*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!* the sledgehammer's blows echoed through the air as it was swung against the tire. When training with sledgehammers, emphasize repetitive slams into the program; this can develop endurance in a lot of key areas like your back, shoulders, traps, core, and arms. You can also use one-handed slams (also known as Tomahawks) which will cause you to use balance and core strength. Footwork is key: you have to pivot one foot in some exercises and then make sure that your feet are set firmly every time (the last thing you want is the hammer coming back at you and hitting your shin). You can also square your feet up with the tire and do overhead slams, keeping your body straight and aligned. Slams require major muscle groups and stabilizer muscles to work together during the movement, causing an awesome exercise for raw power and endurance. He kept this up with the slams from his right side for another 3 sets of fifteen swings until he was done and then he switched to the left side for another set of slams! Four sets of fifteen slams from the left side with fifteen second breaks between sets! After this was completed he switched to overhead slams for the last four sets of fifteen slams! Again and again and again he smashed the thirty pound sledgehammer against the tire until he was done and finally set down the hammer as he took a breather.

*POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW!* went his palms against the sandbag filled with granite he'd tied against the tree for an hour before he would switch to punches, hammer fists and back fists for an hour each. This was the Iron Palm section of his training. Iron Palm practices aim to increase the bone density this not only makes the hands less vulnerable to damage but also heavier and more capable of damaging (think of being hit with a piece of metal rather then a similarly sized piece of wood). Alongside this the methods develop the tissue and muscles of the hand making them stronger and protecting the tendons and veins.

Yet Iron Palm is not just about toughening the hands. When done correctly Iron Palm teaches to strike with the whole body (not the arm). The body becomes like a massive whip generating a wave of force. The muscles of the hand are trained to instinctively flex open or closed (according to hand the formation) to maximize force when striking. These methods should also increase blood circulation (and, from a traditional Chinese medical perspective, qi flow) to the hand. This is of great help to qigong practitioners, who tend to find that the practice increases subjective feelings of energy in the hand. It is also of use to those who use the hands for healing and massage.

Indeed one of the interesting aspects of Iron Palm training is that when done correctly it does not ‘deaden’ the nerves of the hands but seems instead to give them more sensitivity (perhaps due to the increased blood circulation). It is a common misconception that one aims to essentially damage the nerves to ‘endure more’ pain in Iron Palm – this is completely untrue; losing any sensitivity in the hands would be a massive disadvantage in a fight as well as in life.

Almost all Iron Palm alongside the striking portion contains components of herbal medicine (dit da jow – ‘hit fall wine’), accurate body mechanics, qigong, specialized breathing methods and lifestyle pointers. Authentic Iron Palm methods developed over many years with a great deal of time, trial and error, body feel and contemplation. In common with the aims of all good Kung Fu good Iron Palm aims to build the body up, not break it down. It is a gradual process. People used to everyday exercising and pushing themselves to the limit tend to want to bring the same attitude to Iron Palm. It must be remembered that pushing muscles to ‘failure’ means a bit of aching the next day and then they grow back stronger, pushing bones to failure equals making dust!

Once he finally finished this section of his training he switched to Iron Leg Training. Which was mostly the same but revolved around the legs. He accomplished this by kicking hard bags. Once he finally finished this section of his training he switched to Bodyweight Training: 200 Air Squats, 200 Push Ups, 150 Sit ups, 150 Dips, 75 Pull Ups and 75 Lunges.

Air squats, also known as bodyweight squats, are commonly used in training programs like CrossFit and workout routines. They are only done using your own body weight, while regular squats may use additional weights instead. You should feel the squat in your thighs and in your glutes. To do an air squat, you keep your feet at shoulder width apart and pointed straight ahead. When squatting, your hips will move down and back. Your lumbar curve should be maintained and your heels should stay flat on the floor the entire time and your hips will descend lower than your knees!

It was an insane workout program. A brutal workout program but it was the one he'd been dedicating himself to ever since that night.

He squeezed his eyes shut and continued one arm pull ups with the tree branch. He couldn't get distracted. He had to focus on training. He couldn't let his memories of that thing distract him. He had to focus. He had to stay focused. Just forget about it for now and focus on training.

He eventually completed his pull ups and took a breather before performing the lunges on his way out of the woods and then he walked around while continuing to do them.

After this was completed he walked over to a tree stump and retrieved his water bottle and sipped it while he continued to rest up. He still had an hour of running to do before he could really take a break but at least he could take a little breather.

He was strong, he knew that, and he got stronger every day. Every day he pushed himself harder and harder to get better and stronger and faster and yet...somehow...for some reason...he still couldn't even imagine taking on The Masked Man. The fact of the matter was that he wouldn't even be here right now if Auntiehadn't shown up when she did. So he owed it to her, and everyone else attacked that day, to master her Iron Body Kung-Fu to be ready for anything but especially if they ever ran into The Masked Man again or anything like him...

He finished his water and closed his eyes for another new few minutes before he got back up, refilled his drink, put the cap back on and put the water bottle back in his satchel and took off running.

"Do you really want to go down this road, King? You need to know that my training is not for the faint of heart. I will push you to and beyond your limits until you break."

"I am! I am! I'm ready! I can do it!" King insisted. "You saw everything he did there! You were the only one who stood a chance and look at what he did to you! I have to be ready in case he ever comes back! We don't even know if he's really dead! The cops never found the body! Please Auntie! You've gotta teach me! You have to!"

"Alright then. You're certainly eager enough and you make a good point. Okay. But I don't want any tears or complaining, understood? Not even one. You are going to do everything I say, train when I say, how I say and for however long I say. Am I clear?"

"YES AUNTIE! I CAN DO IT! I won't let you down! I promise!"

The hot wet droplets rained down all over his body and swiftly replaced the sweat they washed away along with curing his fatigue. It recharged and re-energized him. King soon took his hands away from the wall and folded his hands in front of his chest and closed his eyes and calmed his heart as he embraced the shower and used it for a momentary peaceful period of meditation. After his cleansing meditation was over with he stepped out to dry off.

After changing into a set of dry clothes he returned to the dojo kitchen and sat down with his Aunt to enjoy a beef stew. "Thanks Aunite. This looks amazing."

"All the best ,kiddo." She ruffled his hair and then they sat down outside to eat together.

The backyard of the dojo had fitness equipment, mats, bags, a pond and a shed with more equipment inside all spaced out so there was plenty of room to exercise. "Hey Auntie? Not that I'm complaining, I promised never to do so, but can't we do everything we can do at the park here?"

"You're right. But sometimes a change in venue can be good for the mind. Staying in the same place all the time would get boring. You need to switch it up every now and then to keep things fresh."

"Oh okay that's a good point." He tasted the stew and ate some meat. "This is incredible as always Auntie."

"Healthy and nutritious is the way to go." She quoted and they enjoyed eating together.

They continued eating together until they finished and then they cleaned their dishes and the kitchen and then they stepped outside to begin their long walk to the Rosewood Garden Park.

Clay Remington, a young man with short brown hair worn in a bowl cut, balanced on a pole in the park. His short blue jacket blowing in the breeze behind him as he moved his arms in a clockwise and counter clockwise motion while standing on one leg with his other rose up to his stomach. Physical balance is an important part of Martial Arts, and other sports and activities. It greatly improves your health, strength, and athleticism. Making sure to get regular exercise and an proper amount of rest, each night is necessary to be physically balanced. As such he began practicing his blocks and deflections while balancing on one leg a few times before he switched to his other leg.

Rosewood Garden Park really was one of the best places for a nice relaxing exercise and practice like this. It was so beautiful here. Nature was in abundance and it was so peaceful. Kids could come and play while their families had their get togethers and picnics with the sun shining down on them and butterflies flapping their wings and the birds singing their songs. It calmed his mind and warmed his soul. Studying at The Inner Warrior Dojo was fun of course but this was where they came when they really wanted to unwind. He closed his eyes and continued practicing his blocking techniques while embracing the peace and tranquility of his surroundings and let it all flow into him. It was a nice relaxing morning day and absolutely nothing could ruin it for him.

"Sup Geek Squad?" A loud voice suddenly called to him from behind.

"YAAAAAAHHH!" He jumped in the air, lost his balance, flipped in the air and reached out and caught himself on his hand and balanced on it. "Wh-wha? Huh? What?" He noticed the blonde guy with his hair gelled up in a spiked style waving to him. "Vilfredo? What are you doing here?"

Vilfredo Acciaio laughed at him. "Just waiting for the right moment."

Clay groaned and pushed off of his hand and landed on his feet and turned around to look back at him. "You here for a rematch?"

"Ease up. The Rising Phoenix Studio Martial Arts Emporium teaches us primarily to fight in official tournaments unless we get attacked first. No reason to humiliate you in public too."

Clay glared at him but he relented. If he wasn't going to pick a fight then Clay wouldn't either. "You just got a lucky shot."

"It's called skill bro."

"Fine, fine, mad skills. Happy?"

"Extremely."

Clay smiled and relaxed. "So what are you really doing here?"

"Enjoying this beautiful day. We've got a few left before school starts back up again so I'm going to enjoy it while I can."

Aunt Yanagimachi Niaoyuanjiao beamed as she looked around the park. "Oh this is perfect. Do you see what I see, King?" She asked her nephew.

"Plenty of exercise and workout space. We can use this."

"More specifically? We can use everything here in our workouts. Check it." She gestured grandly. "Explosive Pull-Ups, Park Failing Reverse Rows, Monkey Bar Pull-Ups, Dip And Kicks, Inclined Railing Push-Ups, Stair Squats, Karaoke Shuffle, Step Ups, Stair Jumps, Slalom Jumps, Burpee Box Jumps, Bulgarian Split Lunges, Glute Bridges, Swing Crisscrosses, Tree Planks, Slide Sit-Ups, Swing Tucks, Plank Pairs, Side Jumps and Pole Taps. We've got it all right here! This is the perfect place for a free workout!"

King's eyes widened as he looked over the park and took it all in. "I get it now! You're so right! This is perfect! Hey, hey, what do you want to start with first?"

"Hmm. Alright. How about this? We'll do a quick warm up first and then we'll start with the pull ups and proceed from there. How does that sound?"

"Awesome. What's the plan?"

"We'll do a set of jump squats and dips. 10 reps each."

"Sweet. This is going to be fun." He punched a fist into his palm and followed his Aunt to a more wide open section of the park where they could workout without getting in anybody's way.

"Yep. Definitely new in town. I've certainly never seen them before."

"This should be fun. Lets go introduce ourselves."

COMMENCE THE MONTAGE!

The trio started off with a set of jumping squats which was actually pretty fun and then they switched it up to dips before walking over to the trees and selecting a series of branches that could support their weight and began performing explosive pull-ups on them. It was easy enough for Vilfredo, King and his Aunt but Clay was having a bit more trouble with it. Still he was eventually able to finish after the others had done so.

Next up was reverse rows via the various bars they had available around the park, followed by traveling across the monkey bars and utilizing them as pull up bars you would find at a gym.

Then dip kicks on benches, push ups on railings, squats on stairs to strengthen essential muscles, a karaoke shuffle (a cross-stepping movement that propels the body laterally. and helps improve lateral movement, agility and footwork.) up and down hills.

They performed step ups on stairs and benches to target their quads, caves and glutes, performed stair jumps to strengthen their quads and hamstrings and work on their stability, gathered rocks and placed them in a zig-zag formation to leap back and forth to each rock for a few minutes for cardio and leg strengthening, burpee box jumps from pushup positions to squats and onto benches to work their glutes, quads, calves and hamstrings and make themselves more powerful, faster and springier than ever.

They used other benches for Bulgarian Split Lunges by keeping one foot on the benches and placing the other one in front of them at a 90 degree angle and lower down to strengthen glutes and quads, glute bridges by laying down on the grass with their feet on the bench and their butts about one foot away, lifted their legs and butts up and then lowered them down, grabbed swings, held onto the chains, leaned back at 45 degree angles, and crossed their legs back and forth while focusing on net letting the swings move.

The more they worked on this the more they worked their abs and stabilizing muscles. Next they put their feet on trees behind them, held and released while moving their feet higher and higher up the tree for tree planks that worked their spines, rhomboids, lats, trapezius, core, quads, glutes, hamstrings, shoulders, and triceps. 

Following this they perform sit-ups on the slide by wrapping their feet around the top handles and edges to hold themselves up.

Afterword they return to the swings to use them as stability balls to strengthen their lower abs by focusing on their forms and extending their legs all the way back while pushing the swing away. After this they returned to the fenches, benches and rocks, whatever they could find, got into side plank positions with one hand on their chosen support and the other arms extended into the air to work their transversus abdominis muscles, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscles (abductors), the adductor muscles of their hips, and the external, and internal obliques, glutes, quads and hamstrings.

They alternated side jump-ins to work their cores and arms by starting in plank positions and then jumping forward to the left, back to the star, and forward to the right. Next they found poles and tree trunks, grabbed them for support and swung their legs up down.

She let them all take a break and bought them all water bottles and then they got to work for the rest of the workout.

Four back and forth dip walks across the bars, 15 second Scapula retraction hangs from bars, 50 second dead hangs,  40 jump squats, 30 push ups, 20 burpees, 10 chin ups, 10 pull ups, 20 dips, 30 pike push ups, 40 knee raises and they ended it all with another 50 second dead hang.

By the time they were done, Clay and Vilfredo had collapsed on the benches gasping for breath and sweating like waterfalls  while King relaxed with his Aunt. "So what do you think guys? Pretty fun right?" King laughed.

"That....was....awesome." Clay acknowledged. "Ex-hausting...but...fun." He gave a tired thumbs up. "I've...gotta...do this...more often." He chugged down the water. "Oh this is lifesaving."

"That was cool....you guys...do this a lot?"

"It's our way of life, bro." King informed Vilfredo.

"Oh man. You are going to be super popular at school. B-Rank Easy."

"B-Rank? What's that?"

"Oh...well....martial arts are super popular in Radiance, right?" Vilfredo chugged his drink. "Ahhhhhh. So, naturally, it's popular in Radiance High. So much so that we have purposeful arena's set up for martial arts exhibitions. There are certain rules of course, and it's optional, but everyone there respects skill. The better you are, the better your rank, the more popularity and prestige you get in school. The ranks are F, D, C, B, A and S. The F and D-Ranks are at the bottom, the C-Ranks are average fighters, the B-Ranks are the superior fighters, the A-Ranks are among the best and the S-Ranks are the superstars."

"Okaaaay....but what does S stand for?"

"It stands for Shuu. The Japanese reading of excellent." Clay explained. "You can increase your rank in the school either through in school competitions and demonstrations or by winning competitions around the city."

"Huh. Sounds like you've got a rather wacky school system." Aunt Yanagimachi noted.

"Sounds like a challenge." King grinned. "If that's the case, I might as well aim for the S-Rank."

The trio strolled through the city. "So, this Iron Body Kung-Fu of yours. Could you tell me more about it? I don't think I've ever heard of it."

"Like I said before, it has a heavy emphasis on conditioning and physical improvement, using both modern techniques and anything in our area, and powerful grappling and striking techniques. Practical strikes utilizing fists, feet, elbows knees, and the head, intercepting and deflecting incoming attacks without slowing down your own,  It's about launching rapid powerful strikes using coordinated movements to generate bursts of power intended to overwhelm the opponent, simultaneously attacking and defending by economizing motion through simultaneous parrying and striking and mixing in grappling when it's appropriate." He explained.

"So basically it's a linear, pragmatic style that beats down the opponent while deflecting and diverting their strikes without pause, grappling when necessary and has a heavy emphasis on bodybuilding?" Clay summarized.

"Bingo. We turn our bodies into suits of armor, both inside and out, while also keeping up with our skill training and practicing and honing our techniques with the intention of running over our opponents and defeating them as quickly and efficiently as possible. How about you?"

"Oh, us?" Clay asked. "Well The Inner Warrior Dojo is based around defense. We focus around deflecting, parrying and redirecting our opponents attacks to open them up for quick hits of our own. We place an emphasis on patience. Deflecting and diverting our opponents attacks while outmaneuvering them until they tire out or make a mistake and then punishing them for it with basic kicks and punches, but delivered with pinpoint precision. That's just when we have to fight though. Other than that, we just focus on forms, proper diet, exercise and inner peace. Strong in mind strong in body you know?"

"I like it. It's practical and realistic for the real world. You're going to go far with that kind of thinking." King admitted.

"Thanks man. Hey, you know, we have after school study sessions at the library every Friday, either the school one or the Reader's Garden Library, if you ever need help on a particular subject."

"Oh cool. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"No problem. Besides, it's the least I can do to thank you for that workout. I'm definitely going to toss these ideas around to the others and see what we can come up with for it."

"That's the spirit, Clay." He smiled.

"Sooo this training of yours." He looked down at his hands. "Is that why you're hands are so rough?"

King laughed. "Noticed that did you?"

"Kinda hard not to when you're shaking hands and working out with us." Clay admitted.

He raised his calloused rough strong hands and wiggled his fingers. "A hard body starts with strong hands. Striking straw mats, iron sand, rocks, trees, bags, etc for a majority of the day, with your fists, feet and striking limbs, for a majority of the day on top of strength conditioning and sticking with it will give you some damn good results." He scooped up a nice rough strong looking rock the size of his palm and length of his fingers. "Keep at it long enough and you can do fun stuff like this." He struck the rock hard with his other hand so hard he pulverized it and caused the rock to erupt into a burst of dust!

Clay's eyes went wide as he saw the pulverized rock blow away in a cloud of dust. King blew on it and the rest of it blew away. "It's the same concept as Tameshiwari Training really."

"So who's your Sensei?" King asked.

"Oliver Gallente." Clay replied. "He's a Middle Eastern War Vet but he doesn't really like to talk about it."   

"Understood but is a guy like that is teaching defense?" King questioned this initially but then he thought about it some more. "Actually, yeah, that makes sense."

"That's right, King." Aunt Yanagimachi agreed. "Behind all of the pop culture glamorization...war is hell. It always has been. And it always will be. Its currency is death, dismemberment, desperation, and fear. It doesn’t end in parades. It ends in caskets." She informed the kids, quoting Dan Rather while doing so. "It's the sign of a wise man that Sensei Gallente is teaching these kids the ways of peace and real life skills. I think you're going to be fine with him, Clay."

"Thank you Miss Yanagimachi. I'll pass that along."

"Go right ahead."

They continued strolling down the street towards the dojo when they heard yelling and hollering and laughing over the roar of motorcycles! Yanagimachi narrowed her eyes. "Get behind me. Now."

"What?"

"Who are those guys?"

"Now!" She repeated. The two boys looked at each other and they obeyed and hid behind her. The bikers raced down the street weaving in and out of traffic and swiping at the civilians of the city en route to the trio. Most of the group road past them except for the last one who came in swinging a club at Yana only for her to snap into action, grab the club out of his hand, kick his motorcycle hard enough to put a dent in it, grab the biker off of his bike all in one smooth movement, raise him up above her head, turn around and slam him down on the grass! His motorcycle crashed to the street and spun around in a circle with the other bikers dodging it and then circling back around to face the woman who just interrupted their fun. "I'll handle this. You kids run ahead, get to the dojo and take shelter."

"No offense, Auntie, but I don't they're going to let us do that." King informed his aunt as he stepped up next to her. "Besides. This is what I trained for. Clay? We'll handle things here. Get out of here and call the police."

Clay looked from them to the bikers and back. He swallowed. "Sorry guys....can't do that. I mean, sure, we aren't supposed to fight outside of matches but...well, you know, self-defense. Besides, we were just starting to become friends and I don't think any of that merchandise belongs to them." Clay gathered his courage and stepped up next to them. "This is your first day in Radiance City, right? Please allow me to demonstrate just how awesome everyone here really is."

The thug trio surrounded King. One in front of him with a crowbar, one behind him with a club and one to the left with a lead pipe. He just laughed. This was going to be fun.

Their strategy was obvious. Cut off his escape and attack simultaneously from the front, back and his right side. If he tried to dodge to the left they would all rush him. It was a good strategy but unfortunately for them they just weren't good enough to pull it off.

The trio tried to attack him but King beat them to the punch by rushing the crowbar biker and deflecting his crowbar swing with his wrist and driving his fist into the thug's chest before immediately going in for a chain punch and then punching him to the ground , turning around and kicking out with a side kick to catch the thug attacking him from behind while raising his hand and catching the pipe in his hand!

The kicked punk backed off while the other pulled his pipe back after King let it go. He smiled  and stood up straight and rushed the thug, ducked under his subsequent swing and closed in to deliver a brutal combination of punches to his torso along with kicks to his legs and side before grabbing him and throwing him to the ground.

The other guy recovered however and attacked him with a spinning kick that King caught and he then followed this up by trying to smack King with the club but King just caught that as well and tossed him aside while also throwing away his club.

The biker rolled with it and got back up to attack King again with a few double kicks but King just smacked them down and then he deflected the thug's punch and went on the offensive with a series of brutal punches and elbows to bust him up and open him up to a powerful kick to the stomach that forced him backward and then King advanced on him further, grabbed onto him and drove his knee into the biker's stomach before driving his elbow into his back and throwing him aside.

Even with the protection and padding their biker gear normally granted them King and Yana were hitting so damn hard they were punching through that and busting up the bikers regardless!

Furthermore their legs weren't quite as well protected so they were able to give them additional damage there!

The end result is that their beatdowns ended up breaking down the bikers bodies and left them broken down laying on the ground in agony.

The last of the three pulled himself back up only for King to drop him with a flying side kick to his knee that broke it! The thug collapsed to the ground screaming in pain and holding his knee while King landed on his feet. He smirked and brushed off his shoulders. This guy wouldn't be giving them any more trouble. He kicked away his weapon and looked over to check on Clay.

"Alright so let me see if I've got this right. You were taking a walk to check out The Inner Warrior Dojo, then these guys attacked you, so you defended yourselves and brought them down resulting in their current condition?" The officer asked.

"That's correct." Yana informed him. "They also assaulted several people on their way to us. So really this was done in the defense of ourselves and others. We gave them fair warning to give up and stop but they refused and pressed the attack."

"I see. Yeah that sounds abour right. Stupid gits left a trail of destruction that made them easy to follow and we already have plenty of evidence of them being involved with the hit at the jewelry store." The officer looked back to see all of the people gathered around. "I wouldn't be surprised if your fight ends up online either." He turned back to them. "Uh, what Dojo do you study at anyway?"

