📅 TIME & PLACE
Date: January 20 – January 27, 2020
Day: Monday to Monday
Location: Dragon MMA Gym, Various Training Sites Across Seoul, & Ji-Ho's Home 🇰🇷
📢 THE MORNING AFTER
The sun had barely peeked over the Seoul skyline when Ji-Ho's alarm blared at 4:30 AM on Monday morning. His body ached all over – a good kind of ache, he told himself, the feeling of muscles growing stronger from use. He'd spent most of Sunday replaying his spar with Seung-Min in his head, especially that moment when he'd rolled into the Imanari Roll and heard his opponent tap out.
But as he pulled on his training gear, the weight of what Coach Kim had said settled heavy in his chest: You need to tell your family about this.
He crept quietly out of his room, trying not to wake anyone. His mom was usually up by 5 AM to prepare breakfast for the family, but today she was already in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and looking at something on her phone.
"Ji-Ho? What are you doing up so early?" she asked, turning to look at him – and her eyes immediately fell on his training clothes, the Dragon MMA Gym logo clearly visible on his hoodie.
His heart sank. There was no way to hide it now.
"Mom… I need to tell you something," he said, pulling out a chair and sitting down across from her.
❤️ THE CONVERSATION
By the time his dad, Hye-Jin, and Ye-Eun had filed into the kitchen – drawn by the sound of serious voices – Ji-Ho had already explained everything: how he'd started training at Dragon MMA Gym, how he'd been studying combat sports for years, how Coach Kim wanted him to enter the Road FC amateur tournament in Busan next month.
The room was silent for a long moment after he finished speaking.
"Fighting?" his dad said finally, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Kim Seong-Ho's son wants to be a fighter? After everything we've done to give you a good education, a stable future?"
"I know you want me to be an engineer, Dad," Ji-Ho said quietly, his hands clenched in his lap. "And I'm still good at math, still doing well in school. But this… this is what makes me happy. This is what I'm passionate about. Coach Kim says I have talent – he fought in PRIDE FC, he knows what he's talking about."
Ye-Eun stepped forward, her expression unreadable. "Let me see what you've got," she said suddenly. "In the backyard. Right now."
They moved outside to the small concrete area behind the house. Ye-Eun tied her hair back and assumed a taekwondo stance – her movements sharp and practiced after years of training.
"Show me your stance," she said.
Ji-Ho did as he was told, shifting between orthodox and southpaw smoothly. Ye-Eun nodded slightly, then threw a quick front kick that he dodged by stepping to the side. She followed up with a punch that he blocked with his forearm, then countered with a jab that grazed her shoulder.
She stepped back, a small smile crossing her face. "Not bad. You've got good reflexes and decent form. But taekwondo is nothing like MMA – you know that, right?"
"I know," Ji-Ho said. "That's why I'm training so hard. Coach Kim's bringing in someone special to help me with my cardio and endurance – Coach Kang. He used to train fighters for the UFC."
His mom walked outside, wiping her hands on her apron. "We're not happy about this, Ji-Ho," she said, her voice soft but firm. "We're worried about you getting hurt. But we can see how important this is to you. We'll give you three months – until the tournament in Busan. If you're serious about this, really serious, we'll support you. But school still comes first."
Ji-Ho felt tears prick at his eyes. "Thank you," he whispered. "I won't let you down."
🏃♂️ MEET COACH KANG
Two days later, on Wednesday morning, Ji-Ho arrived at Dragon MMA Gym to find a lean, wiry man in his late 40s setting up cones and agility ladders on the parking lot outside. He had short gray hair and eyes that seemed to see everything – even when he wasn't looking directly at you.
"Kim Ji-Ho?" the man said without turning around. "I'm Kang Min-Sik. Coach Kim asked me to work on your conditioning. They tell me you've got good talent, but talent doesn't mean anything if you can't last five rounds in the cage."
Coach Kang – or just Kang, as he insisted everyone call him – had an impressive resume. He'd trained fighters for organizations across the world: UFC, ONE Championship, Bellator, even worked with endurance coaches for Olympic wrestlers. His specialty was building cardio and stamina that could carry fighters through the toughest matches.
"Your current routine is okay for a beginner," Kang said, walking Ji-Ho through his assessment. "30-minute runs, bodyweight exercises – that's fine to start with. But if you want to be a champion, you need more than fine. You need to be able to keep moving, keep striking, keep grappling when your opponent is already gasping for air."
And so began the most intense week of Ji-Ho's life.
💪 THE CONDITIONING PROGRAM
Kang designed a custom program that pushed Ji-Ho to his limits every single day – sometimes twice a day.
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY – MORNING SESSIONS (5:00 AM – 7:30 AM)
They'd start at the gym parking lot with agility drills – weaving through cones, running ladder patterns, side shuffles and high knees that worked every muscle in Ji-Ho's legs and core. Kang would time him on every drill, pushing him to shave just a fraction of a second off each attempt.
"Speed isn't just about how fast you run," Kang explained as Ji-Ho struggled through his third set of ladder drills. "It's about how quickly you can change direction, how efficiently you can move your feet. Demetrius Johnson didn't become the best flyweight in history just because he was fast – he was efficient."
