"Here's the combat technique after achieving 'Body Like Water'," Ray Willow said, his voice echoing through the vast training ground. "It's something I've accumulated over the years, naturally mastering it. Now, I'll teach you first. Once you reach the 'Body Like Water' realm, you can ponder and learn at your own pace."
Jamie Smith listened intently.
"Watch this," Ray Willow said, making a flick of his wrist. The single saber in his hand vanished, replaced by an apple. He tossed the apple into the air, and as it fell, he caught it with a slight wince. "An apple, when it hits your palm directly, it can hurt, right?"
He tossed the apple again, but this time, his palm moved with it, catching it gently. "This way, it's much softer." His palm seemed to meld with the apple, gentle yet firm.
Jamie Smith nodded, a glimmer of understanding in his eyes. "I get it, from a physics perspective, it's about relative velocity! If the hand stays still and lets the apple fall freely, the kinetic energy is all absorbed by the palm. But if the palm moves down with it, the relative speed might be only a third or even a fraction of the apple's falling speed. The impact energy is the square of a third or a fraction, much less."
Ray Willow's eyes twitched slightly.
Physics?
What on earth?
"Well, you've got the principle," Ray Willow said. "What I want to teach you is to control speed in combat! The apple is the enemy's speed! The palm is your speed. Control the speed of both... and you can reduce the enemy's attack power to a tenth or even less."
Jamie Smith understood a bit more, saying, "I've learned before, one of the ways to deflect force is to go along with the opponent's speed."
"You were passively going along with them. What I'm talking about is... controlling the speed!" Ray Willow held a knife in one hand. "Forget it, action speaks louder than words. Attack me with your fastest speed."
"Alright."
Jamie Smith reached out, holding a spear, and immediately took a step forward, thrusting the spear.
"Clang." Ray Willow casually blocked it, and as he did, Jamie Smith felt the spear stick, as if only a tenth of its power was unleashed.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Without hesitation, Jamie Smith attacked at his fastest speed, stabbing out dozens of times in the blink of an eye.
Ray Willow stood his ground, parrying with his knife, blocking every single thrust of Jamie Smith's spear, causing each one to stick! The power was not fully unleashed.
"Every thrust is stuck, and I feel like I'm trapped in a spider's web. I have strength but nowhere to use it!" Jamie Smith felt agonized.
As Jamie Smith took a step forward and thrust eight times, Ray Willow also took a diagonal step forward.
Both moved at the same time, closing the distance suddenly, and Jamie Smith was startled, feeling a flash of the blade, which had already pierced his chest.
Jamie Smith could only helplessly click on his personal panel to restore his peak condition.
"Do you understand?" Ray Willow said, "Body like water, when the enemy moves, the water ripples and senses it, moving accordingly! Your consecutive thrusts, each one, I will parry with my knife, sticking perfectly."
"It's an instinctive response, not a brain process." Ray Willow said, "If you rely on thinking with your brain, you won't be able to keep up with multiple thrusts, and each one needs to be perfectly blocked."
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Jamie Smith nodded. Attacks at the extreme limit of speed are beyond neural response.
"Facing an enemy, if you can't even exert a tenth of your strength, you're definitely going to lose," Jamie Smith said.
Ray Willow said, "The consecutive blocks were for defense. The last move, the moment you stepped forward to thrust, I also stepped forward with my knife! One strike killed you."
"Counterattack?" Jamie Smith couldn't help but say, "When I step forward to thrust, Master can also seize the opportunity to counterattack?"
"Body like water, after training, you can do it." Ray Willow said, "The enemy moves, I move first! The moment the enemy moves, it's hard to change the move. In that moment... I have already made my move, stepping forward with my knife."
"Can an attack be that fast? The body also needs reaction time," Jamie Smith murmured.
"I said, body like water, the mind integrates into every part of the body, sensing every part, and being in control everywhere." Ray Willow said, "When your mind integrates into every part of your body, your body can be faster!"
Jamie seemed to be in deep thought. He hadn't reached the master's level of body control, but he understood the master's meaning.
"Controlling speed is not only for defense but also for offense. Especially in team combat, controlling everyone's speed, turning the enemy's speed... into an auxiliary factor for your fight, everyone seems like your chess piece, and your strength naturally becomes much greater," Ray Willow said, "To reach my level, first, you must achieve 'Body Like Water', where the body moves as soon as the mind moves! Otherwise, when you see the enemy's speed change, you won't be able to make changes in time, and that's not going to work."
Jamie Smith nodded slightly. "The enemy moves, I move first. Follow it to control, resist it, to kill." Ray Willow smiled, "This is also what Tai Chi has always been pursuing!"
"Is this the master's realm?"
Jamie Smith finally understood. In the past, he only knew that the master's combat skills were stronger than his own, stronger than anyone else on the national team, but he didn't know by how much.
"I also have to reach the peak of my body to truly display it," Ray Willow said, "The two lessons the master taught you, one is to control your own body, to achieve the realm of 'Body Like Water'. The second is to control the enemy's speed, the enemy is like your chess piece, you can use it when you want, and you can kill when you want." Ray Willow said, "True transmission in one sentence, false transmission in ten thousand books. That's all I've said, you need to master it, you need to practice hard."
"Yes, disciple understands," Jamie Smith felt his horizons greatly broadened, knowing which direction the combat skills should move forward.
"This is my seventy years of martial arts comprehension, and beyond that, you have to explore on your own," Ray Willow said, "Alright, go back. Hurry up, countless masters around the world are working hard."
"Yes," Jamie Smith bowed respectfully, "Thank you, Master!"
"As a master, the happiest thing is to see you stronger than me!" Ray Willow smiled, "Alright, hurry up and leave." With a wave of his hand, he drove Jamie Smith away.
The training ground was left with only Ray Willow, standing in place.
"Now this era, there are infinite possibilities. I don't know how far you guys can grow," Ray Willow treated his valued disciples as if they were his own children.
These disciples, just entered the national team, are still relatively naive. Under his guidance and leadership, they are becoming more and more mature. Even on the highest stage to compete with the world's masters. There are also some disciples who have ruined their martial arts future due to injuries, or even because of falling in love and other reasons, he is very distressed. Now, seeing many disciples have a brighter future. Ray Willow is also very happy.
"But, your master is still your master. You are working hard, and I am also making progress." Ray Willow stretched out his hand, holding a shield in one hand and a knife in the other, "If you have the ability, surpass me in a fair and square way!"
...
Jamie Smith returned to his personal space training ground.
"Master."
Jamie Smith is very grateful. Looking at the world, there may only be one person who can reach such a combat skill realm, maybe only the master. At most, there are a few. Because Chase Goff, who has won the world's first place, is considered to be in the top ten of the history of spear skills, and his realm is far from the master. How many people can stand at the same height as the master?
"Such martial arts comprehension is priceless! But the master doesn't need me to pay anything, and he has passed it on to me." Jamie Smith can only silently remember it in his heart. In today's virtual world era, such martial arts comprehension is even more precious!
"The second lesson taught by the master is the combat skills after the body is like water, which is not in a hurry to learn." Jamie Smith said, "What needs to be learned now is the first one, the body is like water."
"The body is like water, which can better control the body and burst the potential of the body. Like the master, the same body index, strength, speed, and reaction, all are above me." Jamie Smith stretched out his hand, holding a shield, "Now start training."
（To be continued）