Prince of Tennis: A new Hextech Crafting System is refreshed every week.

The formalities are complete.

Hasegawa brought Kitahara Akira to the training ground.

"稽古" means practice or training, and "稽古场" refers to a place used for kendo practice and training.

Before entering, Hasegawa stood at the door and bowed slightly to the inside to show respect for the venue. Kitahara Akira didn't understand why, but he still bowed as well.

After entering the practice area, the two found a quiet spot with few people and began teaching.

Hasegawa was holding a bamboo sword.

He joined the dojo at a young age and now holds a fourth dan in kendo. He recently participated in the All-Japan Student Kendo Championship and won the championship. Now he has finally gained his master's approval and is allowed to teach students on his behalf. Kitahara Akira is the first student he has formally taught.

Hasegawa's eyes gleamed:

"Generally speaking, the first lesson in a dojo should start with 'etiquette,' teaching dojo etiquette, dress code, and so on. But since you're here to learn by analogy and improve your tennis skills, let's move directly to the next stage."

"Do you know what mid-range stance is?"

Kitahara Akira nodded.

"I know that the middle stance is the starting point for all actions in kendo. By assuming this stance, one enters the state of readiness."

There are similar movements in tennis, and players need to be in the Ready Position before the match begins.

This means keeping your back straight, upper body slightly leaning forward, weight on the balls of your feet, and supporting the racket with your non-racket hand in front of you. While maintaining focus, keep your body relaxed for easy movement.

Kitahara Akira has a habit of always making a thorough understanding of the things he will be dealing with before making any important decisions.

Last night, he searched and looked at a lot of information related to Kendo on his computer.

"Looks like you did your homework beforehand, you're a thoughtful person, it saved me a lot of trouble."

Hasegawa smiled.

"However, there is one inaccuracy. While adopting the midstance is indeed for entering a state of readiness, it is not just a ready stance. To be precise, the midstance is a 'basic combat stance' that is used throughout and integrates offense and defense."

This is the normal state that must be maintained in kendo combat. Throughout the entire exchange, except for the moment of launching an attack, one must return to a mid-stance and retain residual tension to prepare for the next strike.

"For example, in boxing, you need to return to the stance unless you are throwing a punch."

For example, the Re...Ready Position you just mentioned works on the same principle; it refers to both the preparation before hitting the ball and the state that needs to be immediately restored after hitting it.

"These stances are both the starting point and the end point; they are the link connecting every attack."

Kitahara Akira listened attentively.

"Next, I'll teach you how to take the mid-stance."

"Right foot forward, left foot back, left heel slightly raised, feet about a fist's distance apart and parallel."

Hasegawa, holding a bamboo sword, assumed a mid-stance stance and demonstrated while explaining the precautions, "Note that your right toes should not point outwards."

After demonstrating it in its entirety, he instructed Kitahara Akira to assume the stance he had just demonstrated. He then stepped forward and directly adjusted Kitahara Akira's movements: "Hold the end of the hilt with your left hand, support the upper part of the hilt with your right hand, align the tiger's mouth of your hands with the sword line, and point the sword tip at your opponent."

A short while later.

Kitahara Akira then assumed a proper mid-range stance.

He held the knife in both hands, with one foot in front of the other, knees slightly bent, feeling the power flowing upwards from the soles of his feet, while his upper body was upright, waist straight, core engaged, and spine as if being pulled upwards by a thin thread, presenting a tall and stable posture.

Hasegawa added:

"The mid-stance is the most comprehensive stance, combining offense and defense, and is applicable to the vast majority of situations."

"Besides the middle stance, there are also the upper stance, which emphasizes offense and has a fierce momentum and is called the 'fire stance'; the lower stance, which is defensive and counter-attacking and implements the principle of 'the back is the front'; the eight stance, which is solid defense and can deal with attacks from multiple directions; and the waist stance, which conceals intentions and strikes the opponent unexpectedly."

Listening to Hasegawa's introduction.

Kitahara Akira pondered and deduced in his mind that if these sword stances could be integrated into tennis playing style, it might bring about some different changes in tennis.

for example......

Incorporate a highly aggressive upper stance into your smash technique?

Will this increase the power of the spike?

The Eight Stance, which excels in defense, is also well-suited for baseline defense. If mastered perfectly, it could create an impenetrable defensive range.

however.

Such a thought only flashed through his mind, and Kitahara Akira did not continue to explore it further.

After all, he hadn't even scratched the surface of kendo yet, so it wasn't the time to be overly ambitious and think about such things. Besides, he just wanted to use kendo training to improve his control over his body and better unleash the power of "Oni's Frenzied Tennis Racket".

Instead of spending a lot of time learning kendo and then trying to integrate kendo techniques with tennis, you could have easily broken through countless Hextech barriers by now.

Kitahara Akira knew very well.

Hextech is the right path for us; we can't let small gains lead to big losses!

