A Lesson to Learn From

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Bang Yong-pal explained to Yu Jung-ak in his thick dialect. Yu Jung-ak listened to the explanation with a dazed feeling.

"You avoided this 100% accurate punch. It's not that I missed. You dodged it. It probably won't happen, but let's say you did dodge it."

"Yes."

"Then how many percent punch is this 100% accurate punch?"

"100 percent?"

"No. That's not it. It's zero percent!"

Bang Yong-pal laughed.

"Yes. That's right."

"Look here. Have you ever seen a punch that's thrown once attack again?"

"That doesn't happen."

"Let's say you throw a punch once. But it misses, right? Then the chance of you being attacked in that space is zero percent. Right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Now. Once you throw a punch, you must always retract it. You can't attack again with an extended fist. So you throw a counter when the opponent extends their attack and is retracting their fist."

"What? That's sneaky."

"That's why it's the best counter, I'm telling you. An attack when the opponent's attack is at zero percent. What they call a cross counter these days. That's the lowest level, I'm saying. You know what a cross counter is, right?"

"Yes."

"Why is a cross counter the lowest level? In short, it's like hitting while taking a hit to the head."

"Yes, that's right."

"But when you hit right after taking a hit to the head, it's good if the opponent's attack misses and yours lands. But what happens if that's not the case?"

"I could get hit too."

"That's right! That's it! That's why I'm saying it's low level. Boxing isn't a sport where you trade hits one for one. The point is to hit without getting hit. Now look here. Let's say you throw a left jab. I dodge it like this. After dodging, you'll try to retract your fist, right? Where's the opening then?"

"My left side would be open."

"Right. That's when you can throw a left body hook. You're completely open while extending and retracting your punch. You can't guard with an extended arm. In short, you're defenseless. A punch thrown in this state is different from a cross counter, right?"

"It's definitely safer."

"So. What should you learn first?"

"I should learn the advanced technique first."

"But are boxers' punches fast or not?"

"They're fast."

"The retraction is fast too, right?"

"Yes."

"You're inserting your fist in that gap. Does that seem easy? Or difficult?"

"It would be difficult, right?"

"Then how much do you need to practice?"

"Until I can do it?"

"Hahaha. Junior Cho. This guy's got it right."

Bang Yong-pal said, looking at Cho Yong-il. Cho Yong-il smiled in response.

"That's right, kid. You have to practice like hell until you can do it. Think a lot before the match, but once it starts, just move according to the plan. Don't think and move. That's too slow. You need to practice until your body moves on its own."

"I understand!"

Yu Jung-ak answered energetically.

"Good. But before that, I heard this guy hasn't been taught the hook."

"Yes, that's right, senior."

"Then let's start with teaching the hook properly."

Bang Yong-pal began to properly teach Yu Jung-ak the hook. The hook of a world champion who led the golden age of Korean boxing.

Cho Yong-il wanted to teach that to Yu Jung-ak.

Bang Yong-pal slowly taught Yu Jung-ak various hooks. He started by slowly correcting his posture.

Cho Yong-il filmed this from various angles.

Now Yu Jung-ak was planning to go back and practice the hook based on this. There were various types of hooks. There were many hooks that came from modified angles.

So Yu Jung-ak had to attack properly.

Above all, Yu Jung-ak paid great attention to the defense part for the Randin match. Randin's strikes were sharp.

Especially his boxing skills and elbows at close range could be considered top-notch.

That's why Yu Jung-ak practiced defense while practicing the hook. He practiced guarding, but what he focused on honing was correcting his posture.

Yu Jung-ak's evasive movements were still too big.

The bigger the evasive movement, the smaller the chance for a counterattack. Of course, the defense would be solid, but he couldn't keep avoiding, maintaining distance, and hitting repeatedly forever.

It was time to start thinking about counters.

Cho Yong-il was correcting Yu Jung-ak's posture with a small bat. This training was aimed at making movements as concise as possible.

In short, it was to prevent movements from becoming too big.

He swung the bat to keep the body's center from shaking and to increase reaction speed.

Yu Jung-ak was performing the movements while sweating profusely. Unlike before, he wasn't avoiding attacks with his hands tied.

Lightweight match.

It could possibly be his last match in Spirit.

Yu Jung-ak prepared thoroughly. Jang Hyun-sung's plot was completely shattered because Na Cheol reported an injury.

The promotion had already progressed.

Jang Hyun-sung couldn't just pull out the perfectly fine Randin. Above all, he couldn't insert a Na Cheol-level fighter in this short time.

