"There are two main styles of swordsmanship now: offensive and defensive. I will explain them to you one by one."
"The so-called offensive style emphasizes winning by surprise, quickly ending the battle before the opponent can react. It requires a high level of speed from the swordsman, which is the absolute foundation. In addition, it requires learning many different forms of sword techniques."
"Top masters will even combine various sword techniques and constantly create new ones to keep the opponent busy. If you encounter such an opponent for the first time, it is easy to fall into a psychological disadvantage from the start. Among the noble schools of swordsmanship in the country, the most typical is the Arnold school."
"The defensive style, on the other hand, emphasizes abandoning the idea of a quick victory from the outset. It is a cautious swordsmanship that slowly observes the opponent's movement habits to launch a favorable counterattack. This style tests a person's endurance and reaction speed very much, and the slightest carelessness can reveal a flaw and lead to defeat."
"However, as combat experience increases, it eventually becomes as impregnable as a fortress of steel and can handle any offensive style with ease. But because the defensive style does not have any outstanding characteristics in swordsmanship, there are no widely known representative figures."
"Let's make this clear first: don't think about learning both styles at the same time. If you want your swordsmanship to improve quickly and see results, it's best to focus on learning only one style for now. If you want to learn another style, you should at least wait until you have a solid foundation."
On the second morning after arriving at the Angus family, I was explaining the basic theories of swordsmanship to Robert.
With only three days available, I can't possibly teach him everything at once. I need to let him decide on a direction first before I can plan his future goals.
"And then? Which one do you want to choose?"
"What's your suggestion Master Belius?"
"My suggestion,...if you don't plan to spend your life studying swordsmanship, you can choose according to your own preferences. But if you prefer speed, the offensive style would be optimal. Conversely, if you prefer steadiness their defense is best for you."
"Judging from the students I've taught, most of them still prefer an offensive style that can finish a battle quickly. How should I put it, that feeling of instantly killing an enemy is a kind of romance that is unique to men, hahaha."
"So, which one does Master Belius prefer?"
"Me? My situation is more complicated. Since I need to kill enemies on the battlefield, my first consideration is survival rate. Therefore, I personally prefer a defensive play style."
"Then the defensive style is indeed the best. From the first moment I saw Master Belius, I decided that I must become someone like you."
"Moreover, I don't learn swordsmanship to hurt anyone. From the perspective of self-defense, a defensive style is indeed more suitable for me."
"Oh, you really knows how to please your master. But I understand, let's go in this direction. Now, what you need to train is neither stamina nor strength or speed but, Martial Arts, Swordsmanship and reaction time. If we look at it broadly, you seem to have great dynamic vision. What you're lacking now is Skill, Experience, and fast reaction time."
"Compared to your strong dynamic vision, your body is clearly lacking in coordination, unable to keep up with your dynamic vision. So we will put it on training agenda."
"I will help you develop your reaction time. In short, just like yesterday, I will launch an attack on you, and you try to block it all. I will gradually increase the speed along the way, and you need to get your body used to that rhythm as soon as possible. Of course, you can retaliate whenever you want, provided you have the strength to do so."
"Later, I will teach you Swordsmanship and Martial Breathing Technique to hone your fighting skills!"
"Yes."
So I followed this plan and trained with Robert on and off for about two hours. I also gave him guidance and explanations on his defensive movements, defensive habits, and counter-attack techniques. Later. I taught him basic Martial Breathing Technique which was a comprehensive technique for building foundation of Martial Arts.
Of course, I had not expected much progress on the first day. Even if Robert had the idea in his mind, his body couldn't get used to it instantly. But unexpectedly, his progress speed was beyond my expectations and it didn't follow any logic at all.
From completely unable to keep up with my gradually increasing peace to barely keeping up then completely able to keep up with my pace.
Though I only used the strength of an ordinary adult, this wasn't something just anyone could do. Even First Order Martial Artist, will struggle against it.
His speed in learning Martial Breathing Techniques was also quite fast. He reached First Order Martial Artist very quickly.
It's worth mentioning that I used more force because of his sturdy physique, and it must have hurt a child this small when I hit him with the wooden sword, but he never complained once, which made me hesitate whether to increase or decrease the force.
This style is quite different from the noble young masters I've met. It makes me a little curious about how the Marquis Bahod usually educates his children.
Forget it, let's not worry about that for now.
"It's about time we took a break, and we have some guests coming."
"Huh?"