Chapter 103: Hit the Ground for Experience
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Jiao Yan Ran was very focused, showing care and patience to guide Meng Fan in good order. Before, Meng Fan had always heard that it was easy to develop the mind but not the limbs. Clearly, this was not the case with Jiao Yan Ran.
On the contrary, Meng Fan was now convinced that exercise made people smarter.
“Let’s learn the posture first.”
Jiao Yan Ran did not give Meng Fan much of a choice but directly selected a posture that she felt suited him most. She knew Meng Fan was trying to learn this last minute, so she didn’t bother teaching anything extra.
For a day, it was better to give a man a fish than teach him how to fish.
The time was too short. It was too hard to teach him to forage for food, so she would just have to feed him directly!
Standing then turning his back upwards was the best-suited position for Meng Fan, Jiao Yan Ran thought. Not that a lower position was not good, but Meng Fan was not suited to bending his back so far. To bend over wasn’t the end of the battle, for he had to come back up too, which would consume physical energy. The energy required for his muscles to work together properly depended on his physical activity!
Getting into position, his left arm retracted, Jiao Yan Ran made Meng Fan prepare the position several times to bring power to his body. At the same time, he slowly adjusted his throwing posture to find the most comfortable position.
“Grab my hand.”
After entering into her role, Jiao Yan Ran told Meng Fan to pull her hands without a hint of red showing on her ears, exuding a professional att.i.tude.
After securely grasping Meng Fan’s other hand, Jiao Yan Ran told him to keep his posture and use force.
Not only did one required strength in the hand when holding the ball, the other hand had to leverage the body and swing it in the right direction. It would help bring strength to the legs, waist, and abdomen.
If he just forced it, it would be hard to tell where the force was going, and where the strength from the legs and abdomen would come from.
After practicing grabbing onto Jiao Yan Ran’s hands, there was an anchor point for his power and weight. When Meng Fan swung his body, he could feel the power.
Jiao Yan Ran taught him a lot, but in a simple language that was easy to understand.
She had been very active as well. With her good physique, she was able to give Meng Fan the most intuitive effect.
At the same time, her eyesight was also very sharp. As she was guiding Meng Fan, she continued to discover issues with his posture and find ways to correct it.
“It’s too stiff here!”
“It’s too loose here!”
“You’ve got to stick this up!”
“Make bigger movements!”
“Don’t change your posture randomly!”
“Stay put!”
“This is the last push. You have to stick it out!”
“Tolerate it; scream if you have to!”
Jiao Yan Ran, who was still holding onto Meng Fan’s hand, had an incredible intuition regarding muscle activity. Once they started, it was easy to tell the difference between professional athletes and ordinary people.
If Meng Fan appeared to be too deformed or too stiff, or if he was too stiff or too soft and used his power improperly, Jiao Yan Ran could detect it immediately. She would tap his waist or kick his legs, directly pointing out the problem. Once it was made notice of, she would correct it in time.
Throughout this process, the teacher and student were both very serious. Everything Jiao Yan Ran had said to Meng Fan, she had no doubt regarding it. After all, the most evident was that there was something to be gained, and an outlet to use it.
But to w.a.n.g Ya Nan, who had been watching on the side, it was a different story.
‘Is this the same shy sweet little dot? She’s so fierce!’
‘Are all professional athletes this hardcore?’
‘She’s quiet and shy all the time but becomes crazy for love?’
She knew Jiao Yan Ran was interested in Meng Fan but not this much!
‘This could count as a kiss… right?’
‘And it was in the broad daylight, in front of everyone’s faces too!’
Or she was overthinking it, for she wasn’t the one driving the love train… but she was still riding it!
Jiao Yan Ran surprised w.a.n.g Ya Nan, and Meng Fan had surprised Jiao Yan Ran.
He was a capable learner, almost too fast when compared to a regular person!
Jiao Yan Ran naturally didn’t know Meng Fan’s shot put trial was a comprehensive test of the effects of all the attributes he obtained before.
Observational skills allowed him to catch Jiao Yan Ran’s pointers more quickly; imagination let Meng Fan gloss over each action in his mind before performing it; and most importantly, power. Power was not just pure added strength, but it also allowed him to understand his muscles and know how to exert the force.
Of course, his black magic running shoes played a big part in providing real-time physical data.
After ten to fifteen minutes, Jiao Yan Ran discovered Meng Fan’s posture and movements had met the standard!
Initially, she had not prepared to teach him how to slide, only asking him to pitch with his body in the same place. After all, sliding would increase the difficulty and impact on the body, knees, legs, and his movements. The more actions there were, the more complicated it would be.
After seven or eight minutes, Jiao Yan Ran looked at Meng Fan’s hands-on sliding practice, noticing his decent figure. A happy smile formed on her face. Her forehead and cheeks were gleaming with sweat, glowing in the setting sunlight.
“Once you’re familiar with the properties of the ball, you can begin practicing with the lead ball.”
Regardless of what kind of sports one partook in, one must first be familiar with all the props and equipment. It was the same with basketball and shot put as well.
The best way to become acquainted with a basketball was to dribble it, so the best way to become familiarized with a lead ball was to smash it frequently.
Hence, the next practice activity would be smas.h.i.+ng the ball.
Jiao Yan Ran let Meng Fan throw the ball towards the ground using the posture and methods he just learned. One was to help him familiarize with the contact and moment of separation between his palm and the ball. Two was for him to familiarize with the strength required at separation, and three allowed him to practice releasing the finger. The purpose of these was all to familiarize him with the ball.
After seeing Jiao Yan Ran’s demonstration, Meng Fan headed to the sandpit and began throwing the ball. Thump. Pick it up. Thump. Pick it up. Thump… To his surprise, each time he threw it, the experience for [G.o.d Tier Pitcher] shot up by one.
“Huh?”
After discovering this, he tried a different position and threw it down. It did not grow.
He returned to the shot put method. It went up.
After gaining about 10 points, he realized the numbers stopped increasing.
“Could one target only be hit 10 times?”
Meng Fan moved a little to the side and continued to hit it. It went up again.
He didn’t throw it every time, as it would stop increasing with a small deviation from one spot.
He put some more distance, realizing that the target range was generous.
After ten throws, it stopped increasing.
He confirmed that the same target could only be hit ten times from the same distance.
Then, what were the boundaries for the target range?
Meng Fan thought of a range then threw it outside. It did not increase.
He then imagined the entire track to be the target range and threw the ball. It did not increase.
Then, he imagined the one-meter radius surrounding him. It did not increase.
After a lot of trial and error, Meng Fan could only confirm that his experience would not increase under his absurd, excessive standards.
But during shot put, wasn’t it a bit too generous for the entire sandpit to be a target!
It was like throwing arrows into a vase. If one tossed it into a water tank, it would be ridiculous.
“Are you done? Try throwing one with a delay.”
Jiao Yan Ran was overjoyed to see Meng Fan follow her training so seriously.
“Uhm, I think I could practice for a bit longer.”
Meng Fan smiled at Jiao Yan Ran and continued to toss.
He stopped after he reached the 100 tosses required to complete the first task phase.
Points +100, accuracy +1.
“Take the four kg one and familiarize yourself to tossing the ball, and how to apply strength.”
Jiao Yan Ran gave her own small lead ball to Meng Fan, then asked for two more.
Meng Fan received it and carefully threw it according to the practiced routine. Maintaining a good posture was his first priority. It didn’t matter if it traveled far or not. Thump. The 4 kg ball landed eleven or twelve meters away with a soft push.
Meng Fan felt a clear difference from when he first began learning. Without retrieving the ball, Jiao Yan Ran handed him another one she had prepared. They could pick them up once he threw it all.
Time to test the accuracy!
Meng Fan recalled the power from the previous attempt and threw out again. It didn’t hit the first one, but the distance was quite close.
Jiao Yan Ran handed him a second one. Meng Fan threw it again. Still slightly off.
One more. This one hit.
He knew that when he had triggered it; it was a coincidence. But this time, it was really accurate.
Of course, it was hard to tell how much accuracy +1 points really counted for.
He practiced once again, switching to the men’s 7.26 KG weight.
“Shout out loud!”
Jiao Yan Ran gave the ball to Meng Fan, giving him a word of encouragement.
Hiya!
Meng Fan cooperated, letting out a shout before getting into position. He slid, shoot, pulled his fingers, and screamed again.
Thump.
With the posture and technique he practiced, his toss pa.s.sed 11 meters!