In a place near Devon's house, Dash had asked his father for a space to set up a training gym suitable for them and to consider it as a potential business location in the future.
Right near this location was an artificial forest, making it a suitable place for various workouts. After some minor renovations, it became their training ground from now on.
This place seemed to have been a yoga center that had gone out of business due to poor sales, so it was clean and extremely spacious to set up the gym, or in this case, the dojo.
In this case, as they were focusing on Kung Fu, they needed some suitable equipment, so they gradually started buying it. What surprised Dash was his father's unconditional support when it came to Kung Fu, so that slight misunderstanding he had with his father was gradually easing.
But at that moment, Mr. Kim was overseeing a sparring match under specific conditions. "You must be faster, show no mercy, and use your fighting skills!" Mr. Kim shouted as he observed the development of the confrontation between Dash and Devon.
Dash's limitations when fighting Devon were very clear; he didn't want to face a friend, let alone hurt her. So, when he sparred with her, he mainly practiced defense. That's why Mr. Kim decided that Devon should try to hit him. Only in this way could Dash's defense improve to an acceptable level for the competition.
Pum! Pum! Pum!
At this point, Dash was only deflecting Devon's attacks while focusing on finding ways to attack her without causing much harm. The nervousness he usually felt in fights disappeared; his aura was very natural as he dodged.
"Aren't you going to attack me?"
"I was just seeing how aggressive you've become in the attack. Now that I know, be prepared." Dash assumed a standard Kung Fu stance and raised his arms.
Devon smiled; she knew that Dash restrained himself in combat with her, but she still wanted to show him that he shouldn't underestimate her too much. So, she ran towards him, and when they were at a close distance, she raised her right foot to kick his head.
At that moment, Dash saw everything in slow motion, and when his brain processed the information, he slid, grabbing Devon's left foot and attacking her only supporting leg.
"Ah!"
Right where Dash attacked, there was a vulnerable point, causing her to fall on the mat. When she tried to get up, she realized that a fist was near her face.
"What was that takedown?" Devon's eyes widened in surprise because she doubted how Dash received her kick but didn't hurt him at all.
"Some jiu-jitsu moves..." Dash wasn't just fooling around; his main goal was the tournament that would take place in China, not the Karate one. That's why he was preparing with many special techniques.
Mr. Kim smiled slightly, then extended his hand and said, "Very well, everyone gather around and listen."
"If both of you want to win in the Karate tournament, the first thing you must do is learn to score points because it's not a fight to determine who is the strongest, but who is the most strategically intelligent."
"Don't we win by just overpowering them with strength?" Devon looked at Dash, who had told her that he had to be strong because strength was everything in the China tournament, but that was Kung Fu, not Karate.
"That's the problem; you don't know the rules of the Karate tournament." Mr. Kim smiled and said, "Firstly, a competitor will receive a penalty if they perform a strike or kick with excessive force or without control."
"In another situation, if a competitor intentionally or unintentionally leaves the combat area, they can be given a penalty. It's crucial for competitors to stay within the designated boundaries of the combat area throughout the entire match."
Dash understood the rules of the fight; the correct example of a foul is executing a poorly performed technique that could harm the opponent. Different scoring zones within the combat area must also be marked. These zones may vary depending on the competition categories but generally include points for strikes to areas such as the torso, side, head, and, in some cases, the legs.
"Since you know where to attack, usually these lines are defined by specific colors on the tatami."
"So, to win, we just need to be faster and more flexible." Dash said, understanding what he had to do in the Karate tournament.
Devon nodded, knowing what she had to do; she had been training for over three months, so her kicks were the best, and that's what she had been focusing on lately.
"Devon, go to the dummy and train your kicks. Take advantage of how flexible you are and try to score points with your kicks. We'll work on blocks after that. In the meantime, I'll practice with Dash." Mr. Kim pointed to different training dummies, and Devon chose one called Wang Chu, which was the best for practicing kicks.
"Do you think we can win, sir?" Dash asked, being more sincere with Mr. Kim, who nodded after seeing Devon's long kicks.
Upon hearing the question, Mr. Kim said, "You are strong, fast, and agile. The same goes for Devon. Both of you can leverage your not-so-tall bodies to defeat opponents who will surely underestimate you at first."
Perhaps only Kim knew this, but Devon adapted very well to combat, and she had been demonstrating that in the three months he had been teaching her. She adapts quickly, is cautious, and doesn't need much teaching to execute moves decently.
Dash, on the other hand, was very good, and best of all, he didn't know it. And Mr. Kim had no intention of dragging it out, only this way he wouldn't underestimate his enemies and would consider training in other things.
There are students better than them, that's true, with much more experience and larger builds, but if they demonstrated everything they learned here, both came out as winners.
"Let's practice strikes; don't hold back, and come at me with everything you have." Mr. Kim said, holding two pads for striking.
"Yes, Mr. Kim."