Cold weapons are a man's romance

Roman received a call from Lindsay just after breakfast.Lindsay should just be at work.Are all the staff of the Bingji club so diligent?

"Mr Roman?"

"I'm."

"You have an appointment with Cesar today, right? Well... can you bring a protective suit with you? The protective suit for fencing is fine, you should have it?"

"Yes. But it doesn't seem to be the same as Bing Shi's protective clothing..."

"It's perfectly fine to use during practice. I'm sorry, because all the protective clothing on our side has been rented out..."

"It's okay, I prefer to wear my own."

Lindsay sounded relieved.She formulaically wished Roman good health and a happy life, and hung up the phone.

Roman stuffed the tableware into the dishwasher, hesitated for a while, and then walked up to the attic.His old equipment is stored here.This place used to be his little paradise, but since he came home from the hospital, it was the first time he walked in here.

Several of his heavy swords were stuck on the sword stand, and due to neglect, a thin layer of dust fell on the guard disc.The protective clothing was neatly stacked and stuffed in the cabinet. When the cabinet door was opened, the door hinge made a teeth-piercing creaking sound.Opposite the cabinet is a row of display cases displaying all the medals and trophies he has ever won.These honors had once been his great consolation, but now even looking at them was an incomparable pain.

He took out his protective suit and walked quickly to the door with his head down, as if he would be stabbed if he looked at this place one more time.He resisted this place, there were too many memories of him here, as soon as he walked up to the attic, he couldn't help recalling all the glory and shame of the past.

He packed his gear and drove to the Aurora Club.He was worried about traffic jams, so he left early, but today's traffic was unbelievably smooth, and he arrived at the club half an hour before the scheduled time.To his surprise, Cesar was standing at the door.

"You play soldiers so hard? Does the coach have to work part-time to welcome guests?"

"I came here specially to wait for you."

Roman looked at his watch suspiciously: "I'm not late, am I?" Rather, I'm still early.How long has Cesar been waiting?If he arrived on time, wouldn't Cesar have to stand for an extra half an hour?

Cesar cleared his throat: "Since you arrived early, let's start early!" His gaze turned to Roman's backpack, "Did you bring protective clothing?"

"Lindsay asked me to bring it."

"...Well, Lindsay!" Cesar gritted his teeth.

"What? Can't fencing protective clothing work?"

Cesar smiled as if changing his face: "Of course, it's practice anyway. Let's go to the locker room. I will also wear protective clothing today."

"Didn't it mean I couldn't hit you?"

"Hey, I will definitely let you hit it a few times on purpose during practice."

Roman: "..." Is this guy underestimating his ability?A little angry!

Cesar snatched the cards from the front desk lady and dragged Roman into the locker room.The two of their storage boxes are just on either side of the aisle.When Roman changed clothes, he always felt a burning gaze on his back.He got goosebumps all over his body.

"Roman, how is your injury?"

Roman doesn't like people asking about his injuries.He knew that most people did this because of concern, and he should be grateful, but it was hard for him to accept such pity.

"It's okay." He replied bluntly.

"If you feel unwell, stop immediately, don't force it."

"I just had an operation, not an amputation."

Cesar wandered over to Roman, tying his hair while watching Roman's expression.Roman turned his head.Cesar laughed: "I'm just asking casually out of politeness. In fact, I'm not very worried about your injury."

"..." Roman squinted at him.

"Several members in our club have undergone surgery before, and it is not difficult to practice now. Bingshu does not require as much physical fitness as other sports. Judging from the high-intensity training you have received before, you may feel that we are Exercise Pediatrics."

"……real?"

"Compared with physical fitness, fighting is more concerned with skills. If a strong man with a thick back and a waist is wrestling with a delicate and frail girl, which side do you think will win more? It must be a strong man. But if two people hold weapons, then The result is not certain. No matter how powerful you are, being stabbed by a sword or shot by a bullet is still a dead end. Humans invent weapons to make up for the lack of physical strength. From stone tools to iron weapons, from cold weapons to hot weapons, there is nothing wrong In order to kill more efficiently. Bing strike is the art of killing with cold weapons."

