The Match (MRU writing exercise)

[This is a writing exercise practicing MRU (Motivation-Reaction Units) as a form of maintaining tension. A MRU is an exchange of paragraphs used to create tension in a scene by oscilating between an objective perspective of a crisis/dilemma/call to action and a subjective reaction]

The boxer launched himself towards Jackson before the metallic echo of the round bell had time to fade. His hulking form was in front of him in an instant, standing a full head taller than Jackson, his face contorted into a brutish sneer, a left hook already sailing out towards Jackson’s jaw.

Jackson felt nothing: no panic, no grip of fear, just a peculiar coldness and the numbing calm of inevitability. His body moved on instinct alone. His feet shuffled him forward to soften the blow, his right fist clenched next to his ear to absorb the impact, and his chin tucked into the protective arc of his shoulders.

The blow landed with a loud, ineffectual slap on the meat of Jackson’s extended shoulder. The attacking boxer’s expression changed to shock as he watched his trademark left hook glance off of the much smaller boxer as if it were nothing. In that moment, the boxer let his right hand drop just a few inches.

The numb feeling Jackson had before was gone, replaced by the feral excitement of a wolf sensing the kill. His feet made the change in stance before he saw the opening, and his left jab was already flying outwards when the boxer’s hand began to drop. As soon as the glove touched his opponent’s face, Jackson knew it would be devastating. It cracked at the bridge of the nose, right where all the nerves and fragile capillaries are, eliciting an immediate spurt of blood. A second jab erupted from Jackson as quick as the first, followed by a heavy right. He was surgical in his movements, targeting the weakest points on his opponent's head, the sensitive cartilage of the ear, the sweet spot on the chin that made men dizzy when hit just right, the part of temple which controls equilibrium. All of these he struck with a blur of sharp, precise movements, feeling a rising wave of electric delight as each blow found its way home.