After standing in the middle stance for five or six minutes, seeing that there was nothing that needed to be adjusted, Hasegawa began to teach the next item - the footwork in Kendo, the tsubo!

The so-called "folded feet".

It means that during movement, the soles of your feet slide along the ground without lifting them off.

It minimizes body sway and maintains upper body stability during any movement, enabling you to respond to enemy attacks at any time. It can be said to be the foundation of all kendo footwork.

The steps of sending the foot forward, stepping forward, following up with the foot, and opening the foot all follow this principle.

The only difference is the "stepping" technique. In actual combat, the speed of simply "sending the foot" is not fast enough. Therefore, at the moment of striking, the fighter will suddenly and forcefully stomp the ground with the front foot, gathering all the power of the body and combining the kinetic energy under the foot with the power of the sword swing to attack the opponent.

After the footsteps, came the swing of the sword.

Hasegawa began teaching with the "Great Swing," one of the most basic and important basic swing exercises in kendo practice.

Based on Hasegawa's demonstration and explanation.

Kitahara Akira first assumed a mid-stance, then slowly raised his sword, using his left hand as the main force, raising the bamboo sword along the midline of his body directly above his head. At the same time, he took a big step forward with his right foot, forming a bow stance.

Then, imagine an enemy in front of you, exert force with your left hand, and slash downwards with your sword.

The bamboo knife eventually stopped at knee height.

Then, using the force of pushing off the ground with his right foot, he jumped backward, regaining his mid-stance, while remaining focused and maintaining residual alertness.

Kitahara Akira completed a large swing, and Hasegawa pointed out the errors in his movements. He took the advice and completed another large swing, and Hasegawa continued to guide and adjust his movements.

Kitahara Akira has a good learning ability, and now that he has lived two lives, his learning ability has been further enhanced.

At the beginning, there were basic postural errors such as not straightening the back and looking down, but in a short time, the excessive force of the right hand and the tension in the shoulder were corrected.

In just over ten minutes.

Kitahara Akira even began to focus on advanced issues such as the coordination between sword swings and footwork, breathing, and power generation.

Hasegawa couldn't help but praise, "He has potential."

After seeing that Kitahara Akira was already able to skillfully assume the middle stance and practice large swings, Hasegawa ended the first lesson and let him practice on his own, telling him that he could come to him again if he had any questions.

Swish! ... Swish! ...

Kitahara Akira practiced alone, not seeking speed but stability, breaking down each movement step by step, striving to perfect every detail.

As the number of large oscillations increases.

Kitahara Akira gradually realized that kendo practice could indeed achieve the effect he hoped for.

When performing a large swing, the power needs to be transmitted from the feet and waist to the arms, using the waist as the axis, and coordinating with the footwork, vision, and breathing to achieve an excellent strike.

This kind of practice is in line with the principles of tennis.

......

In the practice area, large beads of sweat rolled down, hitting the wooden floor and reflecting the glow of the incandescent light.

Two dojo students, who looked like seasoned veterans, were leaning against the wall and whispering to each other during a break, their eyes fixed on Kitahara Akira, who was practicing his big swing.

"Another one lured in by the gimmick of combining tennis with kendo techniques. Tsk tsk, do you think he'll start yelling about dropping out?"

"I'd guess at most a month."

"Are all these tennis players out of their minds? Instead of wasting time learning kendo, why don't they just focus their energy on tennis?"

"It's such a thankless and arduous task, yet so many idiots are signing up."

"This is the fifth one this month. None of the people who signed up last month have come back. Tsk tsk..."

Hasegawa's icy rebuke suddenly erupted, interrupting the two's daze—

"Yokoyama, Nagano! If you haven't practiced enough, do twenty more sets of basic exercises!"

The two people whose names were called immediately stood up straight.

Hasegawa is the winner of this year's All-Japan Student Kendo Championship and one of the main young swordsmen of the Kyumeikan School. His status is equivalent to that of a true disciple in a martial arts novel, and he is not at the same level as ordinary students like them who have just paid money to learn.

The two dared not argue and awkwardly accepted their punishment under the watchful eyes of the other trainees.

"Yokoyama, stand firm! Don't slouch! Nagano, is your sword even lethal? Tension yourself!"

Su Zhen stared at the two men as they picked up bamboo knives for a few minutes.

Hasegawa walked over to Kitahara Akira's practice area and explained to him.

"The concept of combining tennis and kendo at Kyumekan is not some gimmick as they claim."

The headmaster learned kendo from a young age, and later started playing tennis. At the age of twenty, he officially became a professional tennis player in Japan, integrating the essence of kendo into the tennis system.

He won numerous major tournaments and was once ranked in the ATP rankings.

Therefore, after retiring, he chose to improve the original Kami-ryu kendo system, creating the Kami-kan dojo as it is today.

"A professional player?" Kitahara Akira was somewhat surprised.

"While it takes a lot of talent to integrate kendo into tennis like the headmaster, even if you can't integrate kendo into tennis, practicing kendo can still improve a tennis player's skills in other ways."

