Chapter 77 - Posture

The training room was technically more like a building that was off by itself a little ways away from where the main estate was located. It was placed opposite of where the farm side of the property was mapped out but still within walking distance. 

The original goal when it had been made was to for it to be somewhere that was rather hidden as it was built to serve as a safe room as well. With only a front door and no windows on it, it somehow reminded Samuel of a warehouse. 

Clarice unlocked the door and had to give it a sharp tug in order for it to open fully. It seemed as though the door was a bit stiff from not being used for so long. Flipping the light switches, the whole room light up. Despite not having been used for a few years, it was far less dirty and unkempt than Samuel had expected it to be. 

The lighting was bit dim compared to what it could be, but Clarice figured that it would be an easy fix to request new light bulbs put in. She was actually surprised that they still worked after so long in the first place. 

"Hmm. It seems that when I come visit next I will want to consider bringing my own equipment with me." She mused as she stepped inside with the other following closely behind her. The walls were made of cement but the floor had been made out of bamboo. Bamboo was a good choice for any room that would experience a lot of traffic or rough training on it as it was quite durable. 

The room was mostly empty except for one side which had rows of mats and other equipment that Samuel didn't quite know what it was, but he presumed as used in the past for combat training. 

"These will do for now though. Probably could do with a good shaking off, but this one doesn't seem that bad." Clarice spoke to herself as she rummaged through the equipment and other items until she seemed to find what it was that she was looking for. 

"This should be soft enough for you until you're used to learning how to fall without hurting yourself." Clarice spread out a large mat that looked like it was made from some type of carpeted material. 

"Will I be having to do that often?" Samuel asked the other fixed the mat until it was laying out as flat as possible. 

"That depends on how quickly you learn. Some people it only happens a few times, but for others it can be tens or upwards of a hundred times before they figure out how to control their bodies." Clarice replied as she took her shoes off to stand on the matt. 

"Come over here though. I can't get started training with you if you're standing all the way over there." She beckoned the other to stand closer to her. Since the mat was large enough to handle two people standing on it. Samuel followed what she did and took her shoes off before he stepped onto the map. It felt awkward standing so close to someone else's personal space, but he didn't say anything about it as the other gave him a good look over. He winced slightly when she planted her hands on his shoulders rather roughly. 

"Your posture is far too stiff for this. You need to relax your muscles more or else you will end up hurting yourself. You also need to spread your feet and legs slightly more in order to plant yourself on the floor better." She used her own foot as she spoke to help adjust Samuel's feet to be in a better position. 

"Perfect. Now we can get serious about this." She clapped her hands as she poke. 

"What exactly am I supposed to be doing now? You haven't actually told me how we are going to be starting." 

"That's because it's going to be a learn as we go process. Since we already had a bit of a chance to talk before, we will just immediately jump into everything and see where we end up. First thing first, I want you to punch me. I assume that you have some experience with that you?" Clarice took a step back a she poke. 

"When I was younger I did. But do you mean you really want me to try and punch you?" He clarified. Even though she was a woman who was highly trained, there was still something about trying to land a hit on a woman that felt wrong to him. 

"Of course I want you to seriously try and punch me. How else am I supposed to learn what you're capable of." Clarice responded. She used her hand to motion him to start as she braced her own feet. He sighed feeling rather uncertain about the matter still, but since she was serious about him doing it. He shifted back to steps to give himself more space before he balled up his right hand and moved to punch Clarice. When he was younger, he didn't get into too many fights, but when he did, he was known for having a rather heavy hit which came to be one of the reasons why hardly anyone bullied him or his friends. 

He braced himself to feel the impact that his punch would have, but he was surprised that he never made contact as Clarice had caught his first before it even touched her face. 

"My, my. You certainly do have some power behind that hit, but your posture is all wrong if your goal is to actually try and hurt me. You need to position yourself differently." Clarice told him as she let go of his fist and pushed him back. 

"Now try again, but focus on relaxing your shoulders more and on where you're trying to aim, don't just strike." She coached him as she shifted her position again. Samuel took a deep breath and focused on relaxing his shoulders before he got ready to throw his next punch. He wasn't prepared though for what happened next. 

Much like the first time, Clarice caught his punch, but this time she pulled him towards her and used her opposite hand to grip the near the top of the neck of his shirt as she shifted her feet. Using the momentum, she pulled his arm up by the fist she had grabbed and pushed into him, sweeping his feet out from under him as she did this in order to throw him off balance and onto the floor.

Samuel hissed when his back made contact with the floor. He hadn't been expecting and didn't quite know what had just happened, but he knew that he couldn't get up yet because she was still keeping on hand on his chest to keep him pinned on the floor. The pressure she was using wasn't much and even when she threw him while it stung, she hadn't actually used her full strength to do it as her goal wasn't to hurt him. 

"I hope I didn't end up hurting you too much, but you see you still didn't listen after I told you that you needed to shift the way that you were holding your body and shoulders so I thought maybe a little shock would help." Clarice moved her hand off his chest and took a step back but didn't attempt to try and help him stand up but instead let him do it himself. 

"How am I supposed to know what I am doing wrong since this isn't something that I have been trained to do before?" Samuel winced as he stood up. He definitely felt it in his upper back where it hit the floor. 

"You learn through practice of course, that's the whole reason why we're doing this. The best type of practice is by training your body to remember things." Clarice replied as she came over to Samuel to help him change his position.

"I am of course going to take time to teach you how to properly hold your body and how to move correctly through my own movements as well as shifting your body when necessary. However, in order to help you become more aware of when you're not getting it right, a little pain can go a long way in reminding your body subconsciously when it's doing something wrong if every time you're off or mess up- it's met with repercussions such as what just happened." She patted his back when she said this. 

"So that's what you meant when you said that sometimes it can take people more than few times to learn how to do it right." He sighed as he rolled his shoulders. 

"Yep! You do seem like you pick up on things quickly so I don't think you'll have deal with it often. Today though, we won't be getting really serious though because I didn't bring a right change of clothes with me and you need something less restrictive as well, but this will do for now to learn the basics. We'll also get your breathing in order so let's start over again but with something different this time." She told him as she took her original position back on the mat. Samuel could feel that it was going to be long hour or two going through this training. He just hoped it got easier over the days.