Chapter 428: Earth-Shaking
However, Yang Yi saw through it but chose not to say anything. He had no intention of getting in the way of anyone making a living. In any case, they had Chen Guoqiang as a connection, so they could simply ask him to help them choose a good coach when the time came.
The trial class today would be personally taught by Chen Guoqiang.
Lan Zhoukai was still showing great interest. He even bought a set of boxing clothes. After taking the bag from his bodyguard, he headed straight for the changing room.
“Yang Yi, aren’t you changing?” Chen Guoqiang asked with a smile while they waited for Lan Zhoukai.
Yang Yi shook his head and smiled, pointing to the plain sportswear he was wearing, and said, “This is fine. We’re only here to try it out.”
A little while later, Lan Zhoukai came out of the changing room with a strong aura. He looked just like a real boxer making his entrance, wearing bright red trousers, draped in a bright red battle robe, and even wearing the hood.
“Come on!” Lan Zhoukai excitedly bumped his fists together and shouted.
However, since it was his first time there, Lan Zhoukai still hadn’t bought all the necessary equipment, such as boxing gloves, headgear, and so on.
They temporarily borrowed boxing gloves from the gym. Headgear wasn’t necessary since they hadn’t reached the sparring stage yet. Chen Guoqiang showed him how to strap them on, and Yang Yi also put on a pair of gloves.
After stepping onto the boxing ring, Lan Zhoukai took off his robe and handed it to the bodyguard waiting below.
As a result, the moment he turned around, Lan Zhoukai was already shivering from the cold. Sure enough, he couldn’t stay cool for more than three seconds!
The temperature was still a bit low in spring, and Lan Zhoukai was wearing nothing but a sleeveless boxing top, leaving his arms exposed. His flesh trembled as he moved, but all that body fat provided no protection from the cold at all.
“Come on, let’s do some warm-up exercises first. Once you get your body moving and warm up, you won’t feel so cold.” With his experience, Chen Guoqiang immediately led Lan Zhoukai through a warm-up.
Yang Yi stood to the side. He did not put on any airs. Since he had come along with Lan Zhoukai to try it out, he also treated himself as a beginner and honestly followed along with the warm-up.
Head movements, shoulder exercises, elbow exercises—those were all fairly simple. But when they got to the forward-and-back leg stretches and side leg stretches, Lan Zhoukai found that he could no longer keep going!
He could barely bend his knees, but after spreading his legs apart a little, he could no longer sink any farther. His chubby elephant-like legs were trembling desperately. Finally, he could not hold on, and with a plop, he sat down backward on the boxing ring.
“No, no, this is way too difficult for me.” Lan Zhoukai waved his hand, but he still cast an envious glance at Yang Yi, who was effortlessly bending down beside him.
I could never learn that. That kind of flexibility…
Chen Guoqiang still had a solution. He climbed out of the boxing ring, brought over several jump ropes, and said with a smile, “Old Lan, you shouldn’t have any problem jumping rope, right? Of course, I’m not asking you to do many. Ten jumps in a set. Catch your breath after finishing one set, then do the next. Three sets in total. Can you complete them?”
Jumping rope was still quite a challenge for Lan Zhoukai, given his size and weight. That was why Chen Guoqiang had set such a low target for him and even adjusted the jump rope to its maximum length.
“I’ll give it a try!” Lan Zhoukai gritted his teeth and took the jump rope.
“I don’t need one.” Yang Yi waved his hand when Chen Guoqiang offered him a jump rope as well.
Yang Yi knew that jumping rope was the best warm-up exercise, but he didn’t want to give Lan Zhoukai too much stimulation. This time he came to the fitness center to accompany Lan Zhoukai in trying out boxing and help him lose weight, not to compete with him or undermine his confidence.
Lan Zhoukai swung the rope with his wrists and then jumped with all his might.
He didn’t jump very high, but he cleared the rope as it swung beneath his feet, and his timing was quite good!
However, the moment Lan Zhoukai landed, Yang Yi and Chen Guoqiang both felt the entire boxing ring shake.
“Bang!” No one knew whether the boxing ring had been stomped into a hole, but anyway, it felt as if the earth were shaking and the mountains were trembling!
This earth-shaking event happened a total of ten times. Lan Zhoukai’s perseverance was quite good, and he actually managed to persist. Although he was panting heavily at the end and his legs gave way, causing him to sit down on the ground, he still completed one set of jump rope.
“Very good, Old Lan! Come on, take a rest, and then we’ll do another set!” Chen Guoqiang applauded.
“No, no, I’m done!” Lan Zhoukai shook his head and said while breathing heavily, “If I do another set, I’m afraid I’ll have to be carried home today. Wait, wait until I rest a little, then I’ll directly practice boxing.”
Yang Yi looked at Lan Zhoukai’s condition and also said to Chen Guoqiang with a smile, “Take it slowly. Brother Lan hasn’t exercised for too long, so we can’t train him too hard the first time.”
