thenearshore | [open] time for the training montage

Entry tags:

[open] time for the training montage

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Why, hello! It's good to see you here. Flynn, wasn't it?

[Hakkai bows politely to him, tucking his sword under one arm, and smiles as he straightens up again. He's not wearing any armor at all; it's easier to move fast without it, and he has enough confidence in his skills not to worry about being too badly injured.]

Would you be interested in a match?

Yes. Hello to you as well.

[Flynn dips his head in acknowledgement to Hakkai. There is even a small smile replacing his usual stoic expression.]

I would be willing to have a match with you.

Ah, wonderful! I'm afraid I'm usually an unarmed fighter, so please forgive any errors...

[Hakkai steps back, glancing around: yes, they should have enough room here for a reasonable match. He takes his sword in hand, absently judging its weight, and falls into a relaxed-looking defensive posture.]

[It would be pretty bad if someone in between them while they were sparring. Flynn brings the sword up in his right hand and takes a stance as well.]

How many points?

[Since that was the system they had been told would be used.]

First to three?

[Hakkai keeps his sword up, watching with interest to see how Flynn will attack. He prefers to understand his opponent's style first, when he's unfamiliar with his weapon, and when he can't simply end the fight with immediate and overwhelming force.]

[Fair enough. Flynn nods his head again to signal that he was fine with that. Now, it was time for the match to begin. He doesn't make any movements straight away or take his eyes off of Hakkai. When he does finally move, it's a simple dash forward and swinging his sword in a vertical strike.]

[It's a simple attack. He's testing me, Hakkai thinks, and turns to the side, outside the arc of the blade. Somehow, being attacked with a sword feels more familiar than responding with one, and he'd rather rely on his instincts to evade than try the more challenging task of parrying.

At least, he'd rather do that when there are points riding on the outcome.

His own sword licks out in a quick slash towards Flynn's side while the attack is still coming down into the place he'd just been.]

[Hakkai's movements are quick. That's something Flynn makes note of as his strike was evaded. He winces slightly as the sword connects with his side, the guard he had put on before hand absorbing the brunt of it. Because of where he had been with his momentum, he hadn't been able to adjust his trajectory to block it.

The first point went to Hakkai but the match wasn't over just yet. He steps away quickly before coming back in for another hit, this time being mindful not to to do anything that would leave a huge hole in his guard like before.]

[No more testing, it seems. This is a more cautious attack, with Flynn's guard up; Hakkai keeps moving, sliding out of the way of the attack, and lashing out at Flynn's arm. He doesn't expect this blow to hit; it's more of a feint, trying to force Flynn into a retreat. Can he gain the momentum of the match back? If he's caught in a real exchange of blows, his inexperience with this weapon will certainly sink him. As long as he can rely on evading, though, he'll see opportunities eventually.]

[Flynn steps back so as to avoid the strike. It was easy to do but then he goes back in for another attempted hit, aiming for his opponent's side this time. All it would take was one wrong move on either his or Hakkai's end and another point would be scored.]

[Hakkai follows the retreat, stepping inside Flynn's guard with his blade extended to strike at the other man's chest. It's a moment too late when he notices that Flynn's moving into an immediate return blow, but he's committed to his attack already. If he moves away he'll lose his chance of landing the attack; and he's one point ahead, he thinks.

Maybe he should've worn armor after all. But he'll take the blow.]

[His hit connects and he gets a point with the trade-off of Hakkai getting another hit on him as well. 2 to 1. He'll have to step up his game now. Flynn backs off again before taking a more aggressive action, aiming to get Hakkai into a deadlock.]

[Flynn's retreat has given Hakkai time to re-set his feet, but he's still not used to the grip on his sword; as Flynn comes in, forcing a parry, Hakkai's blade locks against his and his wrist is caught at an awkward angle. He can't exert the right amount of force, and Flynn's easily able to press his blade back.

Hakkai tries to disengage with a circular motion, letting Flynn's blade slip along his and off to the side. It's dangerous -- he's open on that side -- but as soon as their weapons aren't engaged he's leaping back to make the opening as brief as possible.]

[They're split seconds but ones Flynn intends to make use of. His sword slides along Hakkai's from the motion the man does. But when he sees the opening presented to him, no matter how brief, he goes for it in the hopes to match them point for point.]

[Flynn's blade glances against Hakkai's unprotected side, and he sighs, raising one finger.

Well -- he'd seen that coming.]

Two - two! Match point.

[And he falls back into a defensive stance, waiting, this time. He only needs one opportunity, and it'll be easier to lure Flynn into giving it than to attack directly, he thinks.]

[Success. Now they were evenly matched. Flynn stays at the ready as Hakkai retreats to re-orient himself. It's a bit of a tense moment as Flynn watches, waiting to see what Hakkai would do. But it quickly becomes clear that the other man isn't going to be the first to strike once again. He was waiting for Flynn to make a move.

Nothing to it then. Otherwise they would probably be standing here for a good long while. Flynn slowly moves like he's going to circular then swings his sword once again at his opponent.]

[Hakkai darts to the side as the blade comes down, striking out at Flynn's shoulder with his own weapon. He's not risking binding their blades against each other again. Leaving Flynn's attack unparried means he's free to strike back and block Hakkai's blow, but if Hakkai's fast enough, he hopes, he'll make it through.]

[Hakkai is fast, that much is for certain. Flynn is barely able to bring his sword up to block it, though it's at an angle that he can't exert any force that would throw the other off-balance. So he moves again, just pushing back enough to give himself some more space.]

[Their blades meet with a crack of wood against wood, and Hakkai holds the position for a moment, pushing back against Flynn's weapon, before disengaging and tumbling down into a roll to his right. He comes smoothly back up to his feet and lunges in again, hoping to catch Flynn by surprise.]

[It does and, without much thought into it, Flynn is bringing his sword up to block it as fast as he could. But with how fast Hakkai has shown to be, he may not be able to keep him from getting the final point.]

[Flynn's blade crashes against Hakkai's, but Hakkai's hands are in a better position this time; he puts his weight behind the blade, locking their weapons together, and starts trying to push Flynn's back. It won't take much movement in either direction for one of them to be struck by the other's weapon, and that will be the end of the match.]

[And Flynn pushes back against Hakkai as best as he could despite the angle he now had his sword at. It's a reverse tug of war now with the both of them trying to push their swords across the distance and earn the final decisive point. His eyes narrow when he starts to lose ground, before deciding to shift his feet in hopes that he'd be in a position for better leverage.]

[As Flynn shifts his feet, strengthening his position, Hakkai twists his sword to disengage and tries to strike over Flynn's blade. Before his sword can make contact, though. Flynn's dislodged weapon bangs against his wrist -- a glancing touch, but enough to count, and Hakkai breaks off his attack with a sigh.]

Ah -- that's the match!

Thank you.

[He bows, politely.]

[And just like that it was over. Flynn bows his head slightly back to Hakkai after lowering his sword to rest back at his side.]

You fought well.

As did you! Perhaps we could try again later. I'll have to redeem myself, ha ha.

[The laugh sounds just a little artificial. Hakkai's smile is realistic enough, though. It's a shame that technique didn't work, but now at least he knows better for next time.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[open] time for the training montage

[Competitive]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject