[open] time for the training montage

[okitactless]

Who: Yamato no Kami Yasusada and you!
Where: Menrva's school grounds; Tuesdays and Thursdays in the ballroom, Saturdays outdoors
When: Throughout April, beginning April 5th. Schedule here!
What: In a shocking turn of events, a sword spirit has offered to teach a swordfighting class. AMAZING.
Warnings: sparring, and Yamato



The basics

Since his suggestion for a sword class was sanctioned by Elsa, Yamato has been busy. Gathering supplies, searching for students and volunteers alike--a lot of effort has gone into preparations for this class.

The first class, and all subsequent Tuesday/Thursday classes, will take place in the ballroom. (Indoor shoes are required.) Introductions will be made, along with a few fun demonstrations of strikes, take-down methods, and other skills that will be covered in the class. Questions and suggestions are always acceptable.

With that out of the way, it's time to practice! Repetitive sets and form practice will make up the majority of Tuesday/Thursday classes. It can get tedious, but it's arguably the most important part of training, and Yamato is a strict and relentless teacher regardless of your level. Done with 50 reps of this strike? Great, time for 100 more! Think you've mastered this particular footwork? Time to trip you on your face! No mercy and no breaks until you fall down, or class is over.

The fun part

What would a sword class be without fighting? Wooden swords and protective gear have been provided. Usage of wooden swords is required, and protective gear is required for beginners and recommended for advanced students. Still, if you insist you don't need it, nobody's going to argue. Yamato won't hesitate to bruise or break bones either way.

Experienced fighters are encouraged to participate in demonstration matches, emphasizing the unique characteristics of their skills and styles. For practicing purposes, lower level students will be paired with more advanced fighters whenever possible. If there are no advanced partners available or a student is afraid for their life uncomfortable, lower level students will be paired together with supervision. A few training dummies have also been scrounged up for uneven numbers.

Competitive matches may take place on Saturdays, when the class is held outdoors. These will be 3 or 5 point matches, with each contact strike meriting 1 point. Students may challenge whomever they wish, Yamato included, as long as there is an advanced fighter around to referee and prevent death grave injuries.

The aftermath

The end of each class will involve a thorough cleaning of the ballroom-- and yes, it's just like it sounds. If your arms aren't about to fall off and you aren't covered in bruises, feel free to turn it into a competition! Races are fun, and the sooner it's done, the sooner you get to collapse. Food and beverages have also been provided outside the ballroom, so get some rest and chat with your fellow students. Group trips to some near shore restaurants for some post-practice bonding time are allowed and even encouraged. We're all comrades here, right? Right.

---


OOC notes:

-This is an open mingle for Yamato's sparring classes throughout the month! The first class will take place on April 5th, but feel free to use any date there is a class. Prose or brackets is fine!
-Tuesday and Thursday classes will take place in Elsa's ballroom, which means they'll be more restrained (practice sets and instructional sparring only). Please don't break the chandelier!
-Saturay classes are for competitive sparring matches, as well as anything a student would like to work on. This is where you can fly around and knock each other into trees and such.
-The class schedule is available for everyone to see, but Yamato has gone around recruiting and inviting people throughout March. Feel free to handwave getting an invitation if you'd like to come and play!
**NEW** -For anyone curious, Yamato practices and teaches Tennen Rishin Ryu style. I've linked some videos here if you want a visual reference!

Comments

[doestheickyjobs]

[Yeah, Ekko's fast. Axel spins, bracing the back of his blade with his hand to block that blow. Too bad the sword isn't as great a shield as a wheel might be. Ekko's blow slides along it instead of being blocked, and scores a glancing blow to Axel's left arm.

He swears, stepping back.]

Okay, one point to you.

[chronobreak]

[He smirks as he spins the sword for a moment, before putting it back into his fighting position.]

It sure was. Think I'll manage two in a row?

[doestheickyjobs]

Not if I've got anything to say about it!

[Axel doesn't wait for Ekko to make the first move this time: he darts towards the other man, blade held at the ready for a quick slash towards Ekko's side as he goes by. Forget this parrying thing. Axel's better when he can keep his distance in a fight, anyway: even if he's got a short-distance weapon, he'll do better if he gets to handle things the way he's used to. He's sure of it.]

