Audrey's Training day

[MappleMan7]

"There's only really one way to help not bruise yourself when striking someone- and that's a punching bag"

Oscar idly kicked his kegs as he sat on the apron of the ring, looking at the various punching bags in the facility.

"It boils down to building up strength in your knuckles. Over time, as you punch something tough, your knuckles will get tougher. Have you ever seen Rocky? Where he's punching those big slabs of meat in the freezer? It's basically that. Though I would get wraps for your hands before starting to train in that- just to help protect them from hurting too bad"

[ThurmanMermanPlx]

"A punching bag...?"

Audrey had, of course, seen the punching bags scattered around the gym, and given the name, was not clueless as to their purpose. However... "You know... I know there's a few boxers around here. But it never occurred to me that wrestlers might be using them, too..."

She looked down at her hands, curled into fists in front of her. The thought of punching something hard and sturdy was... not a pleasant one. Pulling her muscles while stretching and exhausting herself while training were one thing... actively injuring herself in the process was another. "All that to say, uh, I don't have any wraps on me. So I guess I'll save that for another day."

Then she looked back up towards Oscar. "But maybe you could show me how to punch anyway? Like, uh... all I know is 'don't tuck in your thumb when you punch or you'll just break it'. And I think there was something about... twisting your arm as you punch gives it more power somehow?"

[MappleMan7]

"Oh yeah- there are plenty of wrestlers that strike their opponents. Usually with forearm strikes and kicks, but punches are fair game too"

Oscar nodded his head before raising a hand to rub his cheek- feeling phantom pain for a moment from his training session with his buddy Jasmine before standing up.

"I'd be happy to share what I know on strikes! Stand up when you're ready- I'd like to see what kind of stance you have for throwing a punch. And yes- your correct about twisting the fist as you make the impact. Though I believe that works best when you're sinking a punch into your opponents stomach"

[ThurmanMermanPlx]

Audrey rubbed the back of her neck a bit sheepishly. "Oh, yeah, I know it's common for wrestlers to use strikes in general! I just... never considered that they might be training them, too. Stupid, I know."

The redhead was pleased to hear Oscar confirm what she'd already learned about punching, glad that at least some of her self-training had mattered. She took another sip of her drink before standing up and settling into an idle stance; her hands balled into fists, her right hovering over her chest and her left out in front of her like a guard, and her legs spread loosely apart - not enough to have to stretch, but enough that she wasn't rigid, and knew she could move quickly if she needed to.

With Oscar a far enough distance away, she figured she may as well throw a quick jab into the air to show off how she did it. Her torso twisted as her right fist flew out, then returned to where it had been hovering. She then lowered her elbow so her arm was closer to her hips rather than her chest and tried again.

"I feel like I get more twist with the second one," she said, making a show of twisting her wrist and pumping her fist in front of her, more slowly this time. "It's harder to do when my arm is in front of me already. But I feel less guarded that way..."

[MappleMan7]

Oscar quietly observed as Audrey threw some jabs in the air, getting off of the bench and putting the now empty sports drinks bottle down aa he joined her.

"It's not bad for a first go, but stance is everything. Watch my footing"

Oscar would take his own stance, left foot in front of the right foot as he brought his fists up. When he twisted his hips for one jab, Oscar would take a step forward before twisting again for another jab.

"I find it's a bit awkward to throw a left jab when your left leg is on the backfoot. I'm all about keeping the pressure up, myself, and if you keep advancing into your opponents space, you can gain ground over them. As for defense, that's a whole different lesson. But for now, just try to keep your elbows up. You'll have an easier time protecting yourself that way"

[ThurmanMermanPlx]

"Oh, wow." Audrey could practically hear the whoosh in the air as Oscar's fist sliced it with a quick jab, his entire body twisting in the process while he stepped forwards. While there was no target to strike, even Audrey could tell that his twist and step approach had far more power than her own attempt, and not purely based off muscle.

"R-right!" So she attempted to mimic his stance. Being right-handed, she mirrored it as best she could, right foot back, her arms positioned as close to where his had been as she could guess. She took a moment to focus, imagining an opponent in front of her, then...

A twist of her hips, her body snapping around as her right foot stepped forward, her fist sailing through the air - almost immediately, she could feel how different and effective this was compared to her own sloppy approach.

But that wasn't to say this time wasn't sloppy as well! Not used to showing so much of her weight forward for a simple jab, she nearly stumbled forwards, her left foot leaving the ground for a brief moment as her balance temporarily abandoned her. A wobble later, and she was steady again, quietly proud of herself for not falling over - but she wasn't about to admit that.

"I guess I still need to practice my footwork," she admitted instead, hoping to flat-out ignore her latest embarrassment, "but I could absolutely feel the difference there. Can you show me that stance one more time?"