Alok, I know that you're strong and you know boxing… are you choosing boxing as your career, or is there another reason?
"Boxing as a career? Nah," Alok said. "It's not like I learned from some coach because I wanted to become a boxer. I just saw someone defeat seven men alone… with just his fists. And I heard him say, 'A man should always use his fists.'"
"Wow, so you learned boxing because of that man? Who is he? What's his name?"
I asked him one question after another.
"Hey, calm down first, kid," Alok said. "That man I saw was in a TV series. And by the time I understood that it's not only fists that can win fights… it was already too late. I already loved swinging my fists."
"So how did you become this powerful, then, if that was the case?" I asked.
"I trained on my own. Strength training, stamina training, speed. everything I learned by myself."
"I swing 100 punches with each hand every day."
Every day, I run 10 kilometers.
I do 100 sit-ups.
and 100 push-ups - 25 each of 4 sets:
Standard push-up, just warming-up.
Knuckle push-up to strengthen the wrist.
Reverse grip push-up to harden the hand.
Archer push-up for stability.
"And I watch official boxing matches and try their moves. But for now, Krishanu, you will only do the standard push-ups until you can hit a 100. Then you'll move to knuckle push-ups."
Alok continued, "But I also have a question for you, Krishanu. Where did you learn those techniques you used against Karan and me?"
"Those elbows and knee strikes?" I asked. "Then let me ask you something first, bro."
"While you are practicing boxing, you know what your next move will be while fighting because you have the technique. But for an ordinary person, it's instinct — and most of the time, that instinct goes wrong against a skilled fighter like you."
"It's the same for me too… but I aim for vital points like the nose, throat, and heart with Impactful strikes. And to generate power, I use joints so that I don't damage myself too much."
"I figured out where it hurts the most-and from which angles-by testing on my own body."
"WTF—are you insane!?" said Alok. "You hit your own body!?"
"No—not like that!" I said quickly. "You're misunderstanding something. I hit, but not too hard. Like hitting your chin lightly — it hurts, right? But what if you hit it from a specific angle, it can be deadly. I find that specific angle inside my head ".
"And for the fancy moves like the kick I used on you… I imagined it in my head. 'What if I hit like this?' It's just… a feeling that tells me to do it."
"As I thought," Alok said. "You're a talented guy… an insane one, too."
"Alok, I want another favor. Can you do it?" I asked.
"Another favor? Look, kid, me training you is already enough. What else do you want?" he asked.
"That day when you were fighting me, you were holding back right? I want you to show me your full force. So, I can understand what limit I have to surpass."
"So you want me to show my full power. and you want to surpass it?" Alok repeated. "Alright then. I'll punch this tree-but only once. I'll show you my full-power raw strength punch, as if I only have one move."
"This goes like this:
Left leg in front of the right… close your right fist to your waist… lean your body to the right, bending slightly down… throw your fist with a twisting motion of 180 degrees… then bend your body to left…
"And the result will be like this."
From Krishanu's POV—
THHUUUDDD— SHAKE—SHAKE—
The moment Alok's fist hit the trunk, the entire tree shook and leaves fell around.
Most shocking of all - there was a fist-shaped dent in the trunk.
The wood where his fist landed was shrunk inward by almost a centimeter.
This is the raw power that Alok is capable of, it seems.
If he had hit my chest like that—with momentum—I would have had my ribs broken.
Worst case… my heart could've stopped.
I would've been dead.
"It's a fixed target, that's why I'm also standing," Alok said. "If it were a moving target, I would take a step forward with my right foot and stabilize with the left to generate more momentum. With that, I can send a tough opponent flying 5 meters. And if he's weak, he'll collapse instantly."
"You know the difference between us now? You cannot strike hard surfaces like trees yet. First strengthen your wrist and knuckles.
"Don't take it too hard, Krishanu. It's only your second day of stamina training—and that too the basic level. When you can do all four types of push-ups, you'll be more powerful than now. After that, we start pain tolerance training."
"But Alok, you still haven't answered one thing," I said.
"If you're not becoming a boxer… why do you train this hard?
Sigh—
In a soft tone filled with optimism, he said:
"It's nothing grand. I just want to become stronger. Right now, I'm ranked 5th in my school. I want to surpass them… beat them… and bring back the old school, where fighting wasn't everything. A peaceful time."
"What—your school has a ranking system based on strength?" I asked, shocked. "That's school violence! Aren't teachers doing anything? In my school, when I beat four students, all of us got suspended. Isn't there punishment?"
"It's not surprising that you beat four guys alone," Alok said. "And yes, the ranking system is real."
Teachers? What do you expect from a tier-2 government school? Even if someone reports bullying, teachers ignore it. And those bastards bully the guy again afterward.
Suspension? For guys like them, that's not punishment. Not at all.
"Everything changed after the new principal came… and his son, who is ranked 1st. He's f*cking strong. And the two guys around him too."
"Now the school is divided into two groups:
1. TROOP — led by Rank 1, 2 and 3.
2. REBEL — led by myself, Rank 5, and friends.
Rank 4 is independent.
"I know this will be over next year… but before that, I want to beat that Rank 1. So no one repeats the same violence again."
"For that, I need Rank 4 on my side."
"That's it. I can only explain this much to an outsider. Sorry, but I don't want you getting into trouble because of me… and you're not on the same level as them."
"That's it for today. Now run back home. It's 6:15 already. Bye."
"Okay… bye," I said.