Hasegawa sighed as he spoke.

"If you regret it, I can process your withdrawal..."

"No need to withdraw from the course."

Kitahara Akira stopped swinging his sword, turned around and smiled, revealing his bright white teeth, and said sincerely, "Actually, I feel like I gained quite a lot."

Upon hearing this, Hasegawa paused, his brows furrowing slightly.

"I feel uneasy!"

"Aiming too high!"

To claim to have gained something in tennis after just over an hour of practice is utterly absurd; ambitions far exceed capabilities.

Hasegawa felt somewhat dissatisfied, and his previous good impression of him had diminished considerably, but before leaving, he still kindly mentioned it.

"I have a junior who also plays tennis and has a lot of experience in Hisamei Kendo-ryu tennis. However, he is not in Tokyo at the moment. If there is a chance, I will introduce you to him so you can ask him for help with any problems you encounter."

"Yes, thank you, senior brother."

Kitahara Akira nodded.

Whether tennis and kendo are integrated or not is not something he really cares about.

The reason I chose Hisamei Hall is twofold: firstly, it has a connection to tennis and feels familiar to me; secondly, Hisamei Hall is not far from the tennis courts where I practice, which saves me time.

He never had any intention of learning any kendo-style tennis playing style.

He has only one goal.

That is to increase control over your body!

Swish! ... Swish! ...

After saying that, the sound of the bamboo sword cutting through the air rang out again.

......

Around 3 p.m.

Kitahara Akira finished his practice at Hisamikan and went to the tennis court to continue his daily routine: randomly finding skilled strangers to play against until around 5 p.m., then going home for dinner.

night.

Soaking in the bathtub, the warm water washes over my shoulders, and as I lean against the edge of the tub, the fatigue that has accumulated throughout the day finally bursts forth in an instant.

Kitahara Akira didn't want to move a single finger.

The continuous training for several days is a test of both mental and physical strength. It's only because this body is young and energetic that it's able to withstand it. If it were a college student in my previous life, I would have been sore all over and unable to move after just two days.

"Ah~!"

Feeling like he was about to fall asleep, Kitahara Akira immediately sat up, stretched, and tried to wake himself up.

Then it soaked for another two minutes.

After drying himself off and collapsing onto the bed, Kitahara Akira's biological clock struck the next day, and he woke up promptly at five o'clock.

[Relentless Strikes: Provides a 'Guinsoo's Rageblade'. Units wielding 'Guinsoo's Rageblade' deal additional magic damage with each attack.]

[2 days, 15 hours, 36 minutes, and 18 seconds remaining until the next Hextech Respawn...]

Looking at the Hextech Refresh countdown on the panel.

Kitahara Akira instantly snapped out of it, quickly washed up, grabbed two sandwiches from the refrigerator, and went out.

The process remains the same as before.

I did a slow jogging aerobics workout, followed by a set of dynamic stretching exercises specially designed by Yamabuki, multi-ball training, and practice with an opponent to maintain my match skills. Around nine o'clock, I went to Hisamikan to start sword practice.

I didn't leave at noon; I ate my lunch, which I brought from home, at the Hisamikan restaurant (I asked Kitahara Misae to make the boxed lunch the night before). There was a microwave in the restaurant, so I just heated it up.

After lunch break, I continued practicing swordsmanship.

After practicing the middle stance repeatedly over a long period of time.

When using the "Ghost Rope's Rampage Tennis Racket" in the evening, the stability of the shot was indeed improved, and the speed of multiple swings could gradually be controlled within a certain range.

Kitahara Akira has become increasingly proficient at swinging at 110% speed.

......

[Relentless Strikes: Provides a 'Guinsoo's Rageblade'. Units wielding 'Guinsoo's Rageblade' deal additional magic damage with each attack.]

[1 days, 15 hours, 26 minutes, and 18 seconds remaining until the next Hextech Respawn...]

......

[Relentless Strikes: Provides a 'Guinsoo's Rageblade'. Units wielding 'Guinsoo's Rageblade' deal additional magic damage with each attack.]

[3 hour, 56 minutes, and 18 seconds remaining until the next Hextech spawn...]

......

Finished my kendo practice at Hisamikan.

Upon entering the stadium.

Kitahara Akira noticed that the atmosphere today was different from usual.

A large crowd had gathered around a tennis court, from which came heavy, muffled thuds of the ball being struck. With each hit, the crowd erupted in cheers.

Kitahara Akira walked over with some curiosity.

At this moment, the person sitting high on the referee's chair loudly announced the score of the match: "Game, Yukihiro Murata, 6-0!"

"As expected of Murata!"

"Gui Qiutai's starting player on the school team, a strong contender who represented the school in this year's major tournament!"

"He's definitely not your average strongman; I'm still taken aback every time I see him!"

Suddenly, some people saw Kitahara Akira arrive, and their eyes lit up as they became excited.

"It's Kitahara! Kitahara has arrived!"