[chronobreak]

[Blocking's never been something Ekko was very good at. He's more of the dodge-type. He hasn't had any time to recover, so he's hit.]

Tch. Alright. One point, you.

[doestheickyjobs]

That's more like it.

[Smirking obnoxiously, Axel falls back into a defensive stance, spinning his blade again before he takes a firmer grip of the hilt.

Hey, attacking first worked well for him last time: he's going to try it again, dashing at Ekko on a trajectory that'll leave him time for a quick slash before he's well past his opponent and out of retaliation range.]

[chronobreak]

[This time he's had enough time between his dash-blink move, to do it again.

He rolls out of the way of Axel's slash and close to where Axel will land. And then he'll jump to Axel's side and lead with his own slash.]

[doestheickyjobs]

Shi--

[Did that guy just teleport? Or did he move way faster than Axel was expecting? It's hard to tell, but either way, Axel did not expect him to already be where Axel was spinning on his heel to try a return attack after the slash missed.

Ekko's blade hits him hard across the ribs, and he swears again, backing off with his guard up.]

[chronobreak]

[Teleportation, being fast-- he's quick, either way.

The moment he lands the hit, he's already backing away, sword up and ready to at least make an attempt at blocking the next attack from Axel.]

[doestheickyjobs]

[Axel's not giving him time to rest and get ready for another devastatingly quick attack, not this time. As Ekko backs away, Axel's grip firms on his sword, and he dashes in again, a solid few paces away, lashing out at the full extension of his arm and his sword right as he passes. He's hoping to score a shallow graze. It doesn't have to be a solid hit to be a point.]

[chronobreak]

[He can't quite dodge out of the way of that, but he does attempt to roll out of the way.

It still manages a glancing blow, as scrambles away and gets back into position.]

[doestheickyjobs]

Two to two! Next one's for the winner.

[Axel spins on his heel, readying his sword, and -- well, hey. There's a way he's gotten both his points and it's not through careful swordplay. He dashes in again, swinging the wooden blade like he's chopping down grass instead of trying to smack Ekko across the legs.]

[chronobreak]

[He does his best to knock away Axel's blade, but careful swordplay isn't his strong suit either. While he makes an attempt to dodge, he's used that ability too recently to be as successful as he'd like. So Axel's swing hits his target, Ekko's shoulder.]

Man...

Get you back next time.

[doestheickyjobs]

Ha!

[Axel looks delighted, and mildly startled that it even worked. Seriously, he'd half expected this guy to pull out another magic teleporting move or something. He straightens up, offering a hand.]

We'll see about that next time, huh?

[Riding for a fall: it's not just a saying, it's a way of life.]

[chronobreak]

[Ekko only sulks for a moment, but he's a beginner when it comes to proper sword technique and it feels like he's missing half the things he should be able to do. What a weird feeling.

He takes the hand up, no need to go making enemies.]

We definitely will.

[doestheickyjobs]

And by then we'll both be better. Hey, show me how you did that zap! gone! thing.

[Axel waves his free hand vaguely to illustrate the speed of Ekko's movement.]

[chronobreak]

Zap... Gone...?

The roll and the jump?

[He's gotta be talking about the teleportation, right?]

Dunno if I can teach it, but I can do it again.

[doestheickyjobs]

Yes. That thing! I could've sworn you teleported.

[He didn't teleport. Did he? He just moved faster than Axel could follow, which is impressive enough to begin with. If it's a power, well then, that's just not fair.]

[chronobreak]

[He'll just kinda, roll to the side, away from Axel, and then essentially teleport back to him, tapping his shoulder.]

... I guess?

[doestheickyjobs]

... Try it a little slower.

[How did he -- Axel was looking for it that time and he still couldn't spot it!]

[chronobreak]

... I don't know if I can go slower.

[doestheickyjobs]

You're not actually teleporting, right?

[chronobreak]

... I have no idea.

I'm just doing what feels natural.

[doestheickyjobs]

[Axel shakes his head with a sigh, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. Well, this isn't gonna get him anywhere. The other guy probably just knows about his abilities from trial and error anyway, same as Axel.]

Well -- next time! I've just got to work on that trick a little myself first, see if I can figure out the secret: you know. Good match.

[chronobreak]

[That's absolutely true. Mostly he just knows he's very fast.]

You might, or you might have a different kinda trick.

Good match, see you again next week.