Net Ninja

No rivals here. Just you, a badminton racket and a shuttle machine that never gets tired. Seven belts run from white to black, Rokkyu to Shodan, each with three drills: answer the feeds, land shots in the lit zone, and smash the lobs. Pass all three and you tie on the next belt. Advice from a brown belt: • Watch the red ink ring and get there early; the machine moves you from corner to corner. • NET wants a drop, MID a smash, DEEP a clear. The key you need lifts and glows red. • On smash drills, get under every lob and hit it while it is still above your head. • Chase streaks. Ten in a row earns a feat, and shuriken show how well you passed. • Spend ki on gis such as Storm, Ember or Sakura, and on ink trails for the shuttle. The Journal logs your last twenty sessions as a comic strip, each stamped PASS or FAIL. No adverts, no account, no purchases: ki is earned on the mat, offline, on phone or tablet. The dojo sets no daily chores, but the sensei always has a lesson for your next drill. Take one drill a day, come back tomorrow for the next lesson, and keep climbing until the black belt is tied around your waist.