Roman opened his mouth wide.This movement sounds so violent...but he doesn't seem to be qualified to speak of others.Many competitive events have evolved from battlefield skills, such as fencing, shooting, bow and arrow... Even throwing shot put and discus are derived from long-range attacks such as throwing stones in ancient warfare.In times of peace, sports have replaced wars.The same is true for soldiers.

"Have you changed it? This way, let's get to know the weapons first."

Cesar pulled the neckline for Roman, patted him on the shoulder, and smiled encouragingly.It was only then that Roman vaguely realized that Cesar's long speech just now might be to ease the awkward atmosphere between them and divert his attention.It was naive of him to sulk at Cesar asking about his injuries.

They walked through a long corridor. On the left is the fitness equipment area, which is almost the same as an ordinary gym. On the right is the practice room where they played against Alex yesterday.Roman's eyes were completely attracted by the scene in the practice room.Today's Aurora Club is much more lively than yesterday, and the practice room is full of members or coaches practicing in pairs.Iron and steel strikes, swords and swords, or full blows, or swords intertwined.A long sword in the shape of a cross, a short sword that is not much longer than a dagger, a one-handed sword with a round shield tied to the forearm, Roman even saw a petite lady holding a slender sword in her right hand, Holding a dagger in his left hand, he fools his opponents with fox-like agility.

Roman slowed down to watch their practice, and eventually he stopped altogether.He leaned on the glass like a child going to the aquarium for the first time, admiring the magical world on the other side of the glass.

"So... so handsome..." he murmured.

"Soon you can be like them too," Cesar said.

"Really!" Roman's eyes twinkled like Christmas lights.

"As long as you study hard." Cesar smiled kindly.

Roman quickly wiped away the mist he sprayed on the glass.You're still as excited as a child at such an age, so be more reserved, Roman!

"When can I train with a steel sword like they do?" he asked.Although nylon swords are safe, steel swords are more attractive and attractive.

"You can do it today."

"……Hey?"

"Nylon swords are for beginners to practice. You can use steel swords directly at your level."

"You look too high on me!"

"It's okay, it's not sharpened, just be careful not to hit the 'vital part'."

Roman looked at his crotch and swallowed.

"What are you thinking? If you hit the throat, the back of the neck or the spine, you will still die." Cesar shook his head, as if feeling that Roman's imagination can only advance so far at the level of sex.

Roman blushed. "Let's go." But he stopped again when he passed by the lady with two swords.After watching it closely, he realized that the slender sword used by the lady had a disc-shaped guard, which was very similar to the epee in the three fencing events.

"It's like an epee, isn't it?" Cesar read his thoughts. "It's a swift sword, a sword that is specially used for duels and has no regard for battlefield use. The citizens of the Renaissance, especially the Italians, loved For street fighting, so you need a self-defense weapon that is easy to carry, so Xunjian was born. After all, the long sword is not convenient to tie around the waist, isn't it? No one wants to walk around with such a thing. There is a "sword" 'It's heavy enough." He chuckled, amused by his dirty joke, "The swift sword evolved into two weapons, the saber and the small sword. The saber you and Alexby tried out yesterday."

Without Cesar's explanation, Roman knew what kind of weapon it was.His memory is still fresh.

"Is the saber particularly difficult?" he asked. "Lindsay says Alex is the worst with a saber."

"On the contrary, the saber is one of the easiest weapons to learn. Alex is not good at it because he is stupid, and you can't match him."

Roman wanted to record this sentence and show it to Alex.When he thought of how the red-haired youth would blow up his hair, he looked forward to it.It turns out that bullying Alex is so interesting!No wonder Cesar is so passionate about it!

"Look over there." Cesar pointed.

Roman looked in the direction he pointed, and the black-haired coach who explained the game yesterday was also pointing to a female student.She held a saber in one hand, and wielded a sword that was thinner and smaller than the Swift Sword in the other.It was more like a needle than a sword.

