Martial Arts Worlds - Chapter 356

Chapter 356: Late Night Training
After taking the cleaning supplies back to the storage room, Neal walked over to Kiernan and waited for his next orders.

While he was still quite exhausted from all the cleaning, he was still pretty excited to learn some martial arts.

“To know your opponent is the way to victory. You won’t be able to overpower him with strength, and his range is greater than yours.”

Kiernan said.

“I visited Travis’ Kickboxing Gym, and I had the opportunity to spar with its owner. I came to the conclusion that the martial arts he is practicing are below mediocre.”

“B-below mediocre?”

Neal’s eyes shook as he was shocked at the harsh truth.

“The people of this city don’t know better. I don’t know whether that guy believes that he is better than he actually is or if he is just scamming the children of this city.”

Kiernan said with crossed arms.

“H-how did the spar go? I’ve heard people talk about Adrian and say that he is quite powerful.”

“I won, obviously. Adrian is nothing more than a fraud. He might look big and strong, but it is just bloated muscle with mediocre skills.”

Kiernan said.

‘He won…? That is amazing. I already know that Kiernan is really powerful because something about him screams absolute power, but his martial arts skill must also be top-notch!’

Neal’s eyes shone with excitement, and then he asked.

“So I will be learning your martial arts, right? What kind of martial arts is it?”

“You won’t be learning my martial arts. You’ll need to condition your body accordingly, which would take years for you to be able to use a single technique in a fight.”

Kiernan said.

Disappointed, Neal sighed heavily, but he wondered just how hard it could actually be. It wasn’t like Kiernan was that much older than he was.

‘I think he is only a few years older than me… I don’t know who taught him his martial arts, but if it is so hard to learn, he must’ve started when he was really young.’

“What martial arts will I be learning then?”

Neal asked.

“Well, since we are at the boxing gym, we might as well get started with boxing. It is a good foundation for any martial arts.”

Kiernan said.

“Isn’t it very limiting, though? I mean, boxing only uses hands, doesn’t it?”

Neal asked.

“When you fight, I don’t want you to overthink your choices. Whether you should punch or kick, I don’t want you to think that.

“Focus on your footwork and punch. That’s all you need to focus on.”

Neal nodded, and then Kiernan tossed him some boxing gloves before taking him over to one of the punching bags.

Kiernan grabbed the punching bag and held it steady for Neal to practice his punches on.

“Which hand do you prefer?”

He asked first.

“Uh… I am a leftie.”

Neal said.

“Use Southpaw Stance then.”

With a nod, Neal went into Southpaw Stance while listening to Kiernan’s instructions on how the stance should be.

“The basic punches are jab, cross, hook, and uppercut. Let’s start with the jab first.”

With his right fist, Neal threw a quick jab towards the punching bag. It didn’t feel right, and he had an awkward look on his face.

“Keep your feet shoulder-width apart. The lead foot should point slightly forward, and the back foot at about a 45-degree angle. Hands up, elbows in, and chin tucked.”

Listening closely, Neal did all that and then snapped the jab straight from his chin to the bag.

‘That felt much better…’

“Don’t drop your back hand. It is protecting your face. While you punch, you should also be protecting yourself.”

Neal nodded, and kept doing slow jabs at the punching bags, but since it was quite slow, it wasn’t really jabbing.

“Aim for a consistent spot on the bag. The spot should be at your eye level, and focus all your jabs in that one spot. Accuracy and speed are the key.

“Then, pull the jab back just as you throw it. A slow jab is not a jab at all. Be snappy, don’t be lazy, and imagine the bag as a hot stove or something that you want to quickly touch and retreat from.”

Neal nodded, and with his boxing glove, he threw a quick jab at the bag, and it caused a consistent sound of leather hitting leather.

Hours flew by with sweat flying, and Neal’s muscles burning with each punch.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!”

Neal sat on the ground, sweating and breathing heavily as if he had just finished running a marathon.

It was hard for him to throw a single punch anymore.

“I… I didn’t think martial arts was doing the same technique thousands of times, over and over again, till the technique was burned into the muscle memory.”

Kiernan chuckled and saw that Neal was dying out of boredom only after a few hours.

It was hilarious to him because he kept doing the same mindless training exercises for over sixty years until he could do every technique flawlessly, even in his sleep.

“Do you want to do some sparring? Let’s see how your footwork is.”

Kiernan said and put some black boxing gloves on before entering the boxing gym, with Neal quickly following after him.

“Aish…”

Neal rubbed his aching muscles and tried to lift his guard up.

“With footwork, remember to stay in your Southpaw Stance, lead foot under your jab hand, and back heel slightly raised. Bend your knees, and distribute your weight evenly.

“When you jab, move with it to extend your reach, and remember to maintain your balance. Keep your guard up, chin down, and eyes focused on your opponent at all times.”

Kiernan said and lifted his guard up close to his chin.

“I understand…”

Neal nodded despite there being quite a lot of information to take in at once.

“I will act as Travis. Therefore, I will add some kicks to the mix. I have a good understanding of Adrian’s Kickboxing, so I should be a decent sparring partner.”

Kiernan said.

“Alright, sounds good!”

Neal nodded, and then with his front foot, he slid it towards Kiernan and threw a quick jab with his arm extending like a piston.

At that moment, Kiernan whipped his leg across the ground and connected with Neal’s thigh, burning a bright red mark into his skin.

“Ouch!”

Neal dropped down to the ground, and touched his thigh gingerly.

“You must remember. Travis’ range will be superior to yours, and thus his kicks will be dangerous. Remember that when you are fighting me or him.”

Kiernan said.