Flat-Brim Samurai chapter 3
With the start of the class his father warmed them up with a little bit of calisthenics. 50 pushups, 50 situps, 50 squats, 5 runs around the mats. Apollo thought that he was strong but was gravely mistaken because those movements caused him to start breathing heavily after about halfway through just the push ups. His father had a chuckle to himself remembering older times when he was just like his son with his own father. Once they were all "warmed up" they got right to light sparring with partners. Apollo, already half gassed out, was catching his breath as Cias came up to him ,"You wanna be partners" Apollo replied ," You bet". They started to move and Apollo went for a front punch but Cias speedily went towards the outside of the punch and hit him with a light palm strike to the nose. HOLY CRAP, HE'S FAST!!! Apollo thought as he got back to a normal fighting stance but eagerness clouded his mind as he thought to himself I need to hit him.
Throwing a wild right hook punch meant that it was easy to dodge as Cias ducked under it, grabbed it back and went for a light knee kick to the ribs. Followed by that was a knife hand to the back of the neck and a shove away. Apollo couldn't keep up with the movement let alone the amount of technical skill that Cias had. He thought his father taught him so much and that he knew everything but Apollo realized that those were just the basics. Kenji had taught him the basics in order to not go crazy with his practice in the dojo, but Apollo disobeyed. Being taught the basics was supposed to improve the barebones skills he had rather than crazy movements because they can be better for all situations rather than very specific ones. By getting eager and going on the offensive to this extreme caused him to fail at what his father had taught him over those months. The real difference in this battle was Apollo's IQ and experience.
This was an enlightening experience that he had to endure for the sake of furthering his mind and body. He loosened up his body. A tight fist meant a tight mind he remembered his father saying. Apollo smiled and said ,"ready" as Cias remarked putting a smirk on his face ,"Show me whatcha got!". Apollo was ready rather than tense this time around as Cias earned another punch to the solar plexus. Apollo slightly dodged this time as on this occasion he earned a glancing blow instead ,"NICE" Cias said following up with another hit to the same area with a left hook instead hitting him directly head on again. Apollo thought I can't believe that this is light sparring for him, the guy must be insanely strong. As Cias finished the combo with an elbow his father ended the light sparring and got to technical skill for the rest of class.
Apollo getting a chance to "relax" got him thinking that they needed to be friends. They began throwing front punches transitioning to hooks and roundhouse kicks ending the class with dodging practice with his father saying ,"Don't anticipate, look at their abdomen for micromovements and then react accordingly, it's hard but once you master it you can dodge almost anything in striking and handheld weapons with blades and blunt objects". Dodging the blows whilst also getting hit taught Apollo some "lessons" on not getting hit in action rather than just practicing the movements his father taught him. The end of class meant that meditation was the goal next.
Sitting still for Apollo was hard as he thought of so many things to practice after class…
After class Apollo began to think first I need to get stronger and master dodging and my striking and my foot work and my… ,"Apollo, I want to teach you the art of recovery, lean out your head." The information was implanted in his head via Art: information translation. The information gave him a little headache but he fully understood how to use this new power. His green aura spread across his body and slowly started to recover his body. His muscles repairing, his bones reinforcing themselves, and his inner organs stabilizing. He felt stronger than ever ,"Thanks dad!" ,"no problem, now get to bed, you'll need the sleep". Apollo walked towards his room and once he got in, did his stretches (almost brushing his teeth before remembering recovery would already repair his teeth for him) and went to bed for the next few weeks of training.