Chapter 1 Enjoying the Bitter Taste of Failure
"Gulp, gulp, gulp..."
The white owl tilted his head back, put his dry, chapped lips close to the water cup, and swallowed the water in big gulps until there was not a drop left in the black thermos.
"call……"
He exhaled a breath of hot air freely, and with his other hand he grabbed the collar of his gray training suit, fanning it back and forth, trying to cool himself down.
The entire back is wet with sweat, and the air flow has an outstanding effect.
After standing there for a while to calm his pounding heart, Bai Xiao leaned against the white porcelain wall and sat down on the rubber cushion.
With the cup of water beside him, he rested and looked forward.
This is an indoor training hall, with a large space and floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides. The midday sun shines through the glass, forming several golden trapezoids on the light blue rubber carpet. Outside these areas where the hot sun shines, young people in gray training suits are practicing their own skills, hitting sandbags, sparring, and empty-handed.
The dull thud of feet on mats, the thump of punches hitting sandbags, and the cheering of sparring all create a scene of great enthusiasm. Even the smell of sweat, body odor, and rubber in the air gives off a sense of passion.
"It feels good to be young..."
White Owl took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders.
This was his third day in this parallel world. After three days of exploration, Bai Xiao realized that he was not reborn, but traveled through time.
This twenty-four-year-old body is not strong, but it is very healthy.
"gather!"
Suddenly, a middle-aged man's voice sounded in the middle of the hall.
Soon, many students stopped what they were doing and gathered together. Bai Xiao also put down his water cup and ran to the gathering with the people next to him.
In front, a man about 1.8 meters tall, wearing a black coaching suit, stood there straight, with a very strong physique.
He has a standard square face, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and hair as thin as needles.
It was Zhang Hongtao, the coach in charge of teaching them at the Shiratori Martial Arts School.
"Warm-up is over, let's continue with the Sanda concept from last time."
He glanced at the many students and started talking.
The Sanda he was talking about is a fighting style that combines boxing, kicking and wrestling, and its goal is to subdue the opponent in the shortest possible time.
Sanda is effective in actual combat, focusing on ground combat and offensive and defensive techniques.
What Zhang Hongtao is going to teach today are basic movements and practical postures.
"First, the actual combat posture. Watch my movements carefully."
As he spoke, he quickly turned sideways, facing the crowd with his left shoulder. He stood with his legs slightly wider than shoulder width apart, his right foot turned inward, and the tip of his left foot turned slightly inward. He clenched his fists, stretched his arms forward to the left, and looked forward.
This is a typical fighting posture, with the shoulders slightly swaying and the body weight on the right foot. You can use your foot to exert force at any time, step up and punch.
Bai Xiao watched carefully while Zhang Hongtao continued to practice his sermon.
"After the combat stance."
"It's just basic punches, basic kicks and basic footwork."
"Basic boxing techniques include punching, penetrating, and stealing..."
Every time he mentioned a boxing technique, he would quickly perform a corresponding action.
He exerts force with his shoulders and swings his fists out fiercely, giving people a sense of sharpness.
"Basic leg techniques include kicking, kicking, whip kicking, etc."
"The basic steps include tiptoeing, vertical stepping, and flashing stepping."
Zhang Hongtao's actions were quick and decisive, without any delay.
"Okay, the demonstration is over, next is the action disassembly."
He quickly took on the role of coach, breaking down the various postures and punches into individual movements, explaining the key points and their effects.
Half an hour later, Zhang Hongtao retracted his fists and feet.
Start by selecting just one of the movements and have many students imitate it.
There were about 30 people present, and they all started practicing in a very strict manner. Some of them were very good at understanding, and they were able to achieve 70% to 80% similarity the first time they did it. Some of them were not very good at understanding, and they could only do a rough approximation. There were about 3 or 4 people with the worst understanding, and their movements were crooked and could not match at all.
Fortunately, Bai Xiao was not among these three or four people.
But he wasn't much better, probably in the bottom ten.
He didn't have good athletic talent in his previous life, and this body in this life doesn't seem to have very good athletic talent either. The combination of the two makes his level below average.
At the front, Coach Zhang's eyes swept through the crowd, and finally fixed his sight on a short-haired young man about 1.8 meters tall, two or three places to Bai Xiao's left. That was his main focus, and in the previous stages of the course, he had already demonstrated his outstanding physical talent and understanding.
As expected, this time when teaching the basic Sanda moves, Guo Hao's completion rate was above 70% to 80%, which shows great potential for subsequent training.
"Guo Hao is a very talented person, but he is a little lazy."
"Wait until the Sanda class is over."
"Maybe we can promote him to the elite class..."
Coach Zhang thought so in his heart, and quickly glanced at the students in Guo Hao's group, including Bai Xiao, whose movements were a little crooked.
More than an hour passed in the training hall.
"Just teach these few moves first, and then practice on your own."
Coach Zhang clapped his hands, signaling that everyone could rest or exercise on their own. Soon, the students dispersed and found a place to practice.
Bai Xiao noticed that Coach Zhang did not leave the hall, but stood by a window. Nearby, student Guo Hao was practicing.
He took a look and then looked away.
Bai Xiao turned around, found a corner, and started practicing on his own.
There were other students practicing in this area, each practicing their own movements and steps. However, it was obvious that without the coach in front of them, the students were much more relaxed, their fists and feet were not very powerful, and even a little perfunctory, especially the last few.
However, the White Owl is a small exception.
Although his movements, waving fists and moving feet were not standard, they all conveyed a sense of dedication.
You can tell at a glance whether a person is practicing with all his heart or not.
“Hu…chi…hu…chi…”
Heavy breathing leaked out of his nose, and Bai Xiao could hear the thumping of his heart. The more he tried, the easier it was to get tired. After practicing Sanda for a while, he was soon sweating all over again.
But even so, Bai Xiao still looked straight ahead.
The movements are meticulous and there is no sign of a reduction in the frequency of exercise.
In the distance, by the window, Coach Zhang looked away from Guo Hao who was resting there, and scanned the training hall again. When his eyes passed over the area of Bai Xiao, he paused for a moment and made a judgment in his mind.
"I work hard, but my talent is average."
"If Guo Hao could work so hard, his training results would definitely be 20% to 30% better than they are now. I'll have a good chat with him after class..."
"And it's almost time to tell him about the elite class..."
In the corner, Bai Xiao was sweating profusely, his arms were becoming heavier and heavier, his feet were becoming weaker and weaker, and even his bones seemed to make faint sounds.
Sweat collected on his eyelashes and chin and dripped onto the mat.
He was still mumbling something.
“Almost…”
“Just a little bit more…”
“Almost!”
"I can't hold on any longer, huh!"
After exhaling heavily, Bai Xiao felt dizzy and quickly supported himself against the wall with one hand to slow down. After a long while, he raised his head.
He could vaguely see it.
In front of the retina, a screen of light is fading away rapidly.
[Occupation: Fighter (not activated)]
[Conditions: 1. Attribute average 10 or above√, 2. Basic fighting skills×]
“Really…”
“It makes me feel itchy!”
The white owl licked his dry, chapped lips.
Silently enjoying the bitter taste of failure.
ps.Baixiao (xiao), pronounced the same as Xiao.
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ps. The White Owl is a bird of prey and one of the dominant birds of the night. They are called "cats among birds" because they fly quietly, land gently, and then hunt in the silent darkness.
(End of this chapter)
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