Chapter 4

Feeling that the boxing theory Sadler spouted was quite impressive, Wang Lei became even more convinced that he was no ordinary person, and thus practiced even more diligently.

After breakfast, he would train for an hour and a half, and then for two and a half hours in the afternoon, spending four hours each day at Sadler's boxing gym, strictly adhering to Sadler's dietary requirements.

In terms of diet, Sadler did not reduce or increase Wang Lei's food intake but instead advised him to eat smaller, more frequent meals, changing from three meals a day to four or five. Additionally, he was to eat as much raw food as possible.

Wang Lei, who had previously often eaten fried dough sticks and soy milk for breakfast, could no longer do so and had to switch to fresh milk and eggs. For the subsequent meals, he had to eat as much raw fresh vegetables and fruits as possible, along with medium-rare steaks.

Wang Lei, who had read many articles about the diets of European and American athletes in his previous life, knew that such a diet could significantly replenish the body's energy and nutrition. Although he did not particularly like eating raw food, he did not oppose Sadler's suggestions.

Strictly controlling his diet according to Sadler's suggestions, combined with four hours of training each day, the results were evident after two weeks.

Wang Lei clearly felt himself slim down, with the fat on his body estimated to have reduced by a third, and his muscle lines becoming more prominent.

In two weeks, Wang Lei had already mastered the basic boxing attack techniques such as jabs, hooks, and crosses, and his shadow boxing practice had reached nearly 100,000 repetitions. In the second week, in addition to shadow boxing, he also practiced hitting the focus mitts, with Sadler personally controlling the mitts.

Such repeated and continuous training made Wang Lei's punches become more natural and proficient, the sound of his punches changing from a whoosh to a thud, and the impact on the focus mitts producing a sharp, explosive sound.

Sadler felt that Wang Lei had passed the first stage and began teaching him how to throw looping punches and combination punches, adding bag work and strength training. In the third week, Sadler also found a sparring partner for Wang Lei.

A black boy named Chuck Cruz, who was only three years older than Wang Lei.

Chuck Cruz was also one of Sadler's boxing students, having learned boxing from Sadler for three years and fully mastering the techniques. He was also very strong, standing half a head taller than Wang Lei and weighing three weight classes more.

If he were to box with Wang Lei, it would be extremely unfair to Wang Lei. Fortunately, Sadler did not have them box but instead had Chuck Cruz serve as Wang Lei's "sparring partner," who was not allowed to counter but only to take hits.

Sadler required Wang Lei to use the boxing techniques he had learned to attack Cruz. Cruz did not counter but only used his arms to protect his head, combined with body movement and footwork to evade Wang Lei's attacks.

Sadler said this was to let Wang Lei experience the feeling of hitting someone in the ring, and after getting used to it, he could naturally adjust his timing and the force of his attacks, aiming to deliver effective and powerful blows as soon as possible.

At first, Wang Lei was a bit hesitant, but after a few punches, he found that Cruz's body was very solid and hard, and with the thick headgear and protective gear, his punches could not hurt Cruz. This encouraged him to increase the intensity and speed of his attacks.

What frustrated Wang Lei was that he had hit Cruz at least a hundred times, but ninety of those hits landed on Cruz's arms and gloves. The remaining ten hits, although they struck Cruz's chest, abdomen, and shoulders, were not solid due to Cruz's constant movement and twisting, either sliding off or missing their mark, or losing their force.

It was like hitting a punching bag that suddenly moved back a few centimeters, making the punch feel awkward and almost dissipating most of the force, reducing a 100-kilogram punch to just 10 kilograms.

Understanding what Sadler meant by "effective attacks and punch force," Wang Lei no longer blindly threw punches but continuously used his lead hand to jab and probe, calmly looking for the best timing to punch.

After about five minutes, Wang Lei finally found an opportunity. His left hook opened up Cruz's guard, and his right cross landed solidly on Cruz's face.

Then Wang Lei let out a scream.

The point of contact was wrong; instead of hitting Cruz's face with the knuckles, he hit Cruz's hard cheekbone with the base of his thumb.

Although he had hand wraps and thick gloves, Wang Lei still felt so much pain that he almost cried, suspecting that his thumb joint might be broken. Cruz, on the other hand, just tilted his head to one side, took a half-step back, and acted as if nothing had happened.

"Did you hurt your thumb? Didn't I tell you to pay attention to the point of contact, to use the knuckles and not other parts? How could you forget?"

Seeing the situation, Sadler scolded a few times and then helped Wang Lei take off his right glove and hand wraps.

After carefully examining Wang Lei, he said, "It's not serious; your finger joint isn't broken. Apply cold compresses, and it will be fine in a few days..."