After agility work came the endurance runs. But these weren't just regular jogs – they were interval training sessions that took them through the hills of Gangnam District. One minute of all-out sprinting up a steep hill, followed by two minutes of easy jogging down. Repeat for an hour.
Ji-Ho had always thought he had good endurance – he'd run track in middle school, after all. But by the end of the first morning session, he was collapsed on the grass, gasping for air while Kang stood over him with a water bottle.
"Get up," Kang said firmly. "We're not done yet. Champions don't quit when they're tired – they push through."
The final part of the morning session was circuit training at the gym – burpees, mountain climbers, battle ropes, rowing machine sprints. Each exercise was done for 45 seconds with only 15 seconds of rest between them, repeated for five full rounds. Takeshi would sometimes join them, having switched his morning kickboxing sessions to train alongside Ji-Ho.
"Is he always this tough?" Takeshi asked one morning, collapsing next to Ji-Ho after their final circuit.
"Worse," Ji-Ho managed to say between breaths, but he was smiling. Even though every muscle in his body screamed for rest, he could already feel himself getting stronger.
TUESDAY, THURSDAY – AFTERNOON SESSIONS (4:30 PM – 7:00 PM)
These sessions focused on fight-specific endurance – simulating the demands of an actual MMA match. They'd start with 20 minutes of continuous striking – hitting pads with Coach Lee while moving nonstop around the ring. Every 30 seconds, she'd switch from boxing pads to kick pads to Thai pads, forcing Ji-Ho to adjust his technique on the fly.
Then came grappling endurance – rolling with different training partners for five-minute rounds with no rest in between. Seung-Min would often be his partner, and even though he'd tapped to Ji-Ho's submission just days earlier, he pushed him hard every single time.
"Your cardio is getting better," Seung-Min said one day after their third straight round of rolling. "You used to slow down after two minutes – now you're still going strong at five."
The final part of these sessions was what Kang called "combat simulation" – Ji-Ho would alternate between striking pads for two minutes, then grappling with a partner for two minutes, repeating the cycle for 20 minutes straight while Kang shouted instructions and timed every movement.
"Keep your hands up! Don't drop your guard just because you're tired!"
"Move your feet! You're standing still – that's how you get hit!"
"Breathe! If you can't breathe, you can't fight!"
SATURDAY – LONG ENDURANCE RUN (7:00 AM – 9:30 AM)
Every Saturday morning, Kang would take Ji-Ho and a small group of fighters on a long run through different parts of Seoul – sometimes along the Han River, sometimes through the winding streets of Bukchon Hanok Village, sometimes up to Namsan Mountain for the steep inclines and uneven terrain.
On their first long run, they covered 12 kilometers. Ji-Ho thought he was going to die – his legs felt like lead, his lungs burned, and he had to stop twice to catch his breath. Kang didn't yell at him or push him harder – he just waited patiently, then ran alongside him for the last two kilometers, talking about the mental side of endurance.
"Endurance isn't just physical, Ji-Ho," he said as they ran along the river path. "It's mental too. When your body tells you to stop, you have to tell it 'not yet.' Mijaín López – the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time – used to run twice a day, every single day, even on Christmas. He said the difference between good and great is what you do when no one's watching."
By the end of the week, Ji-Ho had run over 60 kilometers, done hundreds of circuit training reps, and rolled for more than three hours total. He was exhausted, sore, and his feet were covered in blisters – but he'd never felt more alive.
✨ THE PAYOFF
On Monday morning, exactly one week after starting with Coach Kang, they ran their usual interval hill session. This time, Ji-Ho not only completed all the sprints without stopping – he beat his previous times by nearly 10 seconds on every single hill.
After the run, Kang had him do a fight simulation – 20 minutes of alternating striking and grappling. At the end, while other fighters were gasping for air, Ji-Ho was still moving smoothly, his breathing steady.
"Good," Kang said, nodding in approval. "You're adapting faster than I expected. Your body is learning to use oxygen more efficiently, your muscles are building endurance fibers, and your mind is getting used to pushing through discomfort. This is exactly what you need for the tournament – fighters often win not because they're more talented, but because they can keep going longer than their opponent."
As Ji-Ho packed up his gear to head to school, Takeshi walked over with a bottle of sports drink.
"Dude, you're like a different person," Takeshi said. "Last week you could barely keep up with the morning runs – now you're leading the pack."
Ji-Ho smiled, taking a long drink. "Coach Kang says endurance is built one step at a time. Every run, every drill, every round of rolling – it all adds up."
He looked at his phone and saw a text from his mom: Made you extra lunch today – lots of protein for your training. Be careful out there, okay?
A warm feeling spread through his chest. His family might not fully understand his dream yet, but they were supporting him. Coach Kim, Coach Park, Coach Lee, and Coach Kang were all investing their time and knowledge in him. Takeshi had become a good friend and training partner. Seung-Min was pushing him to be better every day.
The Road FC tournament was still a month away. He still had so much to learn – more about striking, more about grappling, more about the mental side of fighting. But as he walked to school, his legs strong and his mind clear, he knew he was exactly where he needed to be.
He was on his way – one step, one drill, one training session at a time – to becoming the champion he'd always dreamed of being.
[END OF CHAPTER 6]