First Training

What Kazuki just pumped into was.. a dummy. One of the dummies in the little hut on the training ground which is at the opposite of the yard. He saw them through the windows but it's the first time he can see one from close. He can even touch them. He jumps of happiness. Master Yi never let him use them and the different equipment available in the hut. But finally, he'll be able to. Not a lot of things he felt in his short lifetime can compare to finally accessing what he considers a hidden treasure. He'll become stronger and impress his master. And he'll become like the heroes in the books he likes to read. At least, that's the idea he has in mind.

He keeps jumping around until he remembers something. Master Yi mentioned some works. He wonders what kind of work could the old man give him. As an answer, the old man emerges behind him. Kazuki jumps out of surprise, which makes the old man laugh. With a smile on his face, he looks at the discovery of what he had prepared for the young boy.

"- Ah, I see. You found it !

- What is it for ?

- Art requires a strong body too. A strong art on a weak body could crush it. and Art is used more often in fights. So, if you ever need it out there later, I'll teach you how to fight with your fist and some weapons. You'll also learn how to heal yourself with and without Art. And of course, you'll learn how to be careful with your weapons.

- That's a lot…

- I know. But I'll teach you the bare minimum, so you'll be able to focus on your Art training. Now, let's start. We have a lot to do and you might need those skills to be usable sooner than you think. The faster we're done, the better it is for both of us."

The Master starts by showing simple moves to the student, such as punches and kicks. Master Yi throws a punch in the void once, under the kid's gaze. The first is so powerful that it touched the air and made a loud impact noise. The eyes of the kid are focused on the first. He is impressed by this new knowledge he'll be able to put his hands on. This feeling is a mix of fear and excitement which brings along a newfound respect for his old master.

"That should be the final result. As long as you haven't reached this, you're not done with your training. Now, watch carefully how it's done. It's a very easy one but you still need to get it right"

He shows every step of the punch. First, the starting stance. The upper body is turn at 45° in the direction "inside". The legs, making a wide space. The knee of the leg in front bent a little bit, supporting the weight of the body. And the fist which will throw the punch is put against the hips. The arm which won't do anything is put in front of the torso, at a middle range from the body. This one serves as a protection or a bait to have more chances to land the punch.

Then the movement of the punch. Master Yi turns his upper body with the help of his hips. The fist is launched in a straight line in front of him. And to finish the movement, at the end the twist.

"See ? It's how it's done. I'll show it to you some more and then we'll repeat it together."

The Master shows it one more time. The student watches carefully, being cautious about every move from his master.

"Alright. It's your turn now."

Kazuki takes position under the sharp gaze of his master. The old man corrects the stance, bending a knee or applying weight on the kid's shoulder with his hands.

"Correct your position. More weight on the front leg."

 The young boy tries his best but ends up falling on the ground. He lost his balance. Master Yi takes him by the arms and helps him to get up. He puts himself next to Kazuki and shows the stance and punches slowly so he can identify it easier. Then he gives one more piece of advice to his student. 

"Remember when we go out cutting trees ? I gave you an advice. Root yourself. The ground is from where you get your strength. You must draw your strength from the deepest place possible."

The young boy looks at his master, confused by the advice. He does remember that moment, even if it was more than a year ago because he found the advice important, but he doesn't know what's the link between cutting trees and punching. But he knows even less about taking strength from the ground. It's even more than that, he doesn't understand. He doesn't understand how the ground can give him strength. Plus, he is always walking on it and doesn't have any strength boost or something like that. So he highly doubts it. 

"- But, shouldn't my body be where my strength comes from ?

- It does. When you throw a punch, do you think it's the ground which moves your fist ?

- I don't understand then…

- When you throw a punch, all your body has to take part in the movement. If you punch with strange but without strength in the ground, you'll just lose balance. If you have strength in the ground but you don't have strength in your body, you'll just have balance. Having strength in the ground allows you to throw a stronger punch without the recoils. And it allows you to accumulate more energy, which can cause greater damage to an opponent. If the movements already started at your feet before even moving, you'll accumulate enough energy to knock out someone.. and this without Art. So, by drawing your strength from deeper, only one impact could deal pretty good injuries. You have to channel it from further in your body in order to accumulate more and therefore give stronger punches.

"Can you show me ?"

The child asked with curiosity but also a bit of excitement about that new knowledge. The old man looks at his student and thinks for a moment, before judging that he has to achieve the movement of the technique first. Then it will come to the details and technicality of this move.

"Maybe later. Let's get back to work. After your stance, we'll have to correct your punch. We'll train until you master it."

Kazuki kept training the whole day. He tries his best to replicate the move, again and again. He keeps on going for hours, with some rest of course because he is still young. But he's still pretty good anyway. Time passes by. He keeps on failing, not getting the right movement nor the right stance. The sweat is dripping from everywhere on his body. The sun slowly starts its course through the horizon. As the day ends, Kazuki lays on the ground. He took it a whole day, but yet he was able to master this punch. This simple movement seemed so easy, yet it was far from the truth. It's because he didn't just learn the movement, he mastered the movement. All he needs now is to work on the details of the punch and to use it in practice with the old man.

"- It took time. But for your age, it was fast. I hope it keeps going this way. Now, let's rest. Tomorrow there will be more to do

- More ?!

- Yes. But you might like this one."

They return to the temple. There, they silently eat and go to sleep. The young boy is too tired to speak or even to try to think. Kazuki, exhausted, immediately falls asleep. The feeling of his bed couldn't make him more happy after this intense training. His body couldn't handle more for today. The pain slowly goes away as he fades away in a lovely dream. Master Yi, on the other hand, works in his room. He takes note of the Kazuki's training for the day and starts preparing on paper what will be done tomorrow. He knows that he'll have to wake up early in the morning the next day to prepare everything needed and follows the daily morning routine as usual. After finishing this paper, he leaves it on the desk where he was working and heads to bed, to rest enough for tomorrow. However he never fully sleeps and stays on guard since the night of the accident, fully aware of the danger upon them and therefore not taking any risk at all. If there was another attack, he would be ready. But tonight, nothing happened for the sake of both him and Kazuki. It's just a plain and silent dark night. No stars in the sky. Just the darkness. Even the moonlight isn't going through this thick darkness, almost like it's filtered.