Determination

[APlaying]

Garlim listened and let out a mischievous laugh. "Jojob! Don't get me wrong. I'm not belittling anyone, I just want you to focus entirely on what I'm about to explain. You've shown me that you have good technique, but you're wasting your potential on other attributes that you could be taking advantage of. For example, you are capable of delivering even more powerful kicks and knees with the strength of your legs. So you need to expand your repertoire of techniques around your legs, for example." Garlim approached a tatami mat near the ring, where she picked up a punching bag suspended from a dock and placed it in the center.

From there, Garlim took a few steps back and jumped slightly to gain momentum. Just as she touched the ground, she lunged forward and planted her palms on the floor to do a side flip. Gaining momentum again with her arms, she jumped forward again, opening her legs slightly as she hung in the air, grabbing the punching bag between her legs and throwing it powerfully to the floor.

[Highfly]

Svetlana stood and nodded. "If that is what you mean then ys, you are right. Perhaps my English isn't as good and I mistake what you mean sometimes. I will work on kicks and using my legs. If it helps me win it will be done." Svetlana said as she looked Garlim in the eye while she spoke.

Svetlana did want to win and she wanted to be a serious wrestler not another failed streamer who was trying to wrestle just to look pretty for a camera.

[APlaying]

“Don't apologize,” said Garlim with a warm smile, her gaze fixed on Svetlana. “Your English is excellent, but you lack a little understanding. I noticed it when I saw you judging your actress friend a couple of times while you were sparring. You got upset about a couple of tricks that you took as disrespect.” Garlim's gaze did not waver, her voice brimming with sincerity. “I'm not here to criticize you, but to help you become a better fighter. And believe me when I say that sometimes it's better not to take everything so seriously. Releasing tension from time to time is good for the spirit.” She paused, her expression turning serious.

Now that she thought about it carefully, perhaps such advice would have been useful to her long time ago. "And I must say, I like your determination. It's a quality that will serve you well in this kind of sport... Just don't become hypersensitive, that temperament can work against you in a fight, even if it doesn't seem like it." During sparring, Garlim realized that Svetlana's technique was at its best when she was cornered or underestimated. If she learned to channel that impulse, she could handle anything.

“To start with, I want you to do 40 repetitions of 3 sets of middle and high kicks. Just like that.” Garlim pointed to a set of training mats leaning against the wall, as she took a fighting stance, jumping slightly on her heels before delivering a powerful front kick to the center of the mat, followed by a quick transition to a high kick. The thunderous sound of each kick echoed through the walls of the gym. “Oasu! You have to do this move 40 times in a row, three times. You'll have a 5-minute break between each set, understood?”

[Highfly]

Svetlana nodded along and much of what Garlim said was right. She took a deep breath and smiled. "Yes, this sounds good. I will get to work right away on this!" Svetlana said as she stepped up to the big striking bag and began kicking away as accurately, as quickly and as hard as she could! She wanted each impact to echo loudly as she hit and she was doing all she could to prevent fatigue from setting in although that part was tougher as she was already feeling a bit worn out.

[APlaying]

The fact that Svetlana was able to deliver the series of kicks spoke well of her endurance, as Garlim had subjected her to squeezes, hard hugs, chokeholds, and blows to the abdomen. Therefore, kicking with such intensity constantly required a lot of effort in her condition.

Military training is generally based on pushing the human body to its limits. It is said that when the body feels tired, it means that it has used up about 40% of all its energy. So, soldiers undergo routines that push them beyond that limit, ignoring fatigue, pain, and agony until the body can take no more, thus making the most of their reserves.

Garlim watched critically as Svetlana threw herself into the kicking exercises with fluid and powerful movements. “Good, good, good,” she murmured to herself in a low, approving voice. "You're putting a lot of power into those kicks, Svetlana. I can see the tension in your legs. But you're going to burn out if you don't control your pace, keep your balance, and take a breath before kicking. That's it, keep going! Don't hold back."

Garlim shouted, her voice echoing off the gym walls. She jumped up and down with her own contagious energy as she watched Svetlana improve her form with each kick.

[Highfly]

Svetlana listened and nodded, adjusting as necessary. At this point she was actually just too worn out to verbally answer. She was controlling her breathing and wasn't about to disrupt that. She couldn't afford to. She kept kicking and giving it her all trying to hit hard without burning out. That was the hard part. she kept focused trying not to run out of gas although she knew she certainly wasn't hitting as hard as she was before.

[APlaying]

Garlim narrowed her eyes slightly as she watched Svetlana struggle to keep up. She could see her exhaustion, her heavy breathing, and the slight tremor in her body. “Keep going! You're almost there. Just a few more kicks.” Garlim began to walk slowly around her as she went through the series, until during the last few kicks, it was clear how worn out Svetlana was. Her movements became slower and less forceful.

"Okay, you can rest now. You'll have a 5-minute break, and then you'll go straight to those 15 kg dumbbells and do two sets of ten. And finally, you'll go to the calf raise machine, set the weight to five bars, and do 15 leg lifts. Understood?" The idea was simple, since she had already done her warm-up and repetitions. Svetlana would now have to maintain her upper body volume and tone her lower body. "Just be very careful, I don't want you to end up overdoing it or you'll end up with a wasted body."

[Highfly]

"Yes... yes I will make it happen." Svetlana said as she finished with her kicks slumping down as she sat right where she was in the ring taking deep breaths. "Five minutes... will be good." Svetlana was gassed and she would hydrate in a minute but she needed some time to simply catch her breath. "Thanks for the help now that I caught some of my breath again." Svetlana finally added after recovering enough to go get herself some water.

[APlaying]

Garlim nodded with a slight smile as she watched Svetlana recover. "You're welcome." She walked over to the water cooler, grabbed a bottle, and handed it to Svetlana. "Drink, you've earned it." As Svetlana took a long drink, Garlim sat down next to her on the mat, her gaze never leaving her face.

"And you're still training with Alaina and Tina? How's that going?" Garlim suddenly realized certain details. "Honestly, Alaina seemed quite odious to me. I thought I could use that to motivate myself to practice with my teammates, but it only torments me. What do you think?"

[Highfly]

Svetlana drank water and then listened as Garlim was talking about Tina and Alaina. After even the well meaning mention of Tina during training the rubbed Svetlana wrong she was cautious about answering this. "I get along just fine with her." She said with a shrug. It sounded like someone may have been trying to stir the pot and Svetlana wasn't biting. "If you have a problem with her then that is for you and her to work on."