"Uhh, my trainer used to say you need to repeat it a thousand times"
>> Let a mammal run to the refrigerator hundreds of times every day, does it grow up to be a marathon runner? <<
"That's a bit different..." he couldn't help but grin. Was that an attempt to use a metaphor?
>> Please explain. <<
"Well, maybe I become good at running to the fridge, but athletes push their limits when training"
>> Does that imply mammals shall train martial arts in the gym? [coll.] <<
That was definitely not colloquial language, and Ping clearly saw what the system was trying to do. Wouldn't it be easier to just tell him what it wants to hear right away? He answered in detail this time.
"No, you don't just want to build up your muscles, you also want to gain experience and improve your technique. You want to know how it feels, experience the consequences of your actions and save the movements in your muscle memory to automate them. "
>> Improve. Keyword detected. The user shall explain what improvement means. <<
How can such an obvious question be so difficult to explain? Sometimes he would simply feel good after training and sometimes he would have the feeling that he just worked up a sweat.
"Maybe when you manage something that you haven't done before or have learned something new."
>> Not wrong, but there is room for improvement. << A pun.
>> Let a mammal toss it's orange juice at breakfast every morning. It has found that the phrase 'Next time, I'll be more careful.' does not lead to an improvement. [coll.] <<
The system spelled '[coll.]' which could really drive you crazy.
>> The user shall recommend an appropriate action. <<
"Maybe put the glass further in the middle of the table?"
>> Correct, a concrete action, that can be implemented every time in the same situation, needs to be found. What was the necessary requirement for that? <<
"For putting the glass in the middle of the table?"
>> (☉̅ 益 ☉̅) << The display lit up.
>> To find a concrete action <<
"Heck, I don't know, can we stop this? You're lousy at explaining."
>> Know. Knowledge. Correct. <<
>> Summary. Improvement is an active process that does not come through thoughtless repetition of already known actions. To improve, a concrete action that leads to a change in this exact situation must be found. <<
"Ok, so you want to tell me that I don't understand what I'm doing here?"
>> As far as the optimization of martial arts is concerned, the efficiency of a movement is limited by the laws of nature and the biology of the body. <<
"Sorry?"
>> Force consists of mass and speed. Speed can be maintained by relaxed muscles, which becomes obvious as soon as an attempt is made to perform a movement with tense muscles. [coll.] <<
"That was not colloquial!"
>> Assume that a movement is a circular movement where the arm is the radius of a circle, then not every part of the arm reaches the same speed. As each part of the arm moves for the same time, the fingertip covers the greatest distance and is hence the fastest part. <<
"Is that an overly complicated way of telling me to turn my waist?"
>> While the body mass seems static, the addition of rotational energy can amplify the mass of body parts above the rotation axis. <<
"I see." This gibberish should mean that by rotating hips or feet one would use strength from the entire body instead of just from a single arm.
>> Finally, if the centre of the body is viewed as a rotational axis, the swing of an arm can act as lever to transfer force to the other side of the rotational axis. <<
"Ok. That sounds complicated, but it goes without saying. But how the heck does that help me?"
>> If the user understood these principles he shall quantify his movements according to the objective instead of being restricted by the names and classifications of existing martial arts. <<
After untangling the meaning of this sentence Ping was a bit stunned. Who would have known that this system could say some really deep stuff.
With new determination he tried to apply that. He performed small sequences of techniques based on his previous performance. But instead of doing each technique as fast and powerful as he could, he imagined his opponent. Sometimes he only executed parts of the movement, sometimes he performed the technique a bit weak and in a high stance. Suddenly his focus was on factors other than his too high stance or crooked back.
His trainer had always emphasized that he needed to feel his body when doing kung fu. Today he thought that he finally understood what that meant. Previously he thought a good performance meant precision - he watched dozens of videos from professional athletes. He found the biggest difference to amateur athletes after watching a professional ballet dancer who performed the same movement three times in a row. All her movements were exactly the same, like a recorded tape, which certainly required an excellent body control.
But the difference started much earlier, while he previously described a technique simply through beginning and end, the professional athlete's technique was divided into a dozen small steps.
Performing these complex steps in a short time was only possible if he understood the purpose and not just copied the appearance. By thinking about a target, and a means to amplify the force of his movement using simple laws of physics, he could finally consciously feel his body move muscle by muscle.
He finished his exercise and wasn't even disappointed that the quest was still not completed. After his realization it was only a matter of time.
If he continued with his exercises, the streets would soon fill with people and he would probably catch a cold. Maybe he could chase his sister away and claim his apartment for himself now.
He decided to take the city railway in which a small number of commuters and a small number of students, with deep circles under their eyes and coffee mugs, were sitting. Right at the door was a creepy middle-aged man, messy grey hair, mumbling things. Ping passed quickly.
Then the man let go of some foul swearword - as if it just burst out of him - and continued mumbling. So that did not only appear in films. Ping shook his head in confusion and wondered if the man was mentally ill or had been on drugs. He looked a bit shabby but not like a homeless person.
When Ping sat down, messy hair looked, of course, right in his direction and continued to drop swearwords which made everyone feel ashamed. Next to him sat a man with short-cropped hair and glasses, opposite someone who looked like his wife. They whispered annoyed. "If this bloke utters another word in our direction, I'll clobber him for good when we go out of here."
Ping didn't register what the man next to him had said to his wife until they arrived at the next station.
The man hit messy hair so hard in the face that Ping was downright shocked. Not because of the violence, of which there was more than enough on TV and video games, but because it came so unexpectedly.
Completely seamlessly and without any warning the kind looking, married guy just punched messy hair to repeatedly. After the first punch messy hair's nose already looked like a red spouting fountain.
Behind him, a woman began to scream like in some stereotypical film. Ping did facepalm because it was the second time this week that he found himself in such an unbearable situation. Just three days ago he swore that he would never again stand there like an idiot and hesitate in such a situation and here he was and neither wanted to help the messy hair nor the married career criminal without conscience.
If this stroke of fate was supposed to be his heavenly tribulation he would prefer a lightning bolt.
He went outside where the two men, less than two meters away from him, were wrestling with each other while some people started gazing and decided to leave right away this time as his mobile phone vibrated.
>> Quest: Stop the five people from hurting any innocent bystander. <<
What five people? Ping wondered, there were only two.
But when he looked up, a group of rough-looking young men vigorously approached the two hotheads. One of them announced himself with a cry that could as well have come from a pregnant cow. Seconds later a slap landed whistling on the married guys face and ended the little brawl with his glasses landing on the hard asphalt. Then a second slap landed and interrupted what ever he wanted to angrily shout. Mediation was clearly not the intent of these guys.
The wife, who just watched helplessly until now, tried to grab one of the rascals on his shoulder and Ping could almost see his quest ending well ahead of time. Well, with these guys, there was no reason to hold back, right?