Chapter 3: Refining 6. The Eighteen Martial Arts of the Dog Head Troop and Seven Kinds of Weapons (3)

  I hesitated for half a day about writing this, as it seems to reveal the secrets of our old unit. But I believe there's truth in it, and I'll note that our Dog Head Squad's special forces never practiced this. So what follows is limited to our Dog Head Squad.

  Our usual training was very intense, but we knew that practicing certain things wasn't useful - enemies won't wait for you to catch your breath before attacking! Generally, we'd start with automatic rifles, then move on to handguns, and finally to knives. But when it comes down to hand-to-hand combat, is it really about the "fast, ruthless, accurate" approach of special forces? We rarely practiced punching and kicking in real battles - think about it, except for capturing enemies (which is a one-time thing), would you ever use your fists? Would an enemy easily take away your gun? What's the point of small unit formations and crossfire cover? It's just like something out of a movie, made to look good and satisfy bloodlust.

  But we still practiced punching, and very fiercely at that. One reason was for situations where you couldn't use guns (which didn't happen often, and there were also silent pistols), and the other was to cultivate team members' combat spirit and will to win - to ignite that primal warrior's determination and tenacity.

  In reality, we rarely used our punching skills in battle. Imagine the environment of real combat? What situation would special forces be in where they'd fight alone? The probability is very low! As for "hard qigong", it's even more useless - are you really practicing? Breaking bottles and kicking jars isn't hard qigong, just don't be afraid of pain!

  But that TV station came and wanted us to break bricks, nothing else mattered, they thought it was exciting. We had no choice but to practice for a few days. Dog Head High School Team is real kung fu, but we're all fake.

  That director even wanted us to stand in a row and break bricks - the Dog Head High School Team got angry too! Although he's a secular disciple of Shaolin Temple, he's still a veteran of the battlefield, and he knows that in real combat, if you really need to fight hand-to-hand, it's all about being ruthless! It's all about one move taking down the enemy! What "inner energy" are we talking about? Does the enemy give you time for that? One shot and you're done!

  Do you think the Chinese military is full of idiots? What do professional soldiers eat? Do they not practice real combat skills every day, but instead break bricks all day? I'd say it's those TV station kids who are causing trouble, making it seem like we can break bricks with our chests and shatter big rocks! Is that what a warrior is?!

  What is a true warrior?! It's "fast, accurate, ruthless"! One move and you're dead - do you need to use hard qigong for that?!

  But no way, the task is here and it's gotta be done! The Dog Head High School team scolded a certain TV station kid for messing around, brothers running so fast, shooting so well, climbing cliffs so high, and throwing hands so agile. People who understand what's going on know what real combat power is, why do they have to watch brick splitting?

  I think the audience also has a responsibility, especially after being influenced by Hong Kong's martial arts films, it seems like we have to be able to shatter a bottle with our heads and break big rocks with one hand. To be honest, we can definitely do that, but why do we need to practice breaking four or six bricks? Is it really necessary? What are you fighting, a person or what? Are people as hard as two bricks? One punch and they're down for sure.

  The police force practices this because they have more opportunities for hand-to-hand combat. They are responsible for maintaining order, not waging war, so they can't just fire their guns randomly. In a real fight, it's all about quick and effective moves. When it comes to hand-to-hand combat, our basic skills are solid enough. We also have the "Dog Head High School Team" technique, which is a set of moves that can take down an opponent quickly.

  The police force has the time to practice these techniques, but we don't. We have so many other difficult and time-consuming subjects to train in. Who gives us the time to practice qigong? The military's training methods are useless for actual combat. In a real war, it's all about quick and effective moves, not fancy martial arts techniques.

  Still need to practice! Let's just practice. Two pieces, no problem. Three pieces, no problem. My hands hurt, it really hurts! I only knew after opening that there was a black-hearted brick which is red on the outside but black inside, and that kind of brick is extremely hard. Four pieces, I didn't open them because I'm scared, I could have opened them, but I had a resistant attitude.

  Why do we have to put aside the serious subjects and play with this useless thing? Mada was the last one who could get to five blocks, he didn't have hard qigong, just his fists were hard and not afraid of pain. Look at most people, they can only get to around four blocks. Isn't that enough?

  The TV station came and I still split four pieces. No hard qigong, all real kung fu, really splitting hands. It's so damn painful! I sucked in cold air but bit my teeth and didn't dare move. The kids from a certain TV station were not satisfied with how the special forces only split four pieces? Not as good as the ones in the movies! How can the audience be satisfied?

