Here, have some water." Kin takes a water bottle out of his bag and tosses it to Kevin, who is tired and sitting on a bench close to the wall. Kevin has been training for around thirty minutes. In the beginning, Kevin was easily able to follow Kin while he dashes around. But after fifteen minutes, Kevin is too slow to keep up.
"Huff, yeah, thanks." He catches the water bottle and starts drinking.
"So, how'd I do, old man?" Kevin asks, trying to regain his breath.
"Well, good and not good," Kin replies. "Your offensive power is definitely there.And i'm sure you can take blows as well. However, your stamina isn't good at all because you quit for so long. Then there's the biggest issue."
Kevin gets anxious. "Biggest issue?"
"Yeah," Kin continues. "The best way to explain it is, uh…" Kin pauses and scratches his head.
"Yeah? What is it?" Kevin asks, filled with anticipation.
"You fight too straight," Kin replies. The look on Kevin's face tells Kin he doesn't get it.
"I… what?" Kevin asks, confused.
Kin lets out a brief sigh. "Look, I can't really explain it. Let me just show you. Come to the ring — I'll spar with you so you understand."
"Really? Alright!" Kevin quickly gets back on his feet. He hasn't sparred properly in a long time.
"Look, just try to hit me. See if you notice it. If you don't, I'll tell you what I meant after." Kin gets into a defensive stance. Kevin notices it's similar to the one Kin used when they first fought, but not exactly the same.
"Alright, whatever you say, old man." Kevin gets into his boxing stance, tucking his head behind both his fists, which he keeps close to his chest.
"Maybe after this, I can teach you something better than that ridiculous stance!" Kin taunts.
"Your taunts are getting old, you know that?" Kevin replies. He dashes in, trying to get the upper hand on Kin. Kevin throws a powerful left hook, which Kin easily dodges.
"Come on, I didn't say start yet!" Kin says. Kevin ignores him and throws an uppercut. Kin jumps back, dodging it with ease.
"Huff, huff… You gonna fight back, old man?" Kevin tries to taunt, but Kin doesn't react. Kevin continues to chase him, throwing many punches.
"You know, you won't be able to hit me with your arms so close to your chest; this isn't boxing," Kin remarks. Kevin ignores him again and charges in for another attack. Kin dashes to the right. Kevin follows and leads with a right hook. This time, Kin crouches. Kevin completely misses and is left wide open.
Kin doesn't miss a beat. He prepares to punch Kevin's side. Kevin realizes this and goes for a low left. Kin notices and does something mind-blowing: he jumps back from his crouch, holds himself up in a crab-walk pose, then delivers a powerful kick to Kevin's jaw by pushing himself up with his hands and kicking up with his left leg before Kevin can even fully wind up his arm.
Kevin has no time to react; his focus is on a counterattack, so he takes the full force of the kick with no defensive measures, nearly getting knocked down.
"Gah! Shit!"
Kevin yells, stumbling back and trying his best to regain his footing. His vision blurs, and his legs feel numb. But somehow he manages to stay up. Kin gets back on his feet, shocked to see Kevin still standing.
"Wow! I didn't think you'd stay standing after that," Kin exclaims.
Kevin can barely muster the strength to respond. "Shit, you're like fifty! How can you — how can you move like that?" he says, astounded.
"Kid, I'm forty-two," Kin replies. Kevin stares in disbelief for a good minute.
"Anyway… we're done for now, right?" Kevin asks.
"Yeah… I'll leave it at that for now. Now, did you see what I was talking about earlier, about 'fighting too straight'?" Kin asks. He grabs a towel from his bag to wipe himself off.
How much shit do you have in that bag? Kevin thinks.
"Ehh, not really. I was focused on actually fighting," Kevin shoots back sarcastically. He walks to the wall and sits on the floor, trying to catch his breath.
Kin gets a serious look on his face. "That's exactly it. You're too focused on fighting your opponent and not thinking about your next move. When I fight, I always think about my next move. You, however, only think about going straight in and throwing punches," Kin explains. "As long as you continue to fight that way, your fighting style will always be flawed."
"Damn…" Kevin looks down at his feet. "How do I fix it?"
"Sigh. That's the issue. The way you fight is connected to the very building blocks of your style. When we first fought at the house, you instinctively got into that pose, which tells me it's more of a habit now than a choice. I can help you try to change, but you yourself have to figure out what ties you to that way of fighting — and let go," Kin replies.
Kevin starts thinking deeply. What ties me to how I fight? What could that even mean? Kevin thought.
"Don't think too hard on it. You still gotta work on your stamina," Kin reassures him. "Up on your feet — you've got stamina training to do." Kin orders.
"Whaaaat?" Kevin groans. "I thought we were done for today!"
"We've been here barely an hour! What happened to training hard? Get back up!" Kin exclaims.
"How is training even supposed to make money?! That makes zero sense!" Kevin asks, still sitting on the ground.
"Obviously, moron! But how are you gonna win fights if you don't train?" Kin says.
"Look, once you get in good shape, you sign up to be a martial-arts fighter, then you can apply for fights. You make money depending on how much people bet, and nobody's gonna bet on you if you're no good! SO GET YOUR ASS UP!" Kin yells.
Kevin groans and stands.
"All right then, let's train, I guess," Kevin says sarcastically.
He does many different kinds of training: suicides, shadowboxing, jump rope, and bodyweight squats. Kevin only finishes a couple of hours later…
"I'm sooooo tired…" Kevin groans. He is lying flat on the ground, unable to move.
"Pretty good for today. Come at the same time tomorrow. On Fridays and Wednesdays, you rest. I'll take care of dinner today, but after tomorrow, you're on your own for that," Kin explains.
"Again tomorrow? Damn, all right," Kevin groans. Damn, I can't move an inch, he thinks.
Kin walks to the door and opens it to leave.
"Oh, and you should probably walk home soon before it gets too cold," Kin says before closing the door behind him.
Kevin sighs.
"Welp, at least that's one day of training done."