, full of spirit and eager to try, raising the sword once more.

“Alright, let’s continue then.”

Coach Xing reluctantly got up and went back to guide Su Xin’s moves.

Su Xin devoted full attention.

He didn’t mechanically repeat the chop actions but adjusted his body posture with each chop, felt the changes in force, and occasionally recalled Coach Xing’s perspectives on swordsmanship.

“Swordsmanship is an ancient combat skill used in battles.”

“Applied in battles…”

“Combat…”

“So, it should focus on killing the enemy.”

“Swordsmanship is about killing!”

Su Xin’s eyes grew increasingly fierce.

With each successive chop, he gained more insights into swordsmanship.

“Whoosh!”

The sword wind howled.

Su Xin held the sword steady.

“Ding! [Swordsmanship Maniac] progress +1.”

“Finally had the first bit of progress.”

Su Xin couldn’t help his lips curling slightly.

Success once means his path is correct, with great hope for more progress later.

No wonder he practiced so hard for so long.

Su Xin paused slightly, letting his body recover, then raised the wooden sword again, recalling the previous state, concentrating, and suddenly gripping tight, slashing forward.

“Whoosh!”

The sharp sound of wind cut through again.

But this time, the system prompt didn’t appear again.

Su Xin wasn’t surprised at this.

He might have just incidentally grasped some insight rather than comprehending the true essence of swordsmanship.

Otherwise, if success from sheer luck could lead to continuous success later, then the so-called true essence of swordsmanship would be too simple.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep