Fists and Peanuts pt 4

"Gym's over here, we'll be heading to the corner with the bags to start. Let's go," I say as we start heading back towards the gym.

"Any hobbies?" I asked as we walked, hoping to find some common ground, training would be really dull if there was nothing we could connect on.

"I do play a bit of Smash, that punch was amazing! Oh, I also like watching movies with Rafael, Rocky's our favourite," Casca replied.

"Planning on seeing Creed II when it hits theatres?"

"Can't wait, gonna have to though, Rafael can't deal with crowded theatres that well..."

"Tell ya what, give training your all and I'll take you opening day."

Casca's eyes lit up, "That would be amazing! just tell me what I have to do, coach."

"Huh, I guess this does make me a coach... You're the first person I'll have trained, so don't judge me too hard. Here's the gym, it may look rough on the outside, but its what's inside that counts."

Yep, rough indeed. The shrubbery was overgrown, asphalt cracked and broken, it certainly had seen better days. Inside was better, its what's inside that counts, and this entire half of town knew that well. Doors were solid, could use oiling, but weren't too difficult.

Once inside, I flipped the lights, with them flickering on in sections. Just how older lamps worked. We maintained the inside as a team, and shared it with the other athletics groups.

"Once you've been with the team for a while, you'll get your own key and can train as you'd like, but for now let's focus on positioning and jab  plus followup. You want to stand like this, forward foot flat on the ground, and on the ball of your rear foot. Lean forward a bit, and your dominant hand, that side is going to be your rear leg. Shoulder width apart, yeah like that," I say, adjusting Casca's posture as I speak, "Perfect!"

"Now I punch things, right? Like that bag over there?"

"Nope, gotta know how to hit first. Lead with your left and slightly step into it. Don't just extend your arm, rotate so its fully extended with your knuckles horizontal as you snap that jab. That's your one, that's your jab, its a setup shot. You're using it to see if you can hit your opponent, if you can just touch your opponent, you're close enough for a followup," I explain, walking Casca through the basics of boxing.

"Now, your 2 is your power shot, jab, jab, jab with your left, and when you're confident you can connect, follow up with your right. To do this, turn your hips like this, and extend full force like with your 1. Don't forget to step into it, you want the full force of your body into your 2, its your power shot."

"Like this?"

"Yes, just a bit faster. How about we try the bags? Its the same idea, just you're hitting a bag instead of throwing your fists into the air. Shadow boxing has its place, but you wanted to hit something after all."

"About time..."

With that, we moved to the bags, practicing a basic 1-2 for the rest of practice.