I was exhausted and ready to say 'enough'. If I did, Master Giaccomo would smirk, nod and tell me to leave his school and never bother him again. I agreed to try one last time, knowing the result would be the same... and, to my great surprise, it wasn't. He hit me in a pattern of well-executed, fast slashes – and I was able to block them all. I didn't even put much thought into it, I simply acted on my instinct. I got caught in the rhythm of it, so to speak.
Giaccomo took a step back and for the first time he smiled. It was just a small acknowledgment of my success, but to me it was like a wide grin of fatherly pride. 'Finally', he said. 'Your body is starting to understand. You can see the patterns, but instead of overthinking your reaction, you trust your instincts. Good. Now...'
He hit me once more, a hard thrust straight into my chest that took my breath away and sent me straight down to the ground. ‘You still have much to learn, so don’t get too cocky’, my master said. But from that moment on I knew that I was finally on the path to becoming the great swordsman I am today.