Valentin seemed to sense my internal spiral. He frowned at me. I couldn’t tell if he was upset or not. “Have you had this feeling with someone?” he asked.
I opened and closed my mouth, unsure of what to say. “No,” I decided on. I spit it out quickly and cringed at how fast I said it.
Valentin looked at, trying to size up if I was lying or not. He must’ve ignored it, regardless, as he continued on with the training. He motioned towards the mat and took a defensive stance.
“Right, so this is the stance you want to be in for sparring,” his knees were slightly bent and hands held up at about his chest. “It’s a good athletic stance that will allow you to make quick moves towards or away from your opponent.”
I nodded in agreement and took the stance to mirror him. Slowly, Valentin started t
