Chapter 93: MUP: Chapter 92. The Wooden Dummy
"Master Ip, good morning."
In the morning, Chinatown.
Dressed in a black Tang suit, Ip Man walked down the street, nodding back with a refined smile in response to the warm greetings of the neighbourhood.
"Good morning."
A middle-aged man in his fifties or sixties poked his head out of the medicine shop and asked with a smile.
"Master Ip, you're early today."
"Decades of habit, can't change it." Ip Man stopped and returned to the man. Then, he opened the old martial arts studio next to the herbal pharmacy, which he had taken over a few days ago. It seemed that the original owner was also said to be a martial artist teaching martial arts but what he actually taught was Karate.
"Decades?"
Hearing Ip Man's words, the middle-aged man's expression was somewhat astonished as he glanced at the man in Tang suit in front of him, "I think Master Ip looks quite young."
"It just seems like it." Ip Man didn't say much about it. He just smiled and vaguely said, "Maybe it's because I've been training martial arts for years, I look a bit younger than I should."
"Practicing martial arts has that effect?"
Hearing that, the middle-aged man couldn't help but half-jokingly say, "Then when I have time, I'll have to go to Master Ip to learn a few moves."
"You're always welcome."
After exchanging pleasantries with the owner of the pharmacy next door, Ip Man went inside the martial arts school.
There wasn't much space in the martial arts school, and on the left side stood a wooden dummy, which he had bought from a nearby lumber shop two days ago and crafted himself. Although, as a clone, there was no such thing as losing his ability if he didn't keep practising, he had prepared one on purpose to maintain his image as a Peng Lai martial artist.
A morning passed.
The martial arts school was never frequented by a single customer.
According to the residents here, over 10 years ago, due to the popularity of Kung Fu, martial arts schools were everywhere in Chinatown. Regardless of whether the owners knew martial arts or not, they were able to recruit a large number of foreigners in pursuit of their martial arts dreams simply by using the name of kung fu. However, in recent years there had been a change. Fighting techniques and boxing became mainstream, and martial arts weren't as prestigious as they used to be.
In particular, small martial arts schools like the ones that opened in Chinatown had been in a difficult position for some time and had seen a wave of bankruptcies.
However, Ip Man, as a clone, didn't pay much attention to that.
Ryan arranged for the clone to be in Chinatown, but it was never meant to open up a martial arts school.
In the afternoon, in the martial arts school.
Ip Man was pretending to practice the Wing Chun techniques on the wooden dummy.
"Is Master Jin here?"
From outside the door, a query suddenly came.
Pausing his practice, Ip Man turned his head to look at the young white man who appeared in the doorway and replied, "If you mean the martial arts master from the old school, he went out of business a long time ago. I think he went back to his hometown."
"Shit, I should have found out earlier. That guy didn't teach me anything from the beginning. I stupidly believed that he had some kind of secret technique. He ran away after I paid him a lot of money!" When he heard Ip Man's reply, the expression on the guy's face changed, anger mixed with shock.
It looks like the owner of the martial arts school that previously ran the place had scammed the guy.
In this regard, Ip Man wasn't surprised. Originally, it was very suspicious for a Korean to open a martial arts school.
The other party had already run away, so getting angry and cursing right was useless. The guy obviously had figured it out and stopped his angry rant. He looked around the martial arts school and was drawn to the wooden dummy standing on one side.
This was something he had never seen in the martial arts school before.
Half curious and half confused, the young man couldn't help but come closer. He looked at the odd-looking wooden dummy and asked, "What's this?"
"A wooden dummy, specifically for martial arts training."
Looking back, Ip Man glanced at the expression on the guy and calmly replied.
"Practicing martial arts with this piece of wood that doesn't move?"
Obviously, the young white man didn't really believe Ip Man's answer, especially when he had just experienced a scam, "You're lying, right? Just like Master Jin."
"Although I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you, I'm not the same as that guy you met before." Facing the young man's somewhat conflicting reaction, Ip Man maintained his refined demeanour and raised his hand to gently place it on top of the wooden dummy, "The wooden dummy is a simulation exercise that integrates the three sets of attacks, techniques, footwork and kicks, and fully embodies the practical awareness and technical approach to martial arts."
"By practising on the wooden dummy, you can mix all the techniques and footwork of your martial arts into free-flowing attacks. As the saying goes, if you are looking for a rival to grow, you need a teacher; if you don't have a teacher, you need a mirror and a dummy."
As he spoke, Ip Man's hands flew around the wooden pegs on the dummy, striking them with a crisp sound. He circled the pegs and performed his Wing Chun skills as if they were flowing in a stream.
Even though the young man wasn't sure of the name of the martial art Ip Man was displaying, he was still drawn to his flowing stance.
'This is what I want, real kung fu!'
After shifting his eyes for a moment, the young man then knelt down and shouted to Ip Man, "Master, I want to learn kung fu from you!"
Pa --
Stopping the movements of his hands, Ip Man looked back at the kneeling young man and said, "What? You aren't afraid that I would scam you, too?"
Shaking his head, the young man loudly said, "I can see that you're a real master of martial arts, unlike the guy that scammed me before."
Looking at the young man kneeling in front of him in the antique shop, Ryan's expression was somewhat speechless.
He originally had no intention of taking on disciples in Chinatown.
Even if he had taken over a martial arts school, it was just a ploy to fit in with his Ip Man identity.
However, since someone came to the door, teaching a few disciples didn't seem too bad. It was also more in line with Ip Man's setting as a great martial arts master.
Thoughts flashed through Ryan's mind for a few moments, and then a decision was made.
In Chinatown, inside the martial arts school, Ip Man reached out and gently pulled the young man in front of him to his feet. Looking at his opponent's surprised expression, he slightly smiled and said, "The purpose of opening a martial arts school is to recruit disciples and pass on the martial arts of my school. Since you want to learn, I won't refuse. But bad news first, martial arts training is not as easy as you think."
"I'm not afraid of hard work, Master." Shaking his head, the young man replied back without thinking.
"By the way, Master, what's the name of the martial arts you just used?"
Raising his hand and striking a pose, Ip Man chuckled lightly.
"Wing Chun."
[Reputation points from S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent +20]
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone