Chapter 272 - 272. Constant Combo
Chapter 272 - 272. Constant Combo
"Shouldn't Asher be truing Janes' punches against her? What is he doing?" Sammy was the first to ask this out loud. The only two that had any real theory as to why Asher wasn't were Art and Cara.
"I bet he is too evenly matched with Jane." Louis sounded sure that this was it. The two they were watching were the undisputed tops in the group. It would only make sense if they were strong enough to pin each other down in a way.
??"I feel like Asher may have just been lucky and now he can't use the style. What if he never knew the style?" Laura was afraid of this possibility because that would mean Asher wasn't as over powered as she had assumed. It was just a difference in experience between him and her.
" Any other ideas?" Art looked around and landed on Jackson.
"Is Asher trying to draw the match out like you did?" Jackson's theory wasn't bad and made sense. However, Art shook his head to signal no.
"Asher wouldn't draw out the fight with Jane since she had similar stamina to him. The three of us have been training together and under Cara so we have similar stamina due to that." Art pointed this out and also took note that the pair had been sparring for nearly ten minutes already making it the longest match yet.
"Why isn't Asher using throws? He should be able to, right? They are like his signature." Louis was sure that there was something holding Asher back and was desperately searching for the key detail to find the reason.
"They both are but they know that the other can counter every throw they know so if they use it they are basically giving up. None of you have learned counters to counters yet. It's like being stuck halfway through and giving up because you assume you know it all when there is a major secret around the next corner." Cara was quick to cover this point.
Yet this was still not the reason that Asher was not using Jane's punches against her. "Should we tell them?" Art looked at Cara for approval since he knew it might be better for them all to think on their own.
"You can, I explained the last point. It's only fair that you get one too." Cara conceded to Art who smiled wider than usual.
"The reasons Asger isn't using the momentum against her is simple. Jane is hitting him too softly." Art let these words rest in the air for a few moments until Louis broke the silence.
"Wait, so she is moving that fast but barely hitting him?" He was stunned. This looked like an all out battle of martial arts moves but in realism, Jane wasn't even hitting Asher.
"It's not like Asher is hitting Jane either. Can't you see that her clothes barely even ruffle after he strikes?" Cara pointed out yet another supporting detail.
"Why aren't they sparring for real then? Shouldn't they be going full force?" Laura was trying to figure this out and wanted the answer as soon as possible.
"If they go all out and Asher starts to slip and fall in to the rag doll style, won't he hurt Jane and also end up using his powers more unintentionally?" Sammy had caught on to the reasoning.
"Exactly, Asher can't go all out, or else he will lose the variable experience of testing the moves on a tough opponent. Jane on the other hand knows if she goes all out then she will be subject to Asher's luck completely and fail in beating him. This is a match of move proficiency over physique." Art summed it up perfectly.
"Hey, shouldn't we watch this more carefully? Asher and Jane are combining combos we haven't even thought about yet." Jackson was the only one completely focused on the match instead of conversing too much.
"When did you learn to deflect and counter punches? I thought it was only Art and I practicing that until Louis Ana Sammy wanted to learn." Asher wasn't surprised at all since he knew Jane would easily catch up even if she didn't know a move.
"Cara taught me and said I needed to know how or I would get beat in seconds. You should try asking her for more. You know she says you never rely on her and barely talk to her most of the time. But she said you do that to your mom too."
Asher knew Jane was right and that he had been pushing them off a lot. It was an effect from his previous memories that just wouldn't shake just yet. But it was something he could actively work on. Jane released herself a little seeing Asher nod before jumping back in to their exchange.
" You think you can beat me though?" Jane had a feeling she could beat Asher since she had even practicing her moves more and more. However, she did not know that Asher had been practicing more than just moves.
"No, I know I can beat you." Asher dropped his level and whipped his arm around in to a right hook. Jabe easily dodged the slow move and was ready to counter but Asher had a kick coming in his rotation.
Asher had practiced his combinations constantly while doing footwork shadow tag. Now he could show off the strength he was building.
His moves had almost no pause and flowed which his rag doll style. If any who had not experienced this saw what was happening they would think he was falling and tripping in to moves. His power was still reserved but he wasn't stopping.
Jane felt the pressure build from constant attacks and could t help but feel cornered. Every time she would try to attack she would face another punch or an elbow. When she would try to block or counter Asher would already be turning and kicking or sending a knee at her. She had no room.
After many steps back Jane found herself nearly up against the wall to the gym. She had started in the middle and been constantly forced backwards. The constant moves could have kept her on her toes but she hadn't been able to think clearly and change the direction of her footwork.
Asher lashed out with a punch and softly tapped the wall behind Jane's head. "Great match. I had a lot of trouble with those blocks at first." Jane wanted to feel bad that she lost but seeing Ashers' sincere smile broke away any frustration.
"The last combination you used was really cool too!" Jane couldn't help but react on instinct and lean in leaving them just an inch apart. The two realized their positions and jumped back.
Unfortunately, Jane was blocked by the wall and ended up with her back flat to it while Asher rushed away.
"Bro! What was that just now?! It was epic!" Art ran over to get the details since he had yet to see Asher use his insane combo until today.
"It's just a constant combo using the momentum I generate. It's one of those conservation of energy things I guess? Basically, I start it off and keep letting my body whip around with me to force me to move to the next attack without any stops. It is tough on my joints from the twisting but super effective." Asher had thought of better ways to do this but when he made the combo too stiff it became very slow.
"You used the combo Art taught me but attend an upper cut too. I think that was exactly what I needed to see." Jackson was glad to see the boxing style influencing Ashers' moves as well since he was trying to learn it.
"Oh yeah, Art and I practice together so I need to know that. Honestly, my moves are a weird combination of everyones' I have ever trained with. It's weird how it all came together." Asher realized he was slowly losing the chance to have a specialty set of moves and was instead getting a very broad selection.
"Having a lot of moves is better than a few if you learn them all properly. You can counter anyone who focuses on a particular move as a core." Cara had seen this many times. Someone who focused on only punches would end up beaten by another who focused on only kicks. It was all too common.
"You can check out the video later. I bet you two will learn a lot since you both went through every move you know other than throws. In the meantime, we have some cardio to do before we have the super power practice along with sparring." Cara knew that everyone would keep talking through the alarm that had just begun to sound. However, she was not going to let them escape the cardio training.
"Art, we will do more super power training later so don't burn yourself out on the last hour." Asher was sure to let Art know that he would help train more later since Art was limited for now. This was a public area and they would be foolish to believe that the fact Art had a different super power than lead control wouldn't be shared around by onlookers.