"That is the small sword. As the duel gradually became a sport, the weapons in the duel were also improved into safe competitive props. The swift sword became the epee, the saber became the saber, the small sword became the foil, That's how modern fencing's triathlon came about."

Although Roman knew that fencing originated from duels in the Middle Ages, he never knew that the origin of the three events was actually like this.In the past, he only had a general impression of ancient swords—two-sided blades are swords, one-sided blades are knives, the long ones are called long swords, the short ones are called daggers, and the shorter ones are called daggers.It turns out that swords are also divided into so many categories.

It was with great difficulty that he reluctantly left the practice room, like a child leaving a Christmas window with an irritated heart.Cesar led him into a smaller practice room.Different from the bright and clean modern practice room, the decoration of this one is extremely gorgeous and retro.One wall is made of glass, and the other wall is made of mirrors; the left wall is covered with shields of various sizes and shapes, and each side is painted with family crests; the right wall is covered with swords.They are not the nylon swords that Roman used yesterday, but genuine steel swords.

Roman almost thought he had walked into the castle's arsenal.

Cesar took down a long sword from the wall and weighed it. "These weapons are all in my own collection. I will lend them to you for the time being. After you are proficient, you can buy a sword of your own according to your own needs."

He handed the sword into Roman's hand.Roman took the sharp weapon carefully, not knowing how to hold it, for fear of poking his foot.

"This is how to hold the long sword." Cesar went around behind Roman, held his wrist, and taught him to adjust his posture, "Use both hands. You are right-handed, so the right hand is held in front and the left hand is held in the back. Left-handed people can switch Come here. As long as you hold the sword with both hands, you must use this grip at any time. Other sword holding postures, such as single-handed sword and half-sword, we will talk about later."

Cesar's breath brushed against Roman's ears, making him itch all over.Roman felt his ears burn.He shook his head, wishing that his hair would cover his ears so that Cesar could not see him.

"When holding the sword in this posture, the blade facing outward is called the 'front edge', and the blade facing you is called the 'rear edge'. Try swinging it twice."

Roman imitated the Japanese samurai on TV, raised the long sword above his head, and slashed forward twice.The sword looked huge, but it was surprisingly light when swung.

"Is the sense of balance very good?" Cesar said proudly, "Many people think that medieval long swords are heavy and heavy, and they are smashed with iron bars when fighting. This is actually a misunderstanding. The sword of a long sword The blade is thin and sharp, and the center of gravity is located about ten centimeters above the gauntlet, using the principle of leverage to save effort, so it does not require much strength to swing it."

"It is very easy, but it is much heavier than the heavy sword. Uh, I know this seems to be nonsense. Of course, the real sword is heavier than the competitive tool. Will the swift sword be lighter?"

Cesar shook his head: "It's not much lighter. The weight of the swift sword is two to three times that of the heavy sword, and the length is about the same as that of the long sword, but the guard is shorter, the blade is longer, and the center of gravity is closer to the back. Because you used to practice heavy swords, I think swift swords or sabers may be more suitable for you. But you still have to learn from long swords. Long swords are the foundation of everything."

He himself also took down a long sword and drew a sword flower. "You're professionally trained in fencing, and the basics are much better than others. But don't get too complacent. Although fencing evolved from dueling, it's not the same thing at all. You basically have to relearn."

Interlaced like a mountain, two industries that look similar may have completely different principles.As a humble descendant of Chinese, Roman certainly understands this truth. "I know. Fencing is a modern sport, and fencing is a medieval martial art, right?"

"You can understand it that way, but it's not quite accurate."

"Eh? Why? Because the soldiers have been improved for security?"

"Of course it doesn't mean that. Modern sports must be more or less improved. You can't die every time you compete. I want to say that we don't know whether the technique of Bingzhu is the real medieval martial arts. The real medieval martial arts It has long been lost."

Roman froze for a few seconds, and then let out an earth-shattering scream: "Hey?! Then what the hell did I learn?!"