[Martial Arts] A Hundred Days of Foundation Building Journey

Author: Jeffi Chao Hui Wu

Fecha: 17-7-2025 Jueves, 9:04 a.m.

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[Martial Arts] Journey of a Hundred Days to Build a Foundation
No one arranged this path for me; it is the first hurdle I set for myself: a hundred days to build a foundation.
No rituals, no audience, no rewards—only me standing silently at a fixed time, in a fixed place, with fixed movements every day.
During these hundred days, I was not "doing something," but rather "building a new self." I set six goals for myself, which can also be seen as six lessons, each intertwined throughout the entire hundred days, without skipping or taking shortcuts.
1. Practice Calmness: Can I calm my mind for a hundred days?
The first challenge I faced was the hardest: "calmness."
On the first day of standing, I realized that while my body was still, my mind could not stop. Various voices flew around in my head: to-do lists, trivial worries, and even fragments of conversations from decades ago would pop up. I once thought I was a patient person, but standing still for over ten minutes made me realize that "calmness" is not something you achieve by just sitting down; it is forced out second by second.
Thus, I began to practice "calmness"—not allowing myself to be led by external distractions every day. I set my phone to airplane mode, kept my environment extremely simple, and started at 5 a.m. with no one to disturb me. Before standing, I told myself: "Right now, the world is not important; I am important." After a hundred days, I indeed managed to stand in calmness every day, and my inner self became increasingly stable.
2. Practice Mindset: Bid farewell to the past and face the future with a new attitude
Not only did I need to calm down, but I also needed to change my "mindset."
In the past, I was used to navigating between relationships, responsibilities, and work, accustomed to "considering others' feelings," but rarely had the opportunity to face myself properly. During the days of standing, I felt like I entered a small world isolated from the outside. No one urged me, no one disturbed me, and no one would praise or question me.
In such days, I began to ponder: What kind of attitude should I adopt to face the life ahead? Should I continue to carry old burdens, or should I start redefining myself with a new mindset from now on?
During these hundred days, I actively cleared some interpersonal relationships. I found that those who I had greeted daily on WeChat for years would respond, but after I stopped greeting them, only a very few reached out to me. I reduced ineffective socializing, stopped entangling with old matters, and redirected more energy back to myself—into my body, into the stance, into every breath.
3. Practice Willpower: Same time, same place, same action
This sounds simple, but it truly tests one's skills.
I set a rule for myself to stand at the same time every day. It was not "ten o'clock today, twelve o'clock tomorrow," nor was it "stand for ten minutes today, forty minutes tomorrow." I required myself to be "fixed," because "stability" is the root of strength.
Same time, same place, same action may seem monotonous, but it is a form of deep training. This persistence in repetition is the true way to forge "willpower." It is not driven by passion, but by routine.
Especially on winter mornings, when the temperature dropped to seven or eight degrees, I stood by the sea in thin clothes, my feet cold and my knees numb at first. But I would not allow myself to back down. Like a stone, I had to be polished by daily drops of water to finally take shape.
4. Practice Qi and Blood: Regulate the flow of qi and blood in the body
Standing is not just about "training muscles and bones"; at a deeper level, it is about "adjusting qi and blood."
At the beginning of standing, my hands and feet easily became cold, and I would shake after standing for a minute, unable to last five minutes. But around the twentieth day, changes began to occur—my breathing deepened, my body warmed up, and after standing for ten minutes, my whole body started to heat up, especially my forehead and back, which would naturally sweat, even though my legs still shook, I could surprisingly hold on for 30 minutes! Each time, I was drenched in sweat!
My qi and blood began to move. Later on, even when it was windy and cold outside, I could maintain warmth in my body; the fatigue I used to feel gradually disappeared. Even I was surprised: this is the feeling of qi and blood flowing smoothly.
I didn't take medicine or supplements; solely relying on standing, I awakened, pushed, and activated my qi step by step. That is not mysticism; it is the regulation earned through my own sweat.
5. Practice Structure: Standing is not just standing; the structure must be right to increase power
Many people say "just stand," but I disagree.
Standing is a science of structure, not just "holding on." I recorded myself every day to review my stance: Are my shoulders relaxed? Is my spine straight? Are my feet evenly weighted? Are my hips relaxed and sinking? I made micro-adjustments to every posture.
As I stood, I began to feel my bones realigning, my joints returning to place, and my center of gravity gradually sinking down, with qi flowing to my feet, rooting me down. When the structure is correct, the energy can naturally "gather"; when the structure is wrong, the more I stand, the stiffer and more fatigued I become.
True "increased power" does not come from sweating, but from having the correct structure.
6. Practice Breath: Exchange breath with heaven and earth
This is a realm I entered later on. At first, I just breathed naturally, but when my body calmed down, my qi and blood flowed smoothly, and my structure stabilized, I began to experience a subtle "exchange with heaven and earth."
With each inhale and exhale, I felt as if I connected with the energy field between heaven and earth. Breathing was no longer just a lung action; the whole body participated. I inhaled the fresh qi of heaven and earth and exhaled the turbid qi of my body; it was not just physiological breathing but a reactivation of body and mind.
This state is very profound; once entered, it feels like conversing with the entire universe. I know this feeling is not something taught or learned by observation; it is something I stepped into gradually on my own.
Summary: A hundred days is both a threshold and a starting point
Looking back on these hundred days, I did not ask anyone to supervise me, nor did I post on social media to check in. No one applauded, and no one discouraged me; it was just me—standing on the ground every day, facing myself.
What I practiced was not "actions," but "the person." A person who can endure, calm down, and stand firm.
What I gained was not "skills," but a "system"—heart, qi, blood, structure, breath, all interconnected, forming a complete system step by step.
Therefore, the hundred days of building a foundation is not just a part of my practice; it is the starting point of my life reconstruction.
What I laid down is not just a stance, but also roots.
I once told myself: "If you can stand calmly for a hundred days, nothing can bring you down."
And this is just the first hundred days! Now, I still stand every day, then practice boxing and sword, and finally do Yi Jin Jing qigong to conclude. I start practicing around 5 a.m. for 1.5 hours.
On the road ahead, I am not afraid of wind and rain, nor am I afraid of loneliness!

Source: https://www.australianwinner.com/AuWinner/viewtopic.php?t=696898