Gloves

"Good Morning" said Natasha as she walked closer, she woke up early this morning, and for five in the morning the sky was brightly lit.

It was a clear day, the sun was already shining brightly in the morning, and some people were still sleeping while others had already woken up.

Natasha wore a white t-shirt today along with black sweatpants, she tied her hair up in a ponytail.

"Ahh Good Morning Madam" said Benjamin as he turned around, he was bust cleaning something, but Natasha could not see what it was.

"You are early today" he said.

"Ah yes, I still apologize for my lateness yesterday" said Natasha.

"It is fine Madam, I understand" said Benjamin as he stood up, he put some equipment that he was cleaning into a bag.

"So what are we doing today?" asked Natasha, she believed that she was finally now calm enough to learn something tangible.

"If you would not mind Madam, I would like for you to get started on your combat skills" said Benjamin.

"Of course I do not mind at all" said Natasha, Alfred was right, Benjamin did know what he was doing.

"Alright then" said Benjamin as he finished packing all the equipment into the bag.

"But before we get into that, I need to ask you a few questions first" said Benjamin as he focused his full attention on Natasha.

"Okay then" said Natasha.

"So as you are learning mixed martial arts" said Benjamin.

"I want to know if you want to become a well rounded fighter, or if you just want to know the basics?" asked Benjamin.

Natasha was thinking, this was actually a very good question, to be honest she did not know the answer herself, it all depended on what was going to happen in the future, and the whole point of this was for her to learn to protect herself.

And if she was going to learn to protect herself, she figured that it would be better for her to be at her best, and not just there with a little basic knowledge.

"I want to be a well rounded fighter" said Natasha.

"Well okay then Madam" said Benjamin.

"In that case, seeing as you need to start focusing on your combat skills, I suggest that we focus on your punches today" said Benjamin.

"Okay that sounds fine" said Natasha.

"In that case we can move to the gym" said Benjamin as he bent down and he picked up the bag full of equipment and he hang it on his right arm.

"Okay then" said Natasha as she followed behind him.

In the servants quarters especially where the bodyguards resided, there was a small gym where they could train regularly, and Benjamin concluded that was the best place for Natasha to work on her skills.

They did not even walk for up to a few minutes, when Benjamin stopped and he removed a key from his pocket and he used it to unlock the door, he asked Nine for the key to the gym the day before because he knew that he was the only person that would give it to him with no question asked.

Benjamin stepped into the gym and switched on the lights, the gym was a big room full of different types of equipment, there were treadmills, there was a ring, and an area with mats dedicated fully for sparring.

Benjamin walked forward and he placed down the bag he was carrying on the floor, he moved ahead and Natasha followed behind him.

"Today, I want us to work on your punches" he said.

"Okay" said Natasha.

"Since you are a beginner, I got you these boxing gloves, they should fit" said Benjamin as he bent down he unzipped the zip of the bag, and he brought out a pair of red boxing gloves and some red hand wraps, and he gave them to Natasha.

"Can you wrap your hand yourself or should I do it for you?" asked Benjamin.

"No it's fine, I will go it myself" said Natasha as she placed down the boxing gloves on the floor, and she began her attempt to try to wrap her hands.

She tried to wrap her hands but she did not know how to do it, it was frustrating for her.

"*Sigh* here let me help you" said Benjamin as he had enough of watching Natasha struggle.

"A good way to quickly wrap your hands is to start with your thumb, hook your thumb, wrist and hands up to your knuckles, while going between your fingers, remember to keep the wrap slightly tight" said Benjamin as he narrated while the instructions as he did it for Natasha.

"And there you go" said Benjamin as he was done.

"Thank you" said Natasha as Benjamin finished wrapping up her right hand.

"You are welcome" said Benjamin.

"Now you can try to wrap your left hand" he said as he stepped back.

"Okay" said Natasha as she took the second wrap as she did it the way Benjamin told her to.

"Hook your thumb" she said to herself as she tried to remember the movements.

"Not bad for your first try" he said as he walked closer and unwrapped her hand, she had made a mistake, and he fixed it for her.

"It just takes more practice" he said.

"I see" said Natasha as she looked at her now wrapped hands.

"I got you velcro boxing gloves, they are easier for you to wear on your own" said Benjamin.

"Just press down your hand inside the glove and reach in as far as you can" he said as Natasha did as she was told.

"Your hand should be firmly placed inside and naturally curve into the shape of the glove" he said.

"Do not leave any space at the bottom of your glove, and then wrap the Velcro strap around your wrist tightly." he said as Natasha did that too.

"If your straps are not put in place it could cause injuries" he said as Natasha put on the second glove on her left hand.

Benjamin walked towards Natasha and he raised her hands to check if she had strapped on her gloves tightly.

"You are all set" he said

"Today we are going to practice a very simple punching technique in fighting" said Benjamin.

"It is called a Jab" he said.

"Okay" said Natasha as she seemed to be eagerly hearing him.

"A jab is sort of like a quick hit, it is what you would use to test your opponents defenses" said Benjamin.

"But before we get to that, I forgot to mention that you need a good stance" he said.

"You need to stand with your shoulder width apart" he said as he adjusted Natasha's shoulders.

"Bend your knees slightly" he said as Natasha did as she was told.

"Put your non-dominant foot and hand forward, which are your both leading hand and foot" he said, and Natasha moved her right hand forward and her right leg forward.

"Good" he said

"Now this is very important" he said

"Always Jab with your lead hand" he said and Natasha nodded/

"A strong boxing stance is key to throwing a good punch" he said

"It provides a strong foundation so that you can leverage your weight to generate power and speed with every punch." he said.

"Now face the punching bag" he said and Natasha stood upright and walked towards the punching bag that was at the back of the gym.

"Now find your stance" he said.

Natasha bent her knees and moved her lead leg and hand forward.

"Not quite" said Benjamin as he adjusted her posture, he moved her shoulders and made her bend a bit more.

"There, now throw a punch" he said.

Natasha moved her right hand and she struck the punching bag as powerful as she could, but it did not move at all.

"That was a weak jab" he said to Natasha.

"But don't worry, you cannot expect to get it perfect on your first try, it takes a lot of practice" he said.

"So why don't you try again" he said as Natasha punched again, and again.

They still had a long way to go.