There was a month left until the match.

Before that, there was one big match scheduled. It was the title match between Kwon Cheol and Gal Seung-hyun. Surprisingly, Gal Seung-hyun didn't trash talk Kwon Cheol.

Kwon Cheol's striking sense was considered world-class.

Even Gal Seung-hyun couldn't guarantee victory.

Physically, Gal Seung-hyun was better, but Kwon Cheol's walking weight was much higher. So he always struggled with weight cuts.

Kwon Cheol, whose walking weight was 92kg.

Such a fighter coming down to lightweight. The strength couldn't be considered the same weight class.

Yu Jung-ak came to the Spirit tournament venue for Kim Young-tae's match. As soon as she saw Yu Jung-ak, Angela followed with a bright smile.

Although not going in as a second, she had to cheer for Kim Young-tae.

Kim Young-tae was scheduled for the second main card match.

Kim Young-tae was initially pushed back in the early striking, then clinched, and immediately took his opponent to the ground.

The opponent counterattacked with a triangle, but Kim Young-tae quickly escaped and secured side position, where he applied a keylock.

Keylock finishes weren't common in professional matches. But today, that keylock finish happened.

Called a keylock because the arms are intertwined like a key.

Kim Young-tae easily won in the first round. They thought the match ended well without injury this time, but the problem arose during the post-match ceremony.

"Ah! That idiot!"

Oh Jung-ryong cursed. Angela was standing next to him, but he couldn't help it. Kim Young-tae had fallen while doing a back flip and injured his ribs. The audience thought it was a joke at first and started laughing. Cho Yong-il and Yoon Chang-seon also frowned and sighed.

"What are we going to do with him? You should never learn things like that."

==

The title fight between Kwon Cheol and Gal Seung-hyun was fierce. In the beginning, Gal Seung-hyun pressured Kwon Cheol using his long reach.

Throughout the second round, Kwon Cheol struggled against Gal Seung-hyun's strikes. Although Kwon Cheol landed some hits, an overwhelming victory for Gal Seung-hyun was expected.

However, a reversal occurred in the early third round. Gal Seung-hyun, confident in his advantage, recklessly rushed in and was caught by Kwon Cheol's counter.

Grabbing the staggering Gal Seung-hyun's back, Kwon Cheol relentlessly tormented him on the ground. Gal Seung-hyun's face turned red.

Neither had cuts, but their faces were a mess. After surviving the third round, Gal Seung-hyun tried to reestablish distance and carefully handle Kwon Cheol, but Kwon Cheol was a veteran. He hadn't forgotten the timing he caught in the third round.

From the fourth round, it was Kwon Cheol's time. He maintained his advantage and pressured Gal Seung-hyun, who finally fell to his knees in the fourth round. His corner threw in the towel.

Yu Jung-ak left after watching Kwon Cheol and Gal Seung-hyun's match.

"How was it?"

"It was less..."

"Less what?"

Cho Yong-il asked.

"It was less impressive than I expected."

Cho Yong-il smirked at Yu Jung-ak's words.

"In what way?"

"Kwon Cheol seemed heavier than usual, and Gal Seung-hyun couldn't properly use his strong point of pressure. Even though he had the advantage."

"So in your eyes, it wasn't that he was being cautious, but that he was backing off?"

"Yes. What about you, uncle?"

"I saw it the same way. Gal Seung-hyun turned out to be more of a coward than he looked. He was overwhelmed by Kwon Cheol's momentum. If you have the advantage, you should finish it. Why keep circling outside?"

"Isn't that my fighting style?"

"You intentionally move in calmly and steadily, while Gal Seung-hyun is originally a fighter who decides the match early with explosive power. It's different. And you don't get nervous much."

"We don't know that. I might get nervous in the CFC."

"Anyway, it's a shame about Gal Seung-hyun."

"He followed his corner's instructions in the third round and pushed in, and that's what happened, right?"

"That's right. It was largely the corner's mistake. If they hadn't given that instruction, he might not have finished it, but could have taken it to a decision. Of course, Kwon Cheol would have figured out the timing before that."

"Who do you think would have won if it went to a decision?"

"Gal Seung-hyun."

"So if it wasn't for the third round, Gal Seung-hyun would have won."

"Pretty much. That's why the corner is important."

"But following it is the fighter's responsibility."

"Right. They both made mistakes. Did you get any ideas from watching today?"

