Day 42: Magus Park [evening]
The temperature was starting to cool down, but that was okay with Akihiko. It wasn't that much different from winter evenings back home. He was feeling better, having been outside most of the day, but still. That niggling stress from the previous few days was still getting to him. He sighed, looking up at the darkening sky and thinking about it all
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That was enough of the reminiscing, though. Now it was time to get to the heart of things. "OK. There are four basic types of punches you can throw - the jab, the hook, the straight, and the uppercut." He demonstrated throwing each of them as he named them off. "The trick with all of them is that you always want to be prepared to do something with the hand you're not immediately using to punch."
Akihiko demonstrated, throwing a straight right and following it up with a left hook. "Like that - the way I moved my shoulders there when I threw the straight made it easier for me to swing my left arm around for the hook." He shifted stances again, bringing both hands up to his chest. "OK. Try a few of the short punches - the jabs - first. They're going to be one of your staple punches. And don't worry about hurting me when you do it."
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Forcing his attention back to the matter at hand, he fixed his eyes on Akihiko's hands- jab, hook, straight, uppercut. All very controlled and very precise. Ah. Just the kid's luck to have found a student with serious management issues, huh? Well, until he'd learned the basics of using a human body the right way, beserking wasn't going to cut it. The Maximal made a short mental note on each punch and nodded again. "Four types of punches, keep the free hand ready. Got it."
And now it was time for the real deal. The kid needn't have worried- as far as Depth Charge was concerned, if he was as good as he seemed to be there wouldn't be a problem. Flexing his fingers briefly, he balled his left hand and punched straight out in front of him, glancing just a little off of Akihiko's forearm. Then the right, then the left again, a little harder than was probably necessary. The release from just a few short movements was startlingly invigorating; it had been far too long since he'd had something to work out his aggression with. Snap decisions and snarled insults weren't exactlt good for the spark.
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"OK. Now try a few combinations. This is where you really get to figure out your own style," he continued. "Some boxers prefer to stay up close to their opponent and stick with the closer jabs. Others like to keep their opponent at a distance, dodging and then striking strategic blows when they can. And other people mix those two. I can't tell you which one's the best one to use."
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"Combinations," he repeated back, "gotcha." Tightening his fists again, he sized Akihiko up, considered his options (jab, hook, straight, uppercut...) and went for it. A jab with his left hand, followed up with a hook from his right, and then-
- the next thing Depth Charge knew he was on his knees getting better acquainted with the grass. He cursed under his breath and gave the ground a surly punch, for good measure. "Slag it. I keep forgetting I'm not as heavy as I used to be." Looked like throwing his weight around wasn't gonna be an option. Not on those spindly legs...
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He rubbed at one arm absentmindedly. It didn't hurt, not really - and just the fact he'd been working out some of that frustration he'd had earlier felt pretty good. It was reminding him of why he'd started training the way he had. I've got people here to protect. And if I can help other people do the same thing, that's worth doing.
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"Not sure. Could be anywhere from eight hundred to well over a thousand pounds." Add to that the transmetal treatment he got before he landed on Earth and you had yourself a bona fide mystery. He made a thoughtful tutting sound and shook his head. "Whatever it was, I was pretty much all metal before. This body's nothing in comparison."
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He looked away for a moment, catching sight of a few nurses in the area. Well, probably good they'd taken the short break, lest they get wrapped up with them. They could pick up with punching once the nurses had settled down whoever it was they were after.
"OK. I think something that might help you would be figuring out how to keep your center of gravity balanced. You don't need to compensate for the weight difference as much as work out its advantages. Was your height different, too, or are you about the same height as you were before?"
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That was it. The nanoklik he started to talk about 'fleshlings' and fell on his knees in hysterical worship every time someone said the word 'Megatron' he was going to have to find an energon scalpel to fall on. Stat.
Coughing, Depth Charge returned to the matter of height very quickly indeed. "The height's a lot closer than the weight- guess I'm about a foot smaller at most." He smiled wryly. "Got any ideas, coach?" Akihiko's new 'title' was thrown on the end with a level of humour that surprised even himself. Hah. He must have been enjoying this more than he thought he was.
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He hummed thoughtfully, thinking about the situation and grinning just a little at the name 'coach'. "All right. Try that combination again, but first balance the weight between both sides of your body." He demonstrated by moving from one foot to the other and then centering again.
"Once you're sure about that, then try it. Don't lean in with your shoulders too much, and don't tense. You shouldn't need to worry about the height difference too much, though it might help to drop your shoulders a little."
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He looked back to Akihiko again with a nod. "I'll give it a shot." Depth Charge shifted from one foot to the other, following Akihiko's lead, then back to the center. That felt a little more even than before, but was it going to work out? He rolled his shoulders back a couple of times. There was only one way to find out.
Alright. Combinations, take two.
Raising his fists into the offensive stance from before he took in a breath and tried again- left jab, right hook, then another jab with the left before finishing with a straight from the right. The sway was there still, but he could just about reign it in enough to keep himself vertical. He staggered back, falling into a more casual position. "Let me guess- needs work. But at least I didn't fall over this time."
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Bravado aside, maybe Akihiko was on to something. If anything happened and he could actually defend himself beyond the basics... well, that was a way off, and he'd promised himself he wasn't going to be so paranoid anymore. Still, maybe he would find some time in his oh-so-busy schedule to fit another lesson in, if only for the practise.
After all. How many skills were there to learn that involved punching the slag out of each other?
[aaaand moving down to here]
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