Training
"Today I will teach you how to box properly" Not bothered by the boy's caution, the old man turned and positioned himself "Watch carefully because I will not repeat it again. Boxing has certain techniques and they have different variations, but today I will show you the boxing of your country. We will start with the attack and then I will teach you the defense"
"You have to take into account your posture and the height of your shoulders and fists. All the while you must not neglect your hips, legs and feet, as all of them will give you the stability and strength you will need to throw a punch"
Positioning himself correctly, John looked at Christian and carefully explained the basics of boxing, and then began to punch slowly and continued explaining things like knuckles, wrists, hands, among other things, spending more than half an hour explaining it under the watchful eye of Christian.
After a few demonstrations, John turns and asks "Did you understand?"
"..." Without answering, Christian positions himself and quickly remembers everything the old man said while mumbling "Back, shoulders, legs, hips, arms, wrists, feet, knuckles..."
After about five minutes, Christian positioned himself in what he thought was the correct form, then threw a punch and felt the obvious difference from what he was doing before. He noticed that everything was easier for him.
Looking at Christian with a twinkle in his eye, the old man smiled cheerfully and approached "You're fine, but your shoulder is positioned wrong and your left foot is too far forward"
Helping with a few taps, the old man observed Christian's strokes and nodded with satisfaction "Good, very good"
Giving a few punches in the air, Christian tried different types of punches. Crochet, Uppercut, Hook, among others, and after a few minutes, the old man nodded and spoke.
"Perfect, for the next few days you are forbidden from using your legs to hit and you can only use boxing techniques"
"And if I use my legs?" Christian stopped boxing and looked at the old man with defiance.
"You don't want to find out" John replied with the same gentle smile.
...
Saturday, November 10, 2012. (4 months later)
Out in the open, two men were fighting each other rapidly, creating a scene both striking to this world and strange due to their ages. One looked so old that it seemed like he could die at any moment, while the other was very young, forming a strange contrast between the two.
Dodging a fist, Christian holds his arm and jumps with a kick towards John's face, which the old man easily dodged as he responded with his own kick towards Christian's stomach.
Quickly parrying the kick with his hand, Christian pulled his leg back and ducked to dodge another fist, and with unique agility, wrapped around the leg holding John's body and to knocked him to the ground.
But as usual, he didn't even reach the position before he was caught in a headlock by the older man, completely at his submission while his face was stuck to the ground practically eating dirt.
"*Sigh* Old man, how the fuck can you move after falling like that..." With annoyance, Christian stopped resisting, knowing that the more he struggled while trapped, the more he suffered.
"Years of experiences" Smiling, the old man wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned around "See you tomorrow, practice your punches for a while and go back to your cell"
"Right..." Nodding, Christian stands up and dusts off his clothes, then sighs.
Over time Christian came to understand something important, the old man was the boss of the whole place.
After two months of training, he began to receive much more and better-quality food. Yesterday he even ate a steak and fries, something that should be impossible in this place.
By the third month he had the privilege of not wearing handcuffs and going back to his cell unattended, something he enjoys every day, while the feeling of loneliness and confinement vanished instantly due to his seven plus hours of daily training with John.
During these four months, Christian learned eight fighting techniques with the old man, dedicating approximately two weeks per technique.
Boxing, Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, Kickboxing, Jujutsu, Muay Thai, which is his favorite so far, and finally the one they were learning today, Sambo.
Christian came to sincerely respect the old man from the bottom of his heart. The man always had more techniques to teach and is an incredible master. He even gave him a training and stretching routine to improve his whole body to the maximum.
But for Christian the old man was also a pain in the ass. He is very manic and aggressive, but what frustrates him the most is never being able to hit him. Even if it is a punch, he was always being knocked down or knocked out without difficulty.
Even if he uses all his techniques together, the old man always defends himself with simple punches and kicks, while most of the time he simply dodges with ease, something very frustrating for Christian who never stops coming and it makes him feel like he hasn't improved even a little bit.
Arriving in front of a thick wooden pole in the middle of the place, Christian positions himself and begins to kick the pole, without any sort of protection, something that caused him a lot of suffering at first because of the great amount of pain or injuries it caused him. But well, it was either that or being tortured by the old man, he had no other choice.
After about 30 minutes of kicking, Christian began to hit the wood with his bare fists, always using all his strength with each blow. But strangely enough, not a single wound could be found on his fists, something he achieved after not even having the strength to hold a spoon.
After another 30 minutes, Christian wiped his sweat with his clothes and walked quietly back to his cell.
Upon entering, the door closed automatically, but not caring, Christian sat down and began to replay his entire fight today inside his mind, analyzing his failures and looking for solutions.
After another hour of simulation, Christian got up and covered the camera without question, then stepped into the shower to freshen up.
...
The next day, the routine was repeated, Christian was already eating dirt as a bitter expression reappeared on his face.
"Old man... this is just hateful" Even though John already let him go, Christian didn't get up. "I train all day long, even in my mind, but I can't hit you even one hit... every time I think I can read your next move, you suddenly change it and fuck me up... every time I think I can dodge or catch a punch, you increase the speed or stop it, hitting me anyway... I never get anything done"
"..." Raising his eyebrows, John simply looked at Christian for a few minutes and sighed "You think your situation is frustrating?"
"..."
Crouching down to his full height, John looked at Christian and continued "In less than a week you already learn techniques that took me months to learn, while it takes normal people even years... and yet you still have the nerve to feel frustrated?"
