While talking, the two of them had made their way over to the gym where Zhu Yi was giving his courses. He greeted the woman at the front desk and then waved for Li Ming to follow him after a short introduction.
Li Ming nodded toward her and then silently followed Zhu Yi. He had never come to this gym before but judging from how it looked from the outside and the reception area, it seemed like a pretty big place that was suitable for courses like this. At the very least, there should be enough space for all the participants. He himself had never taken part in a course like that so he wasn’t sure what to expect but after everything Zhu Yi had told him before, he trusted in his judgment.
Soon, the two of them made it to the back of the building, past the rooms that were used for regular workouts, and into a corridor that seemed to run straight through the whole building, separating the front and the back from each other. There were doors lining the right-hand side in irregular intervals. Most likely, this was where the courses were being held.
Zhu Yi walked up to the first of them and patted it. “This is one of the smaller rooms that I use for one-on-one personal training. I don’t have many of those and I wouldn’t ask you to take any on either so you don’t have to worry about it. I just want to show you everything while we’re here so you can get a better feeling for what I’m actually doing.
“Well, you’ve heard but all the rooms are currently unoccupied so we can go and take a look. Would you like to?”
Li Ming didn’t mind and gave a nod before silently following him in to take a look around. Even though it really didn’t matter much to him directly, this was also a way of getting to know Zhu Yi better.
If they really started to work together later on, they would spend a lot more time together. At that point, it couldn’t hurt to know more about the other work he did. It would allow him to understand better what Zhu Yi was talking about.
Seeing the room, he understood why Zhu Yi had chosen this one for the one-on-one training. It was big enough to the point where it offered enough space for two people to move freely without needing to worry too much about their surroundings. At the same time, there wouldn’t be anybody else inside that might make the person training self-conscious or get in their way. For somebody who paid extra for personal training, this did seem like the perfect place.
Seeing Li Ming nod, Zhu Yi happily left the room again and went further down the corridor, past several doors before he stopped in front of one that was more distanced from the others. “The other rooms we just walked past are also for personal training.
“Not all of them are just for a single person or two. Some are also for smaller groups working together but I don’t deal with courses like that. I only do one-on-one training or bigger groups starting from ten people up.” He stopped at that and turned to Li Ming, looking a bit awkward. “Right, I didn’t actually tell you much that’s practical about the course.
“Actually, the self-defense courses are some of the most popular ones. We did anticipate that which is why we wanted to teach them together. With only one person, the courses have been really hectic, even though people usually team up. That is also why it’s becoming more urgent to find a new partner. I feel like I can’t teach people as well as I should.”
Li Ming nodded. Even though he had never participated in a course like that, he could imagine it. At the very least, he had taken part in professional seminars. The participants in those had a solid foundation. For Zhu Yi’s courses, that likely wasn’t the case. Naturally, his clients would need more of a hands-on approach.
Thinking about this, he was a little worried about whether he could help enough. But then, Zhu Yi had said that they could find ways to make it work and he believed that. So, for the time being, he should leave that matter be. Maybe there was also something he himself could do to prepare better.
Zhu Yi hadn’t intended to say much more and instead turned back to the door. “Anyway, from here on, you can find the bigger rooms. There are three in total. You just have to go further down to get to them but we are mostly in this one anyway.”
Opening the door, he stepped in first and motioned around. “Well, you can see that there isn’t much in here. It’s the kind of room that can be used for pretty much all kinds of training so they haven’t equipped it with much.
“I personally like this because my approach is one that just relies on using your own body. After all, that is the only thing you can be sure you’ll always have with you in case you’re attacked. I do want to do some lessons though where we’ll use props. For those, we either have to bring them from home or use the lockers. There is an extra locker room for staff members that we also have access to, by the way.”
Li Ming nodded even though he felt that this didn’t concern him all that much. Anyway, when it came to organizing the course, he was pretty sure that Zhu Yi would take care of all of it. He only needed to appear whenever the course was scheduled and that would be enough. But then, he did like Zhu Yi’s attitude of not keeping any information whatsoever from him. It made one feel welcome.
Zhu Yi didn’t bother explaining more, also feeling that right now, Li Ming probably wouldn’t care too much. It was better to let him get a feeling for everything first and then explain the details again at a later date when they had come to a decision.
He motioned back down the corridor instead, his lips hooking up in a smile. “Alright, since you’ve seen everything, would it be alright to have a look at your skills right now? Or would you like to prepare first?”
Li Ming naturally didn’t hesitate to agree. “No, right now is perfect. Anyway, that is what your final decision should rest on, right? So let’s get to it right away.”
