A Decision

"All right, to defeat Jack, you must be very focused on each of his movements. In the last competition, this guy, who many consider as strong as I am, was defeated by getting distracted, so it will be straightforward for you to win."

In an open field near Dash's home, there was a special place where the Sakura Bushido boys usually trained. Dash's parents had taken care of building a suitable training site.

"You won't defeat Jack; you just need to score clear points, so you'll have to work on your speed."

Everyone feared what Jack could become because Hawk had been defeated even while fighting alongside Demetri and Mitch, who lost to a woman.

"This is embarrassing; I said he was strong, but I never mentioned he was invincible."

Hawk had to endure the looks on his face every time Jack was mentioned.

Demetri said on the side, "You should have considered that before throwing punches at him. That was really something you should have thought about when that guy stopped you."

"For a misunderstanding, things have gone too far."

Sam on the side felt uncomfortable. She knew this training would help everyone avoid meaningless fights, but she knew she wouldn't be better friends with Tory now, knowing she was interested in Miguel, who seemed not to care.

"So, is he just strong?" Robby trusted his strength, which also had a point of value because Dash had valued that strength and knew it was very strong.

Devon, on the other hand, was fast. Her kicks were much superior to Kim's, and this would give her a significant advantage when facing Kim, who was eagerly awaiting that showdown. If Devon teams up with Antoni, they could have a chance because they are team matchups. This means that two fights would be evaluated, counting the combat time, the punches given, and assessing both fights.

"It doesn't matter if you lose a fight; just winning one matchup in record time is more than enough to win the overall match and move on to the next round." Dash clarified his point with a whiteboard.

"So, why are we here?"

"To train, of course. There are three types of karate among us, so we can gain experience by facing each other," Dash said, forming a matchup table.

"You won't only train your body but also your mind. Many of you don't analyze the fights and just fight with your hearts, but you must read the movements of each fighter to know how to attack them."

To explain his move, Dash called Devon to the front and said, "Everyone understands what I mean, but no one understands how to use it. Imagine I'm facing Devon, and her specialty is long-range attacks. My only way is to shorten that distance, but when should I shorten that distance?"

Hawk, who participated the most, said, "Mid-fight."

"The best way to shorten the distance would be when we feel that she is about to attack. Otherwise, we would be hit relatively easily and lose," said Robby, sharing his thoughts.

Miguel, who was also thinking about this question, said, "But what do we do if she feints, and when we close the distance, we make a mistake?"

"That's precisely what you must consider when fighting. What would be my best chances when facing an enemy? The way you should act is as your karate has the best chances," Dash said, explaining his point completely.

By training this, not only would everyone present improve, but they would also become smarter in their fights.

When the theory was explained, practice quickly followed, and Dash let each one face each other as they saw fit.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Decrease the force of your blows, lighten your attacks, and flow better with your movements," Dash said seriously as he watched Hawk's fight against Victor.

"Don't confuse practice with a real attack; consider that."

"Now!"

Hawk moved his right fist towards an exposed area of Victor, but at that moment, he saw his opponent stepping back, and when he lost the attack, a kick gently hit his knee.

"How did you do that?" Hawk asked, knowing that if Victor had used more force, he would have been injured.

Dash reminded him, "You have to improve the control of your emotions in the fight; you're still too aggressive and end up controlling yourself when attacking."

By giving them these tips, Dash hoped they would improve as individuals and understand a bit more about how the mind of a true fighter works.

"We just have to see what will happen in the tournament."