June Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: December 7th
Where: Outside the 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 rear of the Meeting Hall, where 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.

Once they've had a chance to have things explained, they'll have the chance to relax and enjoy an afternoon party.




Meeting Hall

God Training

Newly arrived gods are escorted into a much nicer room than the warehouse where the last set of new gods got their informational speech. It's a smaller meeting room, with tatami floors and a small dais at the front of the room where the speaker stands. A minor deity is giving the speech, and none of the white-robed shinki enter.

The speaker delivers her welcome speech with the intonation of someone who's practiced it many times. Newly arrived gods 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. They are allowed to remain in the room as long as they wish, should they want to discuss questions with each other or with more experienced gods who are here to help out.

Shinki Training

Various shinki in the white-and-gold of Amaterasu's hosuehold are stationed around the dojo, passing out informational pamphlets that have been freshly printed. They will be happy to answer any questions or instruct the newcomers in the use of the borderline. They also accompany their answers, or lessons, with 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.

The dojo is back to its old, fully functional self; a set of motionless straw targets line one wall, to be used by people practicing with any of the weapons spread out on tables or hanging in racks on the walls. Outside, six animated straw targets wait in an area marked off with red ribbons and warning signs. Anyone entering the marked area may find themselves in combat with one (or more) of the magical training dummies. Those who leave the marked area, though, won't be chased.

Physical Training

Beyond the dojo, a scavenger hunt has been set up throughout the grounds of the Meeting Hall. Brightly colored plastic balls are hidden in shrubbery, tucked into support beams, floating among reeds in the ponds, and lurking in even cleverer hiding places. When a god or shinki gets their hand on one of them, they will burst open to reveal a hidden prize, such as candy, small toys, or accessories. How many can you find?

As well as the scavenger hunt, the white-robed shinki are engaging in more serious physical training and will be happy to let new gods or shinki join them. Sparring matches with practice weapons from the dojo, jogging laps around the hall, sit-ups, push-ups... or, for the younger shinki, competing to see who's the fastest to climb a tree.

Rest and Refreshments

Midafternoon, once the last of the scavenger-hunt prizes have been found, the white-robed shinki will turn their hands to clearing away the training equipment and laying out a lovely buffet table. Bright lanterns are hung from the trees, and a few shinki even take up a station on one side of the training area and begin playing shamisen, koto, wooden flute and drum. Although their instruments are traditional, their music selection ranges from some very classic Japanese tunes to others that sound surprisingly modern. The koto player can really rock!

Old and new gods and shinki alike are welcome to circulate, socialize with their friends, partake of the buffet food and enjoy the music. There's even room for those who feel inspired to dance, and plenty of privacy offered by the extensive garden for those who would rather retreat with their new partners to have a serious conversation.

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
• Relax at a party
• Have fun~

Comments

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku nodded, slipping into a fighting stance and keeping his eye on Edge.]

When you're ready.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

[Okay then! Since he's intending to be caught for demonstration purposes, Edge doesn't go to much effort to pose and prepare -- he simply steps in, throwing out a punch that is as simple and straightforward as anyone could ask for.]

[swordofzero]

[A straightforward punch was good. Suzaku closed the distance, his foot went behind Edge's and he stood to the outside of Edge's attacking arm. He pushed Edge's arm into and across Edge.

It was a simple hold, mostly maintained by pushing Edge slightly off balance. Any further back and he would fall over Suzaku's legs. Forwards was blocked by the fact that Suzaku had his arm and was pushing on him.] Alright how might you escape me?

[He's happy to let Edge experiment. He specifically chose a simple hold where there was no danger of Edge hurting himself if he tried something wild to get out of it.]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

[Edge doesn't take long to think about it -- he twist to catch Suzaku's shoulder with his free hand as he allows himself to fall backwards, intent on bringing Suzaku with him. From there it's a matter of bringing his other leg up to kick Suzaku over him to break his grip.]

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku falls, not fighting Edge's counter for now. The idea is to give him a grounding on what works and what doesn't before adding in counters to the counters.

He let's go of Edge as he lands, rolling forwards before standing once more and turning around.]

Good work. If you had wanted to you could have grabbed my arm as we fell, that would have prevented me from rolling and if you moved quick enough would have turned the tables, having me pinned instead of you.

[It's not a criticism, it's just a suggestion on how to take it further. He has no doubt Edge is fast enough to pull off such a maneuver.]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

[Edge kicks back up to his feet almost as part of the same motion, turning back to Suzaku in a swirl of cape.]

I got that impression! But aside from not being sure if it would work, I much prefer to have my hands free. [A flick of his wrist and Edge has a throwing knife to hand, which he tucks back away as soon as he's made the point. And that's not even getting into ninjutsu.] So I'd rather clear the foe than get stuck pinning them.

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku nodded, of course Edge's way of fighting was different to Suzaku's and though he was keen to learn these techniques he would need to find a way to blend them with his own fighting style.

He stepped away and gave Edge a small nod, an invitation to try another.]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

[Okay, hm. Considering his options for a moment, Edge rolls his shoulders -- then hops forward, thrusting out a hand for a strike towards Suzaku's midsection.]

[swordofzero]

[This time Suzaku steps back, his hand comes down to grab Edge's and bring is down and then around, twisting it behind Edge's back, this hold was a bit more painful but Suzaku kept Edge's warning from their spar in mind, he trusted him to be able to figure a way out without hurting himself.]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

[Edge tenses against the sudden twist and the pressure on his arm -- then relaxes.]

Okay, the first think that comes to mind is slamming my head back to shatter the bridge of your nose, but I'm going to pass on actually trying that if it's all the same to you...

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku nodded.] Good thinking, many wouldn't try that because it would hurt your arm considerably, though probably not damage it. Can you think of any other ways?

[onehandsomeslickninja]

You think? I'd have bet you'd just let go... [Hmm, this is pernicious.] Possibly reaching back and grabbing your head, then bending over to heave you over.

[swordofzero]

It would depend on who you are fighting. [Some opponents would let go, others wouldn't. He thought through Edge's next plan and nodded.] That would work too, turning the hold on me and turning it to a throw.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Seems to me that these holds only work against an uneducated opponent or with a partner. [Putting someone in position for too long just gives them a chance to free themselves, doesn't it?]

[swordofzero]

They are often used to restrain the untrained. Though most of them can be turned into a throw in fast paced combat with a skilled oponent. [He nodded. Someone who knew what they were doing could get out of them, but knowing the counters meant you could counter them back and so forth.]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

I think I might stick with ninjutsu. But knowing how to handle these properly is definitely good. You handled me easier than I'd prefer that first time.

[swordofzero]

That's because you hadn't seen them before, I think now you have had time to think about how to counter those kind of holds I won't be able to keep you still for long.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

If you do, I'll consider it a failing on my part. How about you, what do you need to develop? I owe you some help in return!

[swordofzero]

Suzaku smiled at him, "I'm not sure I know how to use throwing weapons." They had met when Edge had been throwing Shuriken in the park and Suzaku knew that Edge was very good at it.

"If you didn't mind I would be honoured to learn."

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Oh, sure, I can get you started on that. Of course, it's mostly just a matter of practice once you get the technique down. [He figures.] I suppose the first question is what weapons you'd prefer to use. Knives are trickier and more lethal. Shuriken are easier to hit with, but you need to land a fan of them to be really effective.

[swordofzero]

I'm not sure, I figure knives will be easier to get a hold of than shurikan, even throwing knives. [Shurikan were a lot more niche.] If knives are trickier then it is perhaps best to start with those.

[They would take more practice after all.]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Hey, around here you'd be surprised. They're not too hard to come by.

[But still. Edge flicks out three throwing knives, really just blades with wrapping on the narrow part before the rings at the end, and offers them over.]

Throwing knives is all about learning the rotation. You need to know just the right spin to make sure the knife lands point-first in the target.

[swordofzero]

[Fair point, perhaps shurikens were easy to get in the heavens. But knives were a good starting point. He takes the blades and looks at them a moment before nodding at Edge.] How much do they need to rotate?

[onehandsomeslickninja]

That's the tricky part. You need to calculate that on the fly, between your estimations of distance to the target and knowledge of general rotation speed over distance. It can be just a few times to several.

[Edge pulls another knife out, then flips it into the air. It spins a few times going up and then a few more times going down before Edge catches it again.] Same principle.

[swordofzero]

I understand. [So each throw was different, something you had to work out as you went.

He watched as Edge flipped the knife into the air and then tried himself. He threw it up carefully and reached out to catch it after it turned one circle. He's not sure that he has any actual skill in it, just fast refelexes. But at least he hadn't dropped it.]