Chapter 105: A Spar

The instructor returned the stick to the rack and brought out two small pads. He held them at shoulder height and told Leon to touch whichever one moved forward.

The first few attempts were simple. After that, he started changing how long he waited before moving either hand, also increasing the speed.

Leon chose the correct pad every time, though he was noticeably slower whenever he had to reach across his body.

"You know which one it is as soon as it moves," the instructor said. "Go for it then. You don’t need to see where it stops."

Leon nodded and did so, finding out he could even reach the next one much faster.

On the attempt after that, the instructor moved his shoulder first and switched sides. Leon almost went for the wrong pad before correcting himself.

’So that’s what I was waiting for.’

After some more practice, they finished with the padded stick.

The instructor told Leon where he intended to aim, swung slowly and stopped each time Leon stepped out of range. On the third attempt, Leon retreated twice and found himself close to the wall.

"Hold it there."

The instructor lowered the stick.

"After your first step back, you still had room to go left. When did you notice it?"

"After I’d already taken the second step."

"We’ll start there next time. You saw the swing coming. Now I want you to look for somewhere to go before you take that second step."

He recorded the weights Leon had used and explained what they would be working on. They would build his strength and reactions, then add enough close fighting for him to break away if someone got hold of him.

For now, the drills would remain slow until Leon could move without having to think about where he placed his feet.

"Thank you for your time, sir," Leon said as he picked up his bag.

...

On his way back from the instructor’s practice room, Leon tried to work out when he should have stepped left. By the time his second step took him near the wall, it was easy enough to see where he had gone wrong. The trouble was that he had spent the whole exercise watching the stick. He hadn’t looked at the space beside him until the instructor told him to stop.

’There’s so much to learn, and that was only supposed to be a test, not actual training.’ He thought as he continued on.

As things would turn out, he got another chance to try it at his next practical class the next day. The instructor actually laid out mats for an exercise without summons, a first of its kind since they enrolled in the academy.

It was a simple sparing session. Leon wondered if it was because of him, or just because some students had already started trying unification, so perhaps it was for that.

While the students practiced like this, it was only until they were more stable in their unification, then they’d move to actual monsters. This was just to familiarize them with engaging in the conflicts themselves.

Leon was pulling on his gloves when a girl came in with a reassignment slip, he hadn’t even noticed her. The instructor checked it against his attendance list and showed her where to leave her bag. When he began calling out pairs, he put her with Leon, and they moved to their mat. Her name was Mira, and she looked about his age with moderate looks and had short black hair that barely reached her ears., though still good looking all round, especially physically. One could tell she wasn’t your ordinary student.

"Which side do you want?" Mira asked as she tightened the strap on one of her gloves.

Leon chose a side, and they took their positions while waiting for the instructor to start the round.

Once the call sounded for everyone, he raised his hands.

Leon had never learnt any fighting style, so his plan was simple. Stay out of reach and look for a chance to hit her. He also remembered to leave space on both sides this time.

To his surprise, Mira didn’t waste any time before moving closer.

He threw a punch towards her ribs once she entered his reach, but to his greatest shock, she caught it against her elbow and grabbed his arm. When he tried pulling away, she followed and turned her hip across his body. Leon’s feet left the mat before he understood what was happening. All he saw was the world turning like a merry-go-round.

She held on to his arm as he fell, and he landed flat on his back.

He tried sitting up, but her knee was already across his stomach. When he reached to push it away, she caught his wrist, stepped over his head and sat back.

His arm was straightening between her legs by the time he realised what she was doing.

Leon tapped her thigh with his free hand before even feeling the strain, and immediately, Mira released him.

"One minute before the next round," the instructor called. "Get some water if you need it."

Leon sat up and opened and closed his hand. His elbow felt fine since he tapped before she applied much pressure.

’She had my arm from the moment I threw that punch.’ He thought in bewilderment. He had watched tones of MMA videos and other martial art videos, but being on the receiving end in reallife was no fun at all.

During the next round, Leon kept his elbows close and waited for Mira to come to him—

—He still ended up on his back.

When she settled across his chest, Leon turned towards her and tried getting one knee between them, but Mira moved out of the way, and by the time he realised he had turned far enough to expose his back, her heels were hooked inside his thighs and one arm was beneath his chin.

Without hesitation, Leon tapped before she tightened it.