"I study at my Aunt Yana's Iron Body Kung-Fu Dojo." King explained. "It's official name of course is Tekkai-Tekken Budō of course, The Iron Body-Iron Fist Way Of Martial Arts, but that's a bit of a mouthful so we generally just call it the Iron Body Kung-Fu Dojo or just The Iron Body Dojo."

"Uh huh. And where is your dojo located?"

"Up on The Heaven-Reaching Highland." Yana informed him.

"Okay. Up on the path up the Mountain, right?"

"That's right. It's not all the way but it's up there. You take the Smooth Fox Spirit Trail up there and you'll find the dojo."

"Understood. We'll swing by if we have any questions. As for you, Clay right? I'm kind of surprised to see that someone from your Dojo broke their arms."

"To be fair sir, it was only two arms and two fingers and they came after me with weapons and refused to back down despite my repeated attempts to insist that they do so."  Clay reasoned. "So, while I would prefer being able to talk them down, that was not going to happen here. Unfortunately." He sighed. "So, I did what I had to do."

"I wouldn't worry too much. A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony." The officer quoted. "Plus you helped retrieve very expensive stolen property. You three are in the clear. You might want to contact your lawyers anyway though. Especially for whenever this goes to court."

"I don't think deadly force will ever be necessary, thankfully, but thank you all the same. We'll be sure to talk to our lawyers." Clay thanked him.

"Yeah, sure thing, thank you."

"Thank you."

"Al-right. We'll get all of this sorted out. You three can go now. Try to stay out of trouble though."

"Yes sir. Take care."

The trio walked away from the scene to continue their way to the Dojo.

"You alright, Clay?" King asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bruise or two, but I'm working out what I'm going to say to Sensei Gallente. Street fighting like that isn't exactly allowed in our Dojo."

"You were defending yourself and us. I'm sure he'll understand." King assured him.

The three amigos entered the dojo and King and Yana took in the sight. It was really nice looking with plenty of space and training equipment set up and two large mats for the students to practice on. There was a large mirror that reflected the room, doors that lead to back rooms and the other dojo areas and of course bathrooms. The Sensei of the Dojo, Oliver Gallente, was a tall, grizzled, muscular, grim, grizzled man with a weather beaten and war worn face. Every inch of this man was bristling with muscle, a rock solid, pure steel physique. It wasn't easy to see through his Gi but Yana noticed he had some scars of his own. His old dog tags were still worn around his neck. Glancing to the side she noticed a photo of Oliver and his platoon. All of them strong, brave, fearless men prepared for whatever hell the war would bring to them.

She made a note to invite him to tea whenever he got some free time so she could learn more from him. While she hadn't been to war exactly, she had seen her share of combat, and she thought it might be fun to have another adult around to talk to. As much as she loved her nephew, they both needed to make friends in their own age group.

King looked around the dojo with a big smile on his face. (Okay, this is cool. Their Sensei looks awesome and he's definitely a professional. Check out their moves!)

Under his instruction the twenty students were currently split up and practicing their striking training. 

The attacking student attacked the defending student with a right low kick and left hook combination that the defending student blocked and shut down and then the attacking student switched it up for a jab that the defending student blocked, a cross that their opponent blocked, a lead roundhouse kick that the defending student shut down, a series of alternating kicks that the opponent defended against, back hand strikes, left switch kicks, a series of crosses, left hook, hook kick, low kicks, jabs, crosses, hooks, roundhouse kicks, alternating kicks, jabs, crosses, hooks, elbow strikes, jabs, crosses, hooks to the head, hooks to the body, knee strikes, and repeat. During the cycle of attacking and defending the students would switch their stances and maneuver around each other to surprise their opponent. King and Yana recognized it as a combination of Karate and Kick-Boxing.

The students kept going in a cycle until Oliver noticed the new arrivals and he gave them a gentle smile and then called out to his students. "Alright kids, break time! Clay's back with some new arrivals! Let's give them a warm welcome!" He sounded friendly enough for someone with a deep, growly, baritone voice that sounded like he used mint-flavored gravel and whiskey for mouthwash. Or to put it more simply he sounds like Vin Diesel.

One of the female students whistled as she checked out King. (Please tell me he's here to sign up.) "Hi Clay. Who's you're new friend?"

"Hi Lauren. This is King Himura and Yanagimachi Niaoyuanjiao." He introduced the two of them and there was a pause before he looked up at Yana. "Did I say that right?"

"Perfect."