Lan Zhoukai took quite a long time to catch his breath. The three of them chatted for quite a while about Chen Guoqiang’s current work, talking about things such as the fact that Chen Guoqiang was not only a boxing coach, but also the boxing gym’s director of instruction.
Of course, the so-called “director of instruction” was also a modernized title. Calling him the “chief instructor” might have been more appropriate.
After Lan Zhoukai recovered, Chen Guoqiang began teaching them boxing. Lan Zhoukai was a complete beginner now, and he did not understand overly complicated movements, so Chen Guoqiang started by teaching him the simple left and right straight punches. He was even afraid that Lan Zhoukai would not be able to take in so much at once, so he only taught Lan Zhoukai the movements of his hands. As for footwork and such, he did not guide him for the time being, letting him move around freely according to his own habits.
But Lan Zhoukai practiced with great enthusiasm. Perhaps all men had a hot-blooded and combative heart. Lan Zhoukai swung his fists wearing boxing gloves and hit the punching mitts held up by Chen Guoqiang, and he actually had a face full of excitement, forgetting his fatigue.
“When throwing a punch, don’t be too hasty. Slow down. Make sure your eyes have the target in sight before throwing the punch! Remember your movements. Even when throwing a punch, one fist still has to stay beside your cheek in a defensive position. Then, after swinging your fist, remember not to be greedy for success. Pull your fist back in time and return to your original position…” Chen Guoqiang corrected the mistakes in Lan Zhoukai’s posture while having him throw punches.
Lan Zhoukai was learning quite well, but he had not forgotten Yang Yi either. After practicing by himself for a while, he waved his hand and called Yang Yi over to give it a try.
“Don’t let me have all the fun. Come over and practice too. I’m telling you, you should get a membership as well. The two of us brothers can work out together and strive for healthier bodies!” Lan Zhoukai said with a laugh.
Yang Yi smiled and didn’t refuse. He took Lan Zhoukai’s place and casually followed Chen Guoqiang’s instructions. Left, right, left, right—he threw a set of four punches, then brought his fists back beside his cheeks and settled into a proper guard position.
There was nothing remarkable about the movements. They were exactly as Chen Guoqiang had taught them, and his punches weren’t particularly fast either. He held back most of his strength. Yang Yi was simply there to have fun with his friend, not to show off, so he performed everything in a perfectly ordinary manner.
But even though everything was perfectly ordinary, Chen Guoqiang still saw the difference. Yang Yi had learned it far too perfectly, every movement done by the book. He asked curiously, “Yang Yi, have you also learned boxing before?”
“I haven’t learned it.” Yang Yi shook his head.
But Lan Zhoukai explained for him, “Hey, boxing is nothing! Don’t you remember? Brother Yang used to be a soldier. He trained before, so naturally, his skills are extraordinary!”
Yang Yi smiled and shook his head without refuting.
This was just a small interlude. Lan Zhoukai practiced for a while longer, and his physical strength was almost used up. After all, he had not exercised for too long, so they had to proceed step by step.
“You also have classes for children here?” When he went to get a membership, Lan Zhoukai passed by and saw several little boys and girls also practicing boxing. Although their arm swings were weak, their stances were quite proper.
“Yes, we do. My daughter Shiyun also comes over to play on weekends.” Chen Guoqiang said with a smile. “What? Old Lan, do you want your daughter to come over and learn too?”
“Yeah, Lan Xin doesn’t like exercising, and her figure is almost catching up with mine! That won’t do. I have to let her exercise too!” Lan Zhoukai was somewhat tempted. However, he turned his head toward Yang Yi, gave a sly smile, and said, “Brother Yang, you should bring your Xixi over too. Let several little girls play together. That way it’ll be lively!”
Yang Yi rolled his eyes and said irritably, “You’ve already dragged me into this, so don’t even think about dragging my daughter into it too. I don’t want her learning boxing. Why would a girl need to learn boxing?”
“That’s not how you should put it. Many parents let their children learn boxing not because they want them to become violent, but to strengthen their bodies and learn a skill for protecting themselves, especially girls.” Chen Guoqiang hurriedly explained.
“It’s not like we’re really going to have Xixi practice boxing. Just let her come and play. Treat boxing as a game. Anyway, they like playing together. What’s the point of staying at home on weekends?” Lan Zhoukai persuaded Yang Yi.
“If it’s only for fun, coming to play a few times, then that’s not a problem.” Yang Yi said hesitantly. “But I can’t guarantee that Xixi will come every week. Sometimes she also has to stay at home and accompany her mother.”
“That’s only natural. It depends on what the child wants. I’m telling you, even if I get Xin’er a membership, I have no idea how many times she’ll come or how many days her enthusiasm will last!” Lan Zhoukai said with a laugh.
Then they might as well get Xixi a membership too. Money was no longer an issue for them anyway. What was more, Lan Zhoukai insisted on paying Yang Yi’s share as well.
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