Chapter 204: First Archery Lesson
Zhou You sighed as he had to admit—talent was talent.
He stopped watching the horse riding; the blow to his confidence was too severe.
Instead, he turned to watch the wrestling.
Grassland wrestling had no weight class restrictions, and every competitor was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted.
After Daxi led them there, he went to change clothes. Zhou You noticed that once Daxi changed, his potbelly was exposed.
When he walked, it wobbled and bounced, giving off a slightly comical vibe.
With Daxi gone, Agula began explaining the basics to Zhou You.
"Here, we call it 'Bökh,' which means wrestling in Chinese. The competition is single-elimination—one fall decides the winner. Whoever touches the ground first with any part above the knee loses."
"Brother You, see those neckbands they wear? We call them 'Jiangga.' They mark the wrestler's rank. The more victories, the more colorful strips."
Zhou You followed Agula's gesture and saw a burly man who looked over 190 cm tall, exuding an overwhelming presence, his neck covered in colorful strips.
"What's the significance of their gear?"
"The upper body wears a tight half-sleeve vest made of cowhide or canvas, studded with silver or steel nails."
"The waist is tied with a sash made of red, blue, and yellow silk—called 'Xilibuge' in Mongolian."
"The lower body wears specially made loose wrestling pants from 5 or 10 meters of white cloth, with patterned covers over them. This way, sweat doesn't stick to the clothes, and it prevents injuries. They wear Mongolian boots or riding boots on their feet."
Zhou You saw the match had already started.
But he couldn't make sense of it. An outsider watches the excitement; an insider understands the technique.
"Agula, can you commentate for me? I don't quite get the rules," Zhou You asked, making Agula a free commentator.
Agula was speechless.
"Brother You, the dance they do when entering is an entrance dance, also to warm up. There are many wrestling techniques—thirteen basic moves like grabbing, pulling, tugging, pushing, and pressing, which evolve into over a hundred actions."
"They can grab each other's shoulders, wrap around the waist, or attack by going under the armpit. They can also seize the wrestling clothes, belt, or waistband."
"The biggest feature of grassland wrestling is that leg grabs are not allowed. Other rules include no hitting the face, no suddenly pulling someone down from behind, no touching the eyes or ears, no pulling hair, and no kicking the stomach or any part above the knee."
Zhou You was stunned after hearing this. So law-abiding? No vital points targeted at all.
"How effective is it in real combat? What's your skill level?" Zhou You pressed further.
Agula lowered his head and scratched the back of his neck. "My skill is too poor. Otherwise, in that last match, if I had grabbed you, Brother You, you wouldn't have been able to resist. It's very effective in real combat and quite suitable for modern people to learn."
"Brother Liang, if you were to fight these wrestlers on the field, what would happen?"
Li Houliang grinned. "Never fought, so I don't know. But if they got close, it'd come down to wrestling techniques. Mine are average."
Zhou You understood—everyone has their strengths.
"There are many types of wrestling, each with its own techniques, all worth learning from. But wrestlers have the most stable lower body; that's what they train for," Li Houliang said, seeing Zhou You's interest.
"In one-on-one situations, wrestling has the advantage. But against multiple opponents, Sanda takes the lead."
As they watched with growing excitement,
Agula suddenly pointed at someone. "That's my master. When his match is over, let's go see him."
Zhou You couldn't follow the details, but having studied Sanda, which includes some throws, he knew the gap from professional wrestling was huge.
When the strength difference was too big, a single takedown could end the fight.
When evenly matched, it was all about technique. During the standoffs, Zhou You was lost.
He could only see them shifting and feinting, unable to exploit each other's weaknesses.
It looked a bit dull, but that was when true skill was tested.
Daxi was pretty good too, winning his first round by grabbing his opponent and using his core strength to slam him to the ground.
Unfortunately, he was thrown in the second round.
"Brother You, my master is here. Just call him Batu," Agula said, running over first.
Zhou You and the others followed.
Batu had just finished wrestling, drenched in sweat. A fierce aura hit them.
"Hello, Agula says your Sanda skills are excellent," Batu said with a hearty laugh.
Zhou You humbly replied, "I've only just started learning. Your wrestling is really thrilling to watch. I'd love to try it, but I've never trained, so I don't dare."
"You should still practice. It looks simple, but there's a lot of technique involved," Batu explained.
After a brief chat, they agreed to have dinner together, and Batu went back to compete.
The event would last all day.
Zhou You wandered over to the archery area.
They were doing standing archery with traditional horn bows, the arrowheads made of rubber. The targets were flip-style—when hit, they would turn over.
Besides the professionals, some people were practicing on the side.
Daxi had finished his matches and came back to find Zhou You. Seeing his interest in archery, he took him to try it out.
First, Daxi fitted Zhou You with a shoulder guard, elbow guard, wrist guard, and finger tab.
"Watch me. Place the arrow just below the center of the bowstring, where that little knot is. The black fletching faces outward. Stand with your feet slightly apart. Hook the string with your thumb, lock it with your index finger, and pull back," Daxi explained in detail.
Zhou You had always wondered how archers didn't cut their fingers or hurt the hand holding the bow at such speed. After trying it himself, he realized that with the right form, it didn't hurt the hand.
But it did strain the thumb.
After pulling a few times, his thumb felt uncomfortable.
No wonder in TV shows, many people wore thumb rings made of jade.
It was both a status symbol and a tool to protect the thumb during archery.
Interesting.
Especially when aiming—beginners had to lower the aiming point significantly. It took long-term practice to shoot accurately.
Newbies rarely hit the target. Unlike crossbows, which aim like firearms and are easier to learn,
bows were trickier and required consistent practice.
Maybe that's why crossbows were banned but bows weren't.
"Brother You, do sports schools teach archery?" Zhou You asked Li Houliang.
"Yes," Li Houliang replied succinctly.
"Good. When we get back, let's find one and add it to our gym. I want to learn archery too," Zhou You said enthusiastically.
Later, he'd learn to ride a horse and shoot arrows at the same time.
Just imagining it was wonderful.
A man roaming the land, riding and shooting, taking down the strong.
Ha, the blood was already boiling.
"Brother Liang, do we have wrestling where we are?" Zhou You continued.
This time, Li Houliang hesitated slightly before answering. "There are many types of wrestling. What we learn there is different from here."
Zhou You didn't say anything after hearing that.
He'd wait until the evening chat to discuss it further.