"Cool. Alright then, allow me to introduce the class: Lauren Olson, Mario Greer, Alex Washington, Earl Cunningham, Renee Turner, Mary Phillips, Shelby Salas, James West, Debra Hernandez, Steven Gaines, Isaac Huerta, Victor Williams, Anthony Webb, Andrea Adams, April Thomas, Joseph Coleman, Vanessa Cook, Patricia Fuentes, Kristi Mendoza, Walter Freeman."

"WELCOME!" The students all greeted at once and bowed to their new arrivals who bowed back.

Oliver strolled over to the trio and he took in Yana's scars.

(She's built like a Terminator. What on Earth could've happened to give her those scars? Was she in the service too?) He pondered. "Hello and welcome to The Inner Warrior Dojo where we strive to better ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually. Are you here to sign up or just to observe?"

"We are in fact here to observe Sensei Gallente. This nice young man was generous enough to give us a small tour of the city and he even helped us out of a jam on the way here. You've done a fine job training him and we were curious to see the rest of his class in action."

"A jam you say?" He down at Clay. "What exactly happened?"

King placed a hand on Clay's shoulder. "It's okay, bro, you can tell him."

Clay nodded. "Well, Sensei, it's like this. I was practicing at the park, then Vilfredo showed up and we started talking, then these two showed up and started working out so we joined in and then I agreed to give them a tour, oh and King's planning to spar with Vilfredo tomorrow, and on the way here some biker punks robbed a jewelry store and they tried to attack Yana so she defended herself and they ganged up on us and they all had weapons but we were able to handle them. Yana fought them four on one and King and I took down three of them. Each." He sighed and took a breath and held up his hands. "I-I know....I know we're not supposed to fight outside of the Dojo except in sanctioned matches but this was different. This was very much a real world scenario. These guys were out of control."

"He did mention they had weapons right?" King asked. "Seriously. They were crazy."
 
"Is that true?" Oliver asked Yana.

"It's true sir. We were attacked on the way here and defended ourselves appropriately. Those punks might be laid up in the hospital and walk funny for a while but they'll be fine."

"So I see. Well I suppose I'll find out the truth soon. Which store?"

"The Malachite Beauty, Sensei."

"Alright. I'll give them a call after class just to fact check. I believe you but I just want to get the full story on what happened." He knelt down in front of Clay. "Having said that? Good job. You're right that I don't condone going around starting fights with people but defending yourself and others? I'm perfectly okay that so long as you use the appropriate amount of force to disable your enemy."

"Well I did break some limbs and some fingers." Clay admitted.

"I'll get the play-by-play later. Right now I'm just glad you're okay. Feel free to sit back, have some water and take a break." He patted his shoulder and stood up and waved his students over. "Alright class! Come on over and make our new arrivals feel welcome and get caught up with Clay until I call you back on the mats for another round of exercises."

"YES SENSEI!" They called out and he took a few steps back while the students gathered around them.

Eager to showoff the skills of his Dojo, Victor went on the attack with a few spinning hook kicks that King dodged while leaning back so Victor switched it up for a jumping crescent kick that he ducked under. Landing on the ground, Victor kept up the pressure with a Guyver kick coin drop wherein he leaped in the air for a spinning kick at King's head that King ducked under but then Victor turned in the air and kicked out with his other leg but King blocked it with his forearm. Undeterred, Victor dropped down to the mat and went for a low sweep that King stepped over and then Victor got back up in the air and leaped into the air again for a 540 degree spinning kick. King dodged the first kick and then he finally lashed out with his own kick while Victor was still spinning and caught him in the back! Victor yelled out in surprise as he was sent crashing back down to the mat and rolled away from King and he got back up rubbing his back.

"Left yourself open bro." King informed him.

"Noted. Yow."

"Are you alright, Victor? Do you want to continue?"

"I'm fine, Sensei. He just got me by surprise."

"Good to know. Alright then. One point, King! Score is now 1-0!"

"Focus on your defense, Victor!" Clay called out to him.

"Nice moves, Victor! Keep it up!" James called to him.

"Kick butt, dude!" Walter added.

"Defense, Victor, Defense! Focus!" Mario added in.

"Show him what you got, new kid!" Lauren called out to King.

Victor took a deep breath and slowly blew it out as he relaxed. "Alright. I'm going to start taking this more seriously now. Come and get me, King."

"Okay. I'll come at you then. Have at you." King rushed forward and went on the attack! He attacked with a series of quick but powerful punches aimed at his face and chest while also throwing in hooks and elbows and kicks during the attack. Victor found himself on the defense this time doing his best to block his furious flurry of punches aimed at his face and when he aimed lower at his chest and stomach he was forced to drop his arms and block his attacks with his forearms some more while doing his best to deflect the hook punches coming from the side. King was no slouch and he was strong as hell. Clay was not lying about him being strong but he had neglected to tell him just how strong. Every punch he blocked was rattling his bones It felt like he was being hit by balls of iron! As far as Victor could tell he was using some form of boxing and he had the speed to back up his power. Victor could just about keep up with his speedy attacks but he couldn't find the time to counter.

Victor turtled up using his forearms to block the direct punches and then did his best to deflect his swipes and hooks aside but he also had to try to counter his kicks because was not keeping himself limited to his punches or a direct linear movement. He shifted himself to Victor's side and continued his attack. He did his best to bob and weave around his punches while blocking and deflecting them until King suddenly switched his style and lunged towards him, grabbed his arm and then he deflected Victor's quick punch and delivered one right back that nailed Victor in the stomach.

King let him go as Victor backed away again rubbing his stomach.

"You alright? Can you keep going?"

"I'm good. I'm good." Victor assured him. "That was a solid hit. Point to you."

"Good sportsmanship, Victor. Point to King! Score is now 2-0!"

Victor caught his breath and rubbed his arms while circling King. His fancy moves didn't work and he was too good to stick with defending so he he would have stick to the basics with a combination of offense and defense. It might be just a sparring match but he still wanted to win. He recovered and focused again as he resumed his stance and the match began again. King smiled and took his own.  There was a momentary staredown between the two kids before the match resumed.

Victor approached him more cautiously this time with a few quick punches while still keeping his guard up but King blocked his shots so Victor switched it up with a spinning kick at his head that King dodged and then Victor followed up with the other leg but King dodged that as well and circled around him so Victor put his foot down and put up his guard. King took initiative with a few quick snap front kicks that he blocked and Victor tried to retaliate with a couple quick punches but King defended himself and fended off his punches. Since this wasn't working he maneuvered around him but King kept up with his movements. The two circled around each other momentarily and then Victor rushed him and tried to go for a grab at his head and arm but King saw it coming and evaded his grappling attempt, grabbed Victor's arm in return and flipped him! Victor landed hard on the mat but he rolled with the impact and rolled away from King and got back up to his feet. He advanced on him again and attacked King with a series of punches and kicks that King countered while retaliating with his own attacks, the two of them expertly exchanged punches and kicks while blocking and countering each other's moves expertly but only momentarily until King threw him aside. Victor stumbled forward a bit but he caught himself and regained his footing and attacked him again with a jumping spinning heel kick but King dodged it and Victor went in with a Pop 360 kick that King also dodged.

They circled each other briefly and then Victor advanced on him a series of rapid fire punches that King defended against until Victor tried to slip in a knee to his stomach but King shut it down and shoved him aside. Victor was no slouch however and he immediately retaliated with a reverse roundhouse kick that King dodged. He moved to put distance between them but Victor pressed the attack. He advanced on King head on with a series of punches and double kicks that King defended against and then Victor went with a kick at his head only for King to grab it, kick out his foot, grab his shirt and lift him up and throw him aside. Victor crashed to the mat and rolled across it before springing back to his feet. King calmly stared him down while Victor caught his breath. (Who the hell is this kid? I'm throwing some of my best moves at him and I still can't get through his defenses! He's not even breathing hard either! This is nuts! Alright then try this!) Victor caught his breath, regained his composure and attacked him again.

This time Victor attacked him with a series of spinning kicks again that once again King evaded so he switched it up with a kick at his head that King blocked. Victor was undeterred however and balanced on one leg and kicked at him repeatedly with the other aiming at his head, chest and stomach but King blocked his kicks. None of them could get through! Victor lowered his leg and advanced on him, deflected a punch, turned and tried to elbow him in the chest but King caught his elbow and kicked his foot out but Victor brought the other leg around and kicked at King who blocked that as well! He grabbed onto the leg as Victor was falling down and then King knelt down with a knee on his chest, pinned his arm, let go of his leg and gave Victor a quick shot to the face. Earning him the third point.

The sparring match ended 3-0 in favor of King Himura!

King got back up and offered his hand to Victor who chuckled and accepted his help up while the rest of the class cheered and applauded.

"Legitimate contact. The score is now 3-0! Match over and the winner is King Himura!" Sensei Gallente declared. He walked over and placed a hand on Victor who was panting for breath. "Good effort Victor. Are you okay? Do you want some ice?"

"Yeah...yeah I could use some ice." He nodded. "Thanks, Sensei."

"Hey anytime. We'll talk about your moves later but right now I just want you to think of this as a learning experience."

"Yeah, will do."

"I told you he was strong." Clay informed him.

"Ha-ha. You're sparring with him next time."

"Gladly."

Victor laughed and walked back over to the windows where the kids sat back down again.