"How many days will it take to heal?" Wang Lei was startled and quickly refused, "Then no cold compresses, I'll go home and apply some medicinal alcohol..."

Sadler interrupted, "You'll swell if you don't use a cold compress!"

Wang Lei replied, "Don't worry, Sadler. I'm not using ordinary medicinal alcohol. My grandfather is an old Chinese doctor in Chinatown, and his secret medicinal alcohol is very effective. For injuries like mine, just a little application and a massage, and I'll be completely fine by the next morning. Really, I'm not lying; I've tried it several times when I was a kid!"

Sadler was taken aback and nodded, "Your Chinese medicine is indeed amazing. I've seen it before. Since your grandfather has such a miraculous medicinal alcohol, go home and apply it. But I hope you can bring some over, so we can use it promptly if you get injured in the future!"

"That's what I was thinking!"

Wang Lei went to the boxing gym's shower to rinse off the sweat, then returned to Chinatown.

He did not go to his parents' restaurant but to his grandfather's Chinese medicine shop. He looked around the door like a thief, and when he saw no one, he sneaked in.

He stealthily went to the medicine cabinet and quickly found his grandfather's secret medicinal alcohol.

He carefully opened the lid, poured a little on his right thumb joint, and after rubbing it a couple of times, he heard a familiar voice behind him, "What are you doing, boy? You came here without even greeting your grandfather? Hmm, applying medicinal alcohol, are you hurt? Did you get into a fight?"

Wang Lei was startled and quickly turned around, forcing a smile, "Grandfather, you're here!"

The old man who suddenly appeared behind him was Wang Lei's grandfather, Wang Zhengshan. He coldly snorted and stared at Wang Lei's injured right hand, "This is my pharmacy. Why wouldn't I be here? Who did you fight with? Did you get hurt? Did you lose the fight?"

Wang Lei explained, "No, Grandfather, I didn't fight. I just accidentally hurt my right hand..."

"Lying again!" Wang Zhengshan grabbed Wang Lei's right hand and said, "From the look of it, you clearly hurt your thumb joint while hitting someone. I've seen this many times. How can you still try to deceive me?"

Wang Lei smiled bitterly, "Alright, Grandfather, you have keen eyes. I did get hurt that way, but I wasn't fighting. I was... practicing boxing."

"Boxing? The kind of boxing the foreigners practice?"

"Yes... Ah, Grandfather, what are you doing?"

Suddenly, Wang Zhengshan had a bamboo stick in his hand, and without mercy, he struck Wang Lei.

Caught off guard, Wang Lei let out a scream and tried to dodge, but the bamboo stick seemed to have eyes, and every strike hit him.

Wang Zhengshan scolded as he struck, "Practicing foreign boxing, you didn't practice the Xingyi Quan I taught you. Are you looking down on the martial arts passed down by our ancestors and think foreign boxing is better? You traitor, I'll beat you to death..."

The sudden commotion naturally alarmed the others in the pharmacy, but when they recognized that the one being beaten was Wang Zhengshan's grandson, Wang Lei, they all retreated, clearly used to it.

The bamboo stick did not cause injury but was very painful. Wang Lei was almost in tears, running and explaining, "Grandfather, listen to me. I'm not practicing boxing for the reason you think. I'm doing it to make our Chinese people proud and to show the foreigners that we are not to be underestimated!"

Wang Zhengshan stopped striking and asked, "Proud? I want to hear you explain how practicing foreign boxing can make our Chinese people proud?"

Wang Lei stopped and rubbed the areas on his shoulders and back that had been hit, explaining, "Grandfather, it's like this. Foreigners are very popular with boxing. Since the emergence of Muhammad Ali, they always think they are the best and look down on our Chinese martial arts. Even the appearance of Bruce Lee a few decades ago did not change their minds. They think our martial arts are just for show, like dance, and cannot be used to fight. There isn't a single Chinese person in the boxing ring. They think that if a Chinese person gets into the ring, they will be knocked out with one punch. They don't even think we have the qualifications to be professional boxers. I am indignant about this, so I decided to learn boxing and become a boxer. I want to win a world championship as a Chinese person, to make our Chinese people proud and to show the foreigners that they cannot look down on us!"

By the end, Wang Lei was so passionate that even he believed his own words.

Wang Zhengshan looked at his grandson with a black line on his forehead and said, "Foreigners have been looking down on us for a long time. If you really can't stand it, just use the martial arts I taught you to beat them up. Why learn boxing? Is the Xingyi Quan I taught you not as good as foreign boxing?"

(Just uploaded a new book, but accidentally dropped my notebook, almost causing a break in updates. Scared me to death!)

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