"..." Staring silently at the old man, Christian didn't answer.
"Christian... I trained more than 13 hours a day, even trained at night when the situation called for it, giving up time to eat or sleep... I cried, bled and sweated. But I still gritted my teeth and struggled to get to where I am today... it was a bitter and painful road... all this while my situation was one of the worst, you don't know how many times I was on the brink of death or in a desperate situation, but as always, I gritted my teeth and made it through" Smiling softly, John stroked the boy's head "I understand your situation, everything you achieved and learned was easy for you, you never found a real challenge or someone to give you problems head on... that from one day to the next you find a person who easily surpasses you must be really hard, but you have to realize how privileged you are and stop complaining... just grit your teeth and keep training, train so hard until your muscles give out, only then will you get the most out of your talents, making sure no one else frustrates you and makes you feel the way you feel now"
"*Sigh* You have incredible talent accompanied with incredible intelligence, but you still don't have the gift of perseverance. You're not finished yet... now get up and train" With a final pat on Christian's head, John got up and left under the boy's stunned gaze.
Looking back to where the old man had been a few minutes ago, Christian gritted his teeth and stood up, then walked over to the pillar and started punching with all his might, but this time alternating between kicks and punches.
Unlike the other days, this time Christian did not take into account the time, he hit and hit without stopping, to the point that his limbs bled again like the first days, but gritting his teeth even more and remembering the words of the old man, he continued without stopping or raising his voice.
...
Looking out of the window at the courtyard, John just watched silently. The sun had already set, but Christian was still pounding away like there was no tomorrow.
"You don't think it's too much? At this rate he'll end up sick or worse, he'll die" Standing to one side of John, Strawberry looked at the boy who was hopefully still standing and asked.
"..." Watching carefully the blood flowing from Christian's fists, John said "He can do this and much more"
"Chief... he's just a kid, even our recruits can't stand that much time training"
"A child?" Smiling slightly, John continued "When I look into his eyes while we're fighting, I don't see a child... I feel that if I'm careless for even a second, I'll be devoured. It is something creepy and impossible for a mere 'child'"
"..." Without fully understanding, Strawberry stares at the boy, who already looked like he was on the verge of fainting.
"Christian... he's someone amazing, and the truth is he has an incredible focus. Once he focuses on something no one and nothing can distract him, but he lacks willpower. He gives up too easily... every time I take him down, I leave openings for him to resist, but he doesn't even take advantage of them anymore. He just lets himself die on the ground until I release him... that's disappointing" John murmured softly.
"But with you it's par for the course... he knows he has no chance, even I would do the same"
"You're wrong. No matter how strong the enemy is, there's always a small chance. That's something I learned throughout my life... instead when a person gives up, that's when he really loses any chance of victory" Turning, John walked and left the place, not before saying "When he faints take him to his room and heal his wounds"
"As you order" Strawberry nodded.
...
Thursday, January 10, 2013 (3 months later).
"Your balance point is completely exposed!" Dodging a kick, John turned his body and gently struck Christian's free leg.
Quickly reasserting himself, Christian turned and swung a kick towards John's ribs, but then quickly changed his trajectory and focused on his chin, only to be intercepted as usual.
But undeterred, Christian gave himself a boost with his supporting foot and jumped up trying to land another kick to John's face. With a smile, the old man dodged it and knocked Christian down.
Having his hands cuffed, Christian fell heavily to the ground, but still turned quickly and with his free leg held onto John from his legs, then turned and tried to knock him down.
"Not again" Smiling, John released Christian's leg and grabbed Christian's other leg, then forced a grip and squeezed it tightly.
"That trick I know" Scoffing, Christian moved his other leg and firmed his grip on the older man's neck, then bent to the ground and began squeezing his leg around John's neck.
With an amused grin, John raised his fist and in slow motion to Christian's eyes, directed his fist at the boy's balls, causing him to open his eyes wide and release it quickly, then turned and stood up "Old man, not my balls!"
"You worry too much about knocking me down. You always end up neglecting your vital points. If I wanted to, you would be puking your balls out by now" With a slight chuckle, John sat down on the ground and looked at the boy "You've improved quite a bit, I think it's time for the next phase of your training"
"..."
"Let's go over what you did" Smiling, the old man raises a finger "I had you practice each of the fighting techniques for about 10 days, and you could only use that one technique and nothing else"
"In the second part you had to start using two fighting techniques and nothing else, in the third part you used all the techniques"
"Now, we are in the final phase of this part, and you started using the techniques with limitations. First, you used only your hands while your legs were cuffed, and finally, we finished training only with your legs while your hands were cuffed"
"..." Nodding, Christian spoke "Yo taught me Boxing, Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, Kickboxing, Jujutsu, Muay Thai, Sambo, Goshindo, Daido-Juku Kudo, Wushu, Kung-fu, Mugendo, Tai chi, Hapkido, Sankukai and Krav maga, Aikido, Capoeira, Wing Chun, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the normal one, lastly, the one I found most interesting, the Keysi Fighting Method or KFM"
"But honestly I don't know what good it will do me to learn so many techniques, and now that I've learned them, I realize that many are similar, only the stance or the continuation changes"
"When fighting with an expert, it is vital to have many types of movements in your mind, because if you only know one technique for example boxing, he will take you down easily with Aikido or Jiu-Jitsu techniques, that's why I always recommend you to vary in techniques and never be predictable"
--------------------
Edited By: Joy_a