  I was so anxious at that time. The Dog Head High School team thought about it and said, "Let's gather and practice again." Then we ran to the construction site of the swimming pool that was being built. You think this swimming pool is for your entertainment? Try entertaining yourself in a 4-meter deep pool with your feet and hands tied up! This matter will be discussed later. People always say that the Chinese army doesn't do anything serious, why don't you come and tie up your own feet and hands and jump down? Why are you so happy to see us little soldiers suffer? Of course, we should eat this kind of bitter fruit, but what's the point of breaking bricks?!

  But still have to practice! The Dog Head High School team picked up a brick and tapped it, listened, then picked up another brick and tapped it, listened again. Then nodded: "Come over." We went over to listen. The Dog Head High School team said: "Find out which bricks make this sound!" We searched, the warriors are the most obedient. Found them, placed them there. The Dog Head High School team split open the brick in their hand: "This one doesn't have a black heart." We understood. I don't dare say that Shaolin Temple has tricks, but if Dog Head High School team didn't have tricks in their previous performances, I would write it upside down! The Dog Head High School team picked up half a brick and slowly tapped around the middle of an intact brick: "Do you see?"

  This slight knock, the internal structure of the brick began to loosen. The red brick dust fell off with a rustling sound. At that moment, I thoroughly understood that Dog Head High School team's so-called martial arts master and Shaolin lay disciple had been playing this kind of trick all along in their previous performances! Why didn't they tell us just to maintain the image of being a martial arts master?! Our brothers' hands were all sore! If only they had said something earlier, it would have been over by now! Are you saying he's not a birdbrain?!

  This time it was those little brats from a certain TV station who were forced to tell us after they had no other choice! Damn bird people!

  After a while, we practiced and went back. On the TV screen, each person had 8 blocks stacked in front of their chair. The lucky dog head high school team taught a few fake moves on the spot. Ha ha, one after another. All were eight blocks. Red brick dust flew everywhere. Half of the bricks fell to the ground. Surprisingly, they all remained calm and composed.

  What is being forced?

  The special forces of Wolf Tooth Special Team performed so-called hard qigong, which was really helpless.

  Who's forcing you?

  Rumor.

  There's another thing about the Brick-Splitting Dog Head High School team. The deputy commander of the military region and his entourage came to watch the performance, and those kids from a certain TV station came again, asking to film a close-up shot of the deputy commander watching the soldiers split bricks and then shaking hands with them. The troops are very particular about politics, and propaganda is one aspect of that, so they absolutely cooperate with the TV stations - if you're from the TV station, you should know that they've caused trouble for the troops before.

  Still have to split bricks. There's no time to find so many bricks, the Dog Head High School team helplessly said: "I'll go up."

  We just find bricks and move them over there. 11 of them are stacked up over there.

  The Dog Head High School team shouted "Ah". The deputy commander of the military district saw his lieutenant only split 3 blocks, gritting his teeth and continuing to split in pain. We were all stunned, how is this possible? Not to mention that he was acting out of hand and foot? This kid suddenly got 6 blocks, absolutely no problem! The deputy commander of the military district saw his lieutenant still unable to split that one block, still enduring the pain to split. The TV station's little guy was thrilled, because such an exciting and stimulating scene is rarely seen, and he took a strong shot.

  The deputy commander of the military district saw his major being forced to shout "Ah" and took the remaining bricks one by one and smashed them on his own head. At that time, I found out that the 4th, 5th, 7th, 10th, and 11th bricks were not black-hearted bricks, but special steel-core bricks for building swimming pools, which sounded like red bricks.

  The Dog Head High School team is indeed worthy of being a secular disciple of Shaolin! This is real kung fu! Deputy Commander Zhang of the Military Region saw his lieutenant standing there, enduring the pain and maintaining a straight military posture. A young man from a certain TV station was still taking pictures, quietly reminding our deputy commander: "Shake hands! Shake hands!"

  Later, the deputy commander of the military region's guard staff and secretaries came to our place to play with guns on weekends. The battalion commander assigned me to ensure their safety. They told me that day that they had never seen the 60-year-old old general lose his temper before, this old cadre was very well-behaved. But that day, our deputy commander of the military region pointed at the nose of the little brat from the TV station and scolded: "This is my army! These are my soldiers! From now on, you bunch of dog-farting turtles are not allowed to come to my army to harm my soldiers!"

  The TV station kid shot his mouth off, and then the security guard confiscated his armband.

  It should be broadcast actually.

  I burst into tears at that moment.

  For such a general, we are willing to die on the battlefield without complaint or regret.

  From now on, the Dog Head Special Forces will no longer accept any news reports except for those from military newspapers and military news departments.

  Note: The smashing of bricks refers specifically to the Dog Head Brigade and has nothing to do with other units.