okitactless: (sparring teacher)
Yamato no Kami Yasusada ([personal profile] okitactless) wrote in [community profile] thenearshore2016-07-01 02:53 pm

[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!
returnedfromtheline: (/ tsun-dere)

[personal profile] returnedfromtheline 2016-07-14 01:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Y-yes, he does have to ask. Yukine is going to have even less 'free' time in favour of bugging Yamato-san for lessons every chance he gets. (And he's used to the school of hard knocks. What can he say.)

Lifting his face he smiles faintly, then stands at attention at the question.

...How did he feel? He idly scratches a finger along his cheek as he thinks.

"Um. It felt kinda cool, actually. B-but I'm taking this seriously! It was like... A completely different perspective. I don't know how much use it will be, but... I feel like I'll get stronger if I try to learn more about how to use the sword. Swords." He's two, after all. Although it might take him a while to be able to use two, himself.
returnedfromtheline: (> the small bell)

[personal profile] returnedfromtheline 2016-07-17 04:49 am (UTC)(link)
(No, not the wall-!)

Yukine doesn't think anything of Yamato's word choice either. It is what it is. But he's glad he seems to have given Yamato-san an answer he approves of.

He grins a little. His name 'Yuki' and being Yato's shinki is his life, literally.

"Well, the living don't have so much need to fight with swords anymore. But plenty of people still keep the tradition going. Kendo clubs and that kind of thing. Gods, on the other hand, kinda need to do it, don't they."
returnedfromtheline: (+ as Sekki I'll fight)

[personal profile] returnedfromtheline 2016-07-24 10:48 am (UTC)(link)
"For you, too?" He'd been on the receiving end of Yamato's hits when Yato and him had sparred. "Heh. If the enemy knew what was good for them they'd take a head start to get away from you as it is."
But he looks at Yamato-san with admiration. He's that strong already, and he thinks it would be good to get stronger...

"I for sure want to get stronger too. Even though I'm a hafuri, I can't be complacent."

There are still enemies out there, beyond the ayakashi.
returnedfromtheline: (x suddenly blessed)

[personal profile] returnedfromtheline 2016-07-25 11:49 am (UTC)(link)
Yukine nods thoughtfully - 'As soon as you stop, you've already lost to the person that didn't.' That sounds like some sort of wise saying! He kind of wonders if Yamato-san is quoting someone, but he'll have to find out later.

For all that he came for sword lessons, Yukine can't turn down a question asked.

"Hafuri. I guess you might know it literally means 'blessed vessel'. It's something really rare, even though it sounds like a lot of shinki try to do it." Going by how he'd been hammered with questions afterwards.
"Um, it's basically that you do something that puts your god-given name, and therefore your very life, on the line for your god. I... can't explain it very well. It just happened before I knew it."
He pauses thoughtfully for a moment. "Kazuma-san and I are the only hafuri, as far as I know. I haven't heard the story of how it happened to him, though. ... Come to think of it, I should ask him sometime."

He then bows slightly as he grins self-effacingly. "Sorry. I don't know if that tells you much, but I suppose it qualifies as 'a little more'."
returnedfromtheline: (| start something)

[personal profile] returnedfromtheline 2016-08-02 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
He shakes his head.

"Nope, not really. Yato found me and named me on the Near Shore." Yukine runs a hand through his hair, thinking it over for a moment.

"Honestly, I don't really know much about it myself. First thing I knew, I was being used to cut down an ayakashi. But even if none of you remember it, I think your god must have named you somehow, otherwise how else would you belong to them? ... Well, that's going by the rules I know. You new shinki and gods break a lot of norms, so why not that one too." It's not their fault, exactly, but is is disturbing.
returnedfromtheline: (< don't worry about that idiot)

[personal profile] returnedfromtheline 2016-08-10 06:24 am (UTC)(link)
Yukine just nods. He was found there, that's how the story goes.

The second question kind of floors him though.

"Happy? As if I have time to be happy, when I spend most of my time being angry at that idiot god, trying to keep him in line!"

So he says. (But actually yes, now that he has his 'reason'... he's happy.)
returnedfromtheline: (/ if this is as bad as it gets)

[personal profile] returnedfromtheline 2016-08-10 08:02 am (UTC)(link)
Yukine can almost feel that intent to ruffle his hair, and tilts his head back a bit. ... At least it doesn't happen.

"Darn right he's lucky to have me." He feels his cheeks warm slightly at the compliment though. And he feels even more embarrassed at that last.

"J-just be yourself, Yamato-san. Shepherd-sama and you get along well after all, right?"
returnedfromtheline: (> get him!)

[personal profile] returnedfromtheline 2016-08-16 12:53 pm (UTC)(link)
He can't imagine quite that many shinki. But he grins at his enthusiasm.

"Heh. You're a pretty good shinki yourself, Yamato-san. And I look forward to your sword lessons now too.

"So, should we start? It's like..." he puts on a more serious tone, "we are losing to the people who have already started."

It's just a play on the words that Yamato-san had used before. But it's true, isn't it?
returnedfromtheline: (+ I'll keep you safe)

[personal profile] returnedfromtheline 2016-08-17 02:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Yukine snaps to attention, and once he's been given his orders he replies with a firm 'right!' before running off.

It doesn't take very long to get the (heavy) practice sword and return to the yard. Honestly, Yukine thinks that doing the kata forms is too finicky, with 'put your feet that way' and 'keep your elbows this way', but he will practice the basics diligently. Foundations are important.

...But despite his good intentions he's still a relatively impatient teenager.

So he moves through what he remembers, occasionally hesitating when he's not sure what the next form is, and then moving too quickly, impatient to get past that part.
returnedfromtheline: (| I want to at least pay it back)

[personal profile] returnedfromtheline 2016-08-22 09:00 am (UTC)(link)
"Oof-"

Yukine exhales sharply in surprise as he gets his balance back after that hit. But he answers with another firm 'right'. Well, he says 'don't rush', and Yukine gets it with his head, but sometimes it's just annoying, you know?
(He's glad that he said he's better than that, though!)

Paying attention for a moment to how Yamato-san adjusted his grip, Yukine is taken a bit by surprise at that question. He then snaps back to attention and firms up his posture, realizing that distraction is an opening.

With a grimace he steps forward, his sword hovering close to Yamato's, ready to block.

"What 'style'? He just swings me around as he wants. You might as well call it flailing."

...Well, that's not completely true, but that's sure how it feels. And the time against the baby's refection is never far from his mind when it comes to the hard 'lessons' he's been through.

He sets his lips in a thoughtful line though. Yamato-san will probably ask him for a better answer than that, so he takes a moment to shove his irritations to the back of his mind and try to think about it in more technical terms.