Private Training Continues

Seeing Jake enter the training room, Anna said to him "Just in time."

"What you said earlier today, about being able to teach me how to fight someone who is invisible, I want to learn it." Jake said.

"I know you do, but you still have to learn how to actually fight first. You can't walk into a duel knowing how to fight someone who's invisible but not being able to fight. Last time I taught you how to throw a punch the right way, now I'm going to teach you the right way to kick."

"Okay but you're still going to teach me how to fight someone who is invisible right?" Jake asked.

"Yes but after I feel you are ready to learn it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't worry about that, focus on THIS training session. Kicking is one of the most important features in several martial arts, but many people can't throw good kicks because they have trouble balancing and coordinating their bodies. Lucky for you, you have an amazing and beautiful teacher, and with lots of practice you'll get better at it."

"Alright, what's first?"

"The first thing to learn is your fighting stance. Just like with throwing a punch, your fighting stance is also important when delivering a kick. Listen up because there's going to be a lot of talking and demonstrations, so get comfy. But not too comfy."

Taking Anna's advise, Jake went to sit on a chair but he should have known better. Immediately after he sat down Anna also sat in his lap while smiling at him.

Using his previous experience and knowing he couldn't do anything about it if she didn't want to leave, Jake let her sit in his lap without saying a word of complaint.

"I was expecting you to try to push me off again or get up." Anna said.

"In that case I'm glad I didn't do it. Though I do have one question."

"What is it?"

Using his hand to signal her to bring her head closer, Jake placed his hand on her neck and brought her head to rest on his forehead and stared directly into her eyes. Smiling at her, Jake asked "How old are you?"

Also smiling at Jake, Anna replied "That is not where I thought this was going."

"I'm pleased I could fool you."

"Do you really think you fooled me?" Anna asked, now bringing her lips closer to his and staring at them. "I know you won't do something like this without a good reason, but I think I'm going to go a little bit farther. Isn't that nice?"

Moving his head back as Anna moved her lips forward, Jake calmly told her "You haven't answered my question."

"What question?"

"I asked you, how old are you?"

"My cute Jake, allow me to let you in on a little secret. Never ask a lady about her age." Anna said as she ran her thumb over his lips and sat straight in his lap.

"Of course I know that, but I'm asking you."

"And why are you asking me?"

"Because I want to know your age. You're not like other girls, I know you'll answer me." Jake said.

Pretending to be flattered, Anna asked "Are you saying I'm special? I'm unique? Different from other girls?"

"Just answer the question, how old are you?"

"If you really want to know, give me a peck on my cheek." Anna said while tapping her cheek.

"Forget I asked, let's get back to training. How do I kick the right way?"

Leaving his lap, Anna answered "To kick the right way, your stance is important, the stance you choose must give good balance and coordination. In a good fighting stance, you should place your feet about shoulder-width apart, then step forward with your weaker foot so it's ahead of your dominant foot. Bring your hands up to the height of your chin, stay light on your feet in your fighting stance, and practice shifting your weight from foot to foot. When you kick, you'll be shifting your weight quickly, so being stiff will give you slow, weak kicks."

Demonstrating the fighting stance she had just explained, Anna was still talking about it and Jake was also replicating what she was doing.

"Am I doing it correctly?" Jake asked.

Stopping her demonstration, Anna went to meet Jake to see what he was doing. "Close your legs a bit, your feet should be shoulder-width apart. Your hands don't necessarily have to be on the same level with your chin, they should just be close to the level of your chin, use the one that works best for you. You can make a combination with both your stance for punching and your kicking stance."

Following Anna's corrections, Jake did a kicking stance and stayed there for a while just to get the position imprinted in his mind.

"Okay, after getting a stance, what next?" Jake asked.

"A front kick is the most basic kick, but that doesn't mean it's not powerful. To perform a front kick, bring your knee up towards your shoulder to enter the chamber position. Then extend your leg straight out for a strong kick, make contact with the ball of your foot. If you use your toes to give a kick you could break them, that's why you use the ball of your foot to make contact with your opponent."

Demonstrating a front kick for Jake to see, Anna was standing on one leg with her other leg in the air in front of her.

Trying to do what she did, Jake threw out a front kick with his right leg. Doing it multiple times, Jake kept practicing his stance and throwing front kicks. He was also throwing punches the right way while practicing the front kicks.

"Now that you've gotten a hang of it, try doing the front kicks on the doll. Focus front kicks at your opponent's midsection and torso, you could aim for the head if you can kick high enough."

Turning to the doll, Jake threw out punches the way Anna had taught him. He wasn't looking at the electric board to check his strength but he knew he shouldn't use his full strength and Anna was watching him, if he did anything wrong she would correct him.

After a while of punching the doll, Jake switched to kicks. He began hitting the doll with front kicks and this time he looked at the electric board to see how strong a kick was.

Looking up, Jake saw 25.4. He was using the same amount of strength to punch and kick so seeing the rating for his kick being more than the rating for his punch, Jake could see his kicks were stronger than his punches.

Continuing with the punches and kicks, Jake was relentlessly hitting the doll. Switching between front kicks and punches, Jake was slowly figuring out a way to combine his stances for punching and kicking together.

Watching Jake, Anna was impressed. From the first day she saw him, she had known he was a true prodigy. Right now Jake was soaked with sweat from his head to his legs and he still wasn't taking a break. Anna knew she had made the right choice in choosing to train him.

"For a less powerful but faster attack, try performing the front kick with your front leg instead of your back leg. It could catch your opponent off guard." Anna said from the side.

Doing what Miss Anna said, Jake noticed she was right. When he uses his left leg which was the leg he keeps in front, he was able to deliver a faster attack but it wasn't as strong as when he uses his right leg.

"Now that you're good at that..."

*ding* *ding* Checking the message he had gotten, Jake saw it was from Cat.

Cat: We just finished our training, I'm leaving school now.

Jake: Wait for me, I'm coming to meet you.

"Miss Anna? Can we end our training here today?" Jake asked.

"Yes, you've learned a lot and you need to rest. You can go."

"Thanks, I also need a favour. Can I use the shower in your office?"

Smiling at him, Anna said "Only if I join you."

"I'm serious Miss Anna, I need to take a very quick shower."

"Alright you can go, but I don't promise not to enter while you're still in."

Shaking his head, Jake left the training room and headed to Anna's office.