Stance training was the foundation of all martial arts, and the source of the saying, "Practice boxing without building your foundation, and you'll have nothing to show for it in old age."
China's martial arts had a long history, and the names of many accompanying stance methods represented their respective schools.
For instance, Supreme Ultimate Fist's Hunyuan Stance and Wuji Stance, Eight Extremes Fist's Two Principles Stance, and Eight Trigrams Palm's Bagua Stake Training were clearly connected to Taoist classics.
Likewise, the Dragon-Subduing Stance and Tiger-Subduing Stance in Xinyi Liuhe Fist, along with Hung Fist's I-Character Tiger-Subduing and others, drew on the true essence of Buddhism's two venerable arhats, Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Subduing.
Of course, Taoism also had its own dragon-subduing and tiger-subduing terminology. The stance training of Three Sovereigns Cannon Punch, practiced by Lin Yuanchao, whom Chen Jue had met earlier, was also called Tiger-Subduing Stance (Tiger-Grabbing Stance). However, Three Sovereigns Cannon Punch took its underlying concept from the ancient Three Sovereigns: the Heavenly Sovereign Fuxi, the Earthly Sovereign Shennong, and the Human Sovereign Yellow Emperor. The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors also appeared in Taoist classics, so Three Sovereigns Cannon Punch was classified as a Taoist martial art.
The Boat Boxing Eight Immortals Stance that Chen Jue practiced likewise drew its concept from Taoism's Eight Immortals.
The eight methods of practicing the Eight Immortals Stance corresponded to the forms of the eight trigrams. After Chen Jue made a circuit of the water jar's rim, Li Xiang, who was watching from the side, gave a soft exclamation. "Master Chen Jue, this stance training of yours is somewhat like Wudang's Eight Treasures Stake Training, with a few traces of Bagua Stake Training too."
But before he finished speaking, Chen Jue, who had been stepping along the water jar's rim as though