About martial arts

"System!!!"

"SYSTEMMMMM!!" Akira shouted all morning, just trying to call his system, but it didn't respond even one bit.

His shouting made people who were near his room knock on the wall. A man shouted at him to shut up for shouting in the morning. Akira apologized and went to the ground floor of the headquarters.

His eyes were twitching, irritated by his system being broken. Akira could use his magic, store items, and summon weapons, but could not view his system. Akira then encountered Rozori after he was taking care of Yao and Tao. He asked why Akira was so troubled when just by seeing his face he could tell. Akira avoided the fact that he was troubled, then shifted the subject and remembered something. When he was fighting a skilled  Mikadzuki fighter, he lacked experience in hand-to-hand combat. That counted when he fought with Rozori. 

Rozori then gave a nod and told Akira to follow him out to the field to train and learn.

Rozori taught him the first basics of martial arts, which were stance. Akira performed his stance, but in the wrong way. His right arm was in front of his face while his elbow faced backward, clenching his fists. His legs, however, lacked the strength, which made him vulnerable, and could fall easily.

Rozori told Akira to tighten his legs and thighs. Unless it was a distraction for the enemy to think he was off guard. Rozori also told Akira that he had done it all wrong with his breathing, his state, and his stance. He wasn't calm, said Rozori. Being calm would mean that one's mind wouldn't be boggled. Calmness was the key to being unpredictable while also having a steady focus. He wasn't focused enough on his breathing either. Rozori said he needed to focus on breathing too. Every martial artist must have a good breathing technique; if not, they would be defeated or exhausted in the middle of a match.

His stance wasn't accurate; he showed too much vulnerability that could potentially make his guard down as the enemy landed their strike. Rozori said to Akira that he mustn't rely only on his hands and legs, but should pay attention to all of his body.

A precise focus was needed to see the enemy's next strike and moves. A focus on breathing was needed for calmness and strength. Calmness was needed for steady focus as well as steady breathing.

Rozori repeated this so Akira would remember. And as for the next step, those were moves. Akira was told to be more agile. It was good that Akira had the strength that could destroy a boulder, but the key to being a martial arts master was speed. Speed could also solve strength problems by being more powerful, which could lead to more momentum and timing. For speed, Akira was fast, Rozori stated from the first time they sparred. However, his moves were predictable, and his speed could catch someone by surprise, but he  could not move quickly. Once dodged, he would expose many weaknesses right after. That was the flaw of Akira, that he would charge unprepared.

Rozori analyzed all of Akira's moves and flaws after they sparred when he joined Sazoru's squad.

Though Akira had a danger sense, he too noticed that he couldn't always move freely in the air to even do a second strike. By prepared, he knew he would prepare his scythe first, but didn't prepare for what the enemy's next move would be and where they would strike next.

Rozori patted Akira's shoulder and promised he would mentor him with everything he knew about martial arts.

But first, Rozori wanted to know if there was anything he could do besides just swinging his scythe. Akira shook his head and just said that he would always use mana coating if fighting empty-handed.

"Ah, for that, why not go to the next level?" Rozori snapped his finger after hearing what Akira said.

"Next level?"

"You may have heard of this, but each time mages use mana coating, they will instead use a magic coating. For example, a flame mage would use their magical coating to transform their fists into fists of flame. The same goes for the rest of the elemental mages."

"They keep saying, "magical type, physical type, assassin type, or whatever." What's the difference, anyway? They used magic too." Akira was taught by Sora before but he didn't know what was the difference since they all used magic.

"Magical types don't need to use an object to transfer their magic. The physical types combine their magic with a physical object or themselves. The Assassin type, fighter type, or tank type, has the same name as the physical type, but it's not always necessary. The name was just based on their role. The same as personal weapons, simply, they could be called "signature weapons." The names always change according to how what they liked to say. So don't get baffled."

Akira's confusion was finally cleared as he now knew the difference. Rozori soon taught Akira to use a magic coating. similar to how he used mana coating on his fist. Rozori gave an example as he used energy magic on his fist. 

Akira then used the same method in which he usually coated his scythe with blood.

[BLOOD MAGIC: BLOOD CLAW]

His fist and his arm grew bigger as they were coated with a red and black substance that was blood. His finger was red. The back of his hand, along with his hand and arm, was colored black with red strips that appeared like veins. much like a devil-possessed hand. He could feel that his whole hand was strong and he could manipulate it further by growing it. But it would take a lot of mana, according to Akira.

After being taught and explained, Rozori invited him to another sparring session. Akira accepted it with a confident smile, and so they fought.

Akira used all of what Rozori taught him, and it was to be calm as he inhaled the air. He coated two of his hands with his blood magic and prepared to fight.

Akira launched himself and would be the first to hit the first blow. Rozori coated his whole arms with energy as he tried to block his attack. Akira hit him right in the forearm, and Rozori blocked his attack. Akira's punch caused a small shockwave as the breeze coming from them made the field's grass move.

Akira tried to knee kick him, but Rozori used his other hand and caught his knee. Akira moved hastily and used his other leg to kick him in the side of his head. He blocked them after Akira removed his fist from his forehand and made Akira back away as he handspring away.

Rozori said it again, to not repeat his mistakes. Akira calmed down and focused intently on Rozori.

Akira was now focused and said, "Come at me-"

Right when Akira was saying those words, Rozori then blitzed in front of him and took Akira by surprise. He punched him in the face soon after and made him fall. And after that, the spar ended. Rozori told Akira not to start a conversation on the battlefield. If he did that again, then the enemy would strike their chance and hit Akira afterward.

A lesson was learned as Rozori lent his hand for Akira to stand up. Akira laughed and thanked him for teaching him everything he had experienced. Rozori laughed and said it was a senior's job to make their juniors learn and experience. Akira patted his cheek and it healed. He then waved goodbye because he wanted to explore the outside curiously. 

Rozori waved goodbye and said to go find him if he wanted to know more or learn more. Akira then left the base, wanting to know what was outside...