February Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: October 15th
Where: Meeting Hall, the Far Shore
Summary: Training and informational sessions for newly arrived gods and shinki



Gods and shinki arriving at heaven's meeting hall are, should they allow it, guided to the Meeting Hall, where a reception area and a traditionally styled dojo and training ground have been made available for the day. The gods and shinki are free to take their time during this day to learn about the details of their new life from Amaterasu's shinki or from the many veteran new god and shinki volunteers.




God Training

Newly arrived gods are escorted into a traditional reception room within the Meeting Hall for an informational meeting covering the basics of proper god behavior. A minor deity is giving the speech, and none of the white-robed shinki enter. They are encouraged to discuss the information with each other and ask questions of more experienced gods, as well as instructed to guide their new shinki appropriately.

Shinki Training

Various shinki in the white-and-gold of Amaterasu's hosuehold are stationed around the dojo, passing out helpful informational pamphlets. They will be happy to instruct the newcomers in the use of the borderline as well as offering an explanation of what is expected of a shinki and the importance of teamwork with other shinki and with gods. Shinki are encouraged to work together to practice what they've learned and discuss their perspectives.

A training game has been set up through a section of the Meeting Hall gardens, with little cut-outs of ayakashi hidden in the landscaping, tucked into bushes or taped under bridges. Prize ribbons are being offered for every ten "ayakashi" a shinki (or team) discovers.

Physical Training

The dojo is stocked with a wide variety of practice weapons, traditional and modern, to offer some practice opportunity to gods who, for example, find themselves with a sword shinki but are at risk of cutting off their own toes. It's also useful for veteran new gods wishing to train with their current partner shinki. Several magically animated straw-stuffed training dummies, many of which have been carefully mended and patched with neat black stitching, are set up on the lawn with a white-robed shinki hovering nearby to watch over them. They make good training partners, although anyone who comes too close risks being targeted for a sparring match whether they wanted one or not.

The pond behind the dojo has had dozens wooden poles sunk in it, spaced a few feet apart, with a bunch of brightly colored ribbons tied around the pole in the very center. Some of the white-robed shinki are practicing scaling the poles and leaping from one to the next, until they get close enough that they can snatch a ribbon from the center pole, and several have fallen in and are being teased by their fellows.

Rest and Refreshments

Instead of snacks being served at the training session, this week, white-robed shinki with little flags are conducting groups of newcomers and volunteers down to the Tokyo Daijingu shrine and into a street festival currently being held in Tokyo. Traditional dance troupes are performing on street corners, and vendors have every kind of fall street foods, from barbecue to takoyaki, chocolate-dipped bananas and red-bean pancakes. New arrivals will get a white-and-gold envelope with spending money for the fair, although gods and shinki who have had some time to settle in will have to handle their own lunch expenses.

In Summary:

• Get all the information you can handle
• Veteran new gods and shinki are welcome to volunteer showing the ropes
• Get in some training
• Go to a festival
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

[kokuyoyo]

...If you wanted to just have weapons practice... wouldn't anything do?

[A tree or a person, whatever, Chikusa won't judge.]

[yousaytron]

In either case, having a moving target is more practical. An ayakashi isn't going to sit around and let you attack it without retaliating or dodging, so practicing on a static target is only going to get you so far.

[So, maybe not anything will do.]

[kokuyoyo]

Yeah, but that's combat practice... Weapons practice is just to get you used to the weight of the weapon and how to hold it... Right?

[So there's a difference.]

[yousaytron]

[Ahh, true.]

Yeah, but past that, you'd still want to hone your skills with them, right? Anything would work when you're getting started and used to a weapon, and a static target is probably better for that, but practicing with just that after you get a feel for a weapon isn't the most practical.

[kokuyoyo]

I guess so.... And I guess this is an "easy" way comparatively....

They'll just beat you up instead of to death.

[yousaytron]

Exactly. [Yeah... that exactly.] You can wail on 'em all you want with little real worry, but it's still a challenge.

[kokuyoyo]

And you don't have to worry about injuring someone...

[Which is still weird for him, but hey.]

So. Then what?

[yousaytron]

[Sometimes it's better to not injure potential allies while sparring. In fact, most times it's better.]

Keep practicing, keep improving, hopefully you'll be in good shape when the time comes to use what you've learned.

[kokuyoyo]

But practicing is different from battling... even if it's against something that can move like this.

So.... It won't always work as planned.

[yousaytron]

There's really only so much planning you can do against something like an ayakashi anyway, right?

[It's better to dispose of them quickly, rather than observing and gathering information, after all.]

Going up against other people for sparring matches is good for getting used to adapting to different ways of fighting, though. Good thing Heaven's been pulling in all sorts of different fighters.

[kokuyoyo]

We don't just fight ayakashi.

[A lazy, idle reminder.]