18 TIME NEVER STOPS

After that night, it was a little bit weird between Kat and I. I sort of started to avoid Kat like throughout the week, whenever she called I just ignored her calls knowing fully well that that won't solve the problem.

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Quick note, if you're having relationship troubles the last thing you should do about it is to avoid it. Avoiding it only causes more problems later, leaving the both of you feeling worse about yourselves as an individual.

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So, I did what any sensible guy would do in that situation I confronted the problem, and ended up in a relationship with Katrina in her words,

"Let's just try it out" she said, "if you don't feel comfortable with it later, we could just end it".

As for me the only thing I could say was "Ok".

After that time, I've not only had to work twice as hard, I had to quadruple as hard. I not only had to manage my time to accommodate, school work, training, dating but also my personal free time whenever I had one.

It didn't become easier over time not in the least, sometimes I wished time could just stop but time never stops.

My daily routine was very simple, go to class, eat, train, eat, call Kat, eat, sleep, wake up read, train, sleep. You could imagine how busy I was but I managed to make it all work.

I had started out my martial arts training as well, I had signed up for Kendo and Boxing.

At kendo training, the instructor had me learn the basic techniques, from Kendo footwork Okuri-ashi simply put is a sliding step to the Fumikomi-ashi a kind of step/leaping that pushes the attacker towards his opponent.

I had to learn how to wield shinai, from the proper way of holding the shinai. After observing the instructor, I was able to correct my stance and know how to hold the shinai in a proper manner, before I was taught the basic cuts involved in Kendo. Men-uchi (hit on the head), Kote-uchi (a hit on the wrist) and Do-uchi (a hit on the side of the abdomen).

It took me a couple of tries to be able to be able to execute the moves flawlessly, the only problem which I had was how to incorporate them in an attack but even that was solved thanks to the adjustment Blue made before which made me able to analyses attacks in real time while slowing down the speed of the attack coming in.

I was able to avoid attacks while searching for an opening to attack, even though I was slowly able to incorporate the moves in an attack I was still not a match for the instructors.

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Thanks to Coach Michael's intense training, I was in the perfect shape for boxing with my stamina, speed and quick reflexes. The first lesson I learned was to be able to take hits since it was impossible to not get hit when boxing. I was able to master the four generally accepted boxing styles that define their fighters.

The Swarmer (in fighter) who attempts to overwhelm his opponents by applying constant pressure, they tend to have great stamina and conditioning.

The Out-boxer is the opposite of the swarmer as they tend to maintain a gap between themselves and their opponents and fight with faster, longer ranged punches, they are known for being quick on their feet.

The Slugger, this is a boxing style which represents everything brutal about the sport, the boxers who rely on this style mostly tend to lack finesse in the ring but make up for it with raw power.

The Boxer-puncher, who possesses most of the qualities of the out-boxer: hand speed, combination and counter punching skills with a better defense and accuracy than a slugger.

I had to push myself to the limit every time I boxed, even though I relied on the ability that slows down the movement of things I am seeing, even though it does not affect the actual speed of the incoming punch since sometimes the boxers were unpredictable and I had to focus at all times.

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Coach Michael was relentless in his training, even Grey and Michael could not help but cry sometimes during training but now it was hard for some of the other athletes to match up with Grey or Enri, they were faster, stronger and more agile.

He even had us take parkour classes (Free Running Classes), he said it would enhance our bodies reaction time as well as our basic mobility speed.

I had dates with Kat at least once a week and talked to her everyday over the phone, while making sure my grades didn't slip. If it wasn't thanks to the adjustments and help from Blue, I would have never been able to even handle training with Coach Michael much less, the boxing and Kendo training and all the other things I was now forced to do.

That was how I spent my time for a month and a half, back and forth intense training and studying, I didn't even have as much time as I had before to hang out with Grey and Enri so I was only able to talk to them at class, and a little chat when training and at the dorm.