"It seems that underestimating your opponent is a problem, but overestimating them is also an issue."

"That's right. Honestly, your striking is improving at an unbelievable rate. Just keep practicing like this. Are you confident about the Randin fight?"

"Yes."

==

Yu Jung-ak visited Bang Yong-pal's gym once a week for guidance. After about a week of posture correction for punch skills, Yu Jung-ak was immediately put into sparring. Bang Yong-pal planned to show Yu Jung-ak the fierce taste of boxing by sending out his best disciples.

This was agreed upon with Cho Yong-il, so Bang Yong-pal sent out his best disciple, Kim Hyuk-soo. Although still in high school, he was Bang Yong-pal's disciple with a very promising future.

Bang Yong-pal had Yu Jung-ak and Kim Hyuk-soo spar with a proud expression. However, Bang Yong-pal's expectations were being completely overturned.

Yu Jung-ak, who didn't seem that impressive when being taught punches, transformed into a completely different person when put into actual practice.

He was avoiding most of Kim Hyuk-soo's fierce punches.

"Kim Hyuk-soo, are you not doing it properly?"

Bang Yong-pal shouted, unable to watch anymore. Kim Hyuk-soo quickly took his stance and started throwing big punches.

Yu Jung-ak easily avoided those punches. He now knew how to skillfully use the ability he had developed.

In boxing, where only fists are flying, unlike mixed martial arts, avoiding wasn't that difficult. Moreover, they were both wearing thick sparring gloves, which significantly slowed their speed.

It wasn't that difficult for Yu Jung-ak to avoid Kim Hyuk-soo's punches.

Kim Hyuk-soo threw a right hook aimed at the abdomen, then immediately followed with a left hook to cut off Yu Jung-ak's escape route.

"Huh..."

Bang Yong-pal couldn't help but be impressed by the move just now. Mixed martial arts and boxing were clearly different disciplines.

While both were combat sports and had similarities, there were significant differences when you delved into the details.

Especially, guards using gloves were not frequently used techniques in mixed martial arts. Open finger gloves were thin and small.

Trying to guard with them often led to disaster.

On the other hand, boxing gloves, if used well, could effectively neutralize the opponent's attacks.

Particularly, the 16-ounce gloves that Yu Jung-ak and Kim Hyuk-soo were wearing now were quite heavy and thick. So if guarded well, one could avoid taking almost any damage.

In other words, it was easier to neutralize the opponent's attacks than to avoid them.

However, such skills weren't mastered overnight. Just as a boxing athlete can't easily perform a high kick if suddenly asked to, if a mixed martial arts fighter is suddenly told to guard using gloves, nine out of ten won't be able to do it properly.

But Yu Jung-ak was different.

After the first round, he seemed to have completely adapted to the 16-ounce gloves and was even using them to guard.

In the first round, he avoided Kim Hyuk-soo's attacks with upper body movements and footwork, but in the second round, he was now even guarding with the gloves.

That's what he just did to block Kim Hyuk-soo's attack.

He slightly blocked Kim Hyuk-soo's right body hook by lowering his left hand, and deflected the right hook by extending his hand to hit Kim Hyuk-soo's forearm.

Hitting the forearm changes the trajectory of the hook, so naturally, the attack doesn't land properly.

Yu Jung-ak's performance didn't end there.

After hitting Kim Hyuk-soo's forearm, Yu Jung-ak immediately attacked Kim Hyuk-soo's body with his left hand, which he had lowered for the guard.

It wasn't a very strong hit, but it was enough to upset Kim Hyuk-soo. After hitting the body, Yu Jung-ak smoothly slipped away.

Kim Hyuk-soo lowered his posture and rushed at Yu Jung-ak.

'This guy is really something.'

Bang Yong-pal was impressed, though he didn't show it. The technique Yu Jung-ak just displayed was what Bang Yong-pal had taught him.

The safest counter. The so-called "sook-bak" where you avoid or block the opponent's attack and then strike.

It was a technique any boxing athlete could do, but what Yu Jung-ak just showed wasn't that simple.

He accurately blocked the opponent's attack with his guard and counterattacked as if he had been waiting for it.

This was an advanced technique that even professional boxers rarely execute properly. Yet, a novice striker from mixed martial arts was pulling it off.

He had heard from Cho Yong-il that Yu Jung-ak had good eyes, but this was beyond imagination.

As Bang Yong-pal was watching with an impressed expression, a big hit landed.

Thud!

Bang Yong-pal immediately climbed onto the ring.