The Warriors Heart (Gabe)

Zaku was cleaning the Dojo After a group of people had actually come in to check the place out, she had given them a few pamphlets and talked with them all, finding out they had heard of the place from some of the fencing clubs people who were talking about having a Dojo to have their meetings in now, and she had to wonder if it was the groups leaders doing?

But in the end she was now cleaning up after giving some simple free classes on the basics of what the person wanted to learn, it was how she introduced people to her training method and let them decide if the place was for them. Who knows, maybe she would end up having more students? That was a possibility.

As she cleaned her Cowlick kept a constant Vigil on the door. as the Girl continued to clean in her rather form flattering Gi.

In  Gabe's wandering and travels, he tends to come across a few things from time to time. One of those things involves a pamphlet that he found on a subway chair, probably something that someone was reading and decided to leave there because of their lack of interest. "A dojo of some kind? I think Ryu would like to go here. But, in any case, maybe i should check it our before i recommend it to him. " Knowingly having some time on his hands, Gabe hightailed it back to his house and got an extra pair of gym clothes before heading out to the dojo.

However, upon arriving there, Gabe noticed that this place was completely massive. "What in the...." What was with all of this space? It looked like a coliseum for serious competitions.  After knocking on the door, Gabe would let himself in. "Excuse me...." Though, the person he was managing to see wasn't what he was expecting, it was that woman from before. "Zaku? That's your name right? You work here?"

Zaku continued to clean up, getting the floor cleaned and the mats as well, making the place ready for anyone else that came in later in the day, thought she left the supplies off to the side just in case, After all never know who would want to train in what. and as she tucked away the last sparring mat she nodded a bit to herself glad to have it all done and finished for the time being, maybe she could do some stretches or something to pass the time? after all the cleaning was all done now.

It was about then that her Cowlick noticed a new person walking in, Zaku herself having missed the knocking, and the first call out, the cowlick gave a bit of a tug towards Gabe's direction and Zaku seemingly turned from the tugging before the Cowlick seemed to droop a bit and wriggle as if trying to catch it's breath from the effort.

Zaku meanwhile looked at Gabe as he addressed her, turning to face him fully in her Gi and she nodded a moment before correcting him "Yes Zaku works here, in Fact Zaku owns this place. This is the Warriors Heart Welcome. Zaku" she said to him not a hint of her stuttering from before as she walked over to the taller male. her body language much different from before, as she stood and walked with complete confidence in herself, looking up at him and waiting for him to say something else though she assumed he was here to try out a free class due to his bag. though he could also have just been shopping.

"Impressive, the Gi fits you nicely, must be with all of the training. " Gabe would say as he looked at her up and down. "A bit tight, or..whats the word..small, in comparison to the baggy clothing you wore before. Does tight clothing have anything to do with the training regimen that you supply here?" Then, it clicked with Gabe. She was the owner of this place. "Wait, you own this place? For how much rent? This place is actually quite amazing, i wouldn't be surprised if you said it had something to do with long line of ancestral backgrounds and wills that managed to leave you with such an amazing location." Though, Gabe noticed that he was rambling. Taking out the brochure, he showed it to Zaku. "I'm here for the free class at the warriors heart, am i late?

Zaku looked at him as he made his compliment of her Gi and then made his comment about her normal manner of dress "The Gi helps with motion and if it was to loose it would get in the way of weapons training and movements, so this is the best style to wear for the selection of different training Zaku offers here, the Gi is given to full time students as well. Zaku" she answered his question as he then seemed to be surprised that she owned the place.

She had gotten the same questions before and she explained to him as well "The rent is low due to the building here only being good for certain things, Though a friend of the family owned it before Zaku did. Zaku saved up the money and outright bought the land and building so rent isn't that bad. Zaku" she stood there looking to the taller man as he fished about and pulled out one of her flyers.

Nodding a bit she looked up at him "Classes are any time, Zaku just had a group leave who wanted to try the free class to see if this place was what they wanted. Zaku does have a question though, what would you like Zaku to train you in for your first class?" she wandered off to the wall and took the clipboard off it's place there and returned to Gabe to show him the list of things he could choose from for his free class, which was really all the classes she offered, after all she wanted people to be interested in the place.

"Impressive...if you are able to save up like that, you'll make a good treasurer. " Gabe would say this with an impressive grin ans he moved towards the wall, taking a good look at the classes that Zaku was offering. He hummed a bit, everything seemed to be pretty good. " Well then, how about some hand to hand training? It's small, something that can be used at any given point in time, and is completely dependent on the person. Is that alright?" Gabe would say as he turned to her, wondering if it was alright to start off with hand to hand training? He could of said firearms, but he felt that it could be left for another time.

Zaku shrugged a bit "Zaku just had a goal and she aimed to reach it is all Zaku" she replied to his compliment, and she waited to hear what he would choose as he looked at the list of classes, he picked hand to hand and she nodded a bit flipping the page for him and showing him the difference styles of hand to hand combat, all of them were older techniques, nothing modern, but that's just how she trained and knew so it made sense "did you have a specific style you wanted to train in? Zaku?" she asked as her Cowlick seemed to be measuring out the space that might be required for the class.

Ahh........" Gabe wasn't too sure what he should pick, but he dint think that old martial arts techniques would work for them the best. "How about something akin to a beginner class that's the most modern martial arts that you know? Is there anything like that? Is it possible that i can pick a class that teaches something a lot more practical? " He hoped that he wasn't insulting her or anything by asking to earn something that was a lot more practical in the sense of combat expertise. However, Gabe really hoped he could find something to use that wouldn't fail him.

OOC: BTW makoto from third strike would of fit zaku perfectly

Zaku looked at him as he made his comment and raised an Eyebrow, "Personal defense is always practical, and what do the modern styles have that the ancient ones don't? If you need to disarm someone with a knife, the old styles have that, if you need to disarm them of a Gun, they need to be in close enough range for it to even be helpful,, and then most disarming skills in most modern martial arts follow the same procedure as for a bladed weapon, so in the end nothing changes. Zaku" she explained to him as she looked him up and down a bit taking his body build and frame into account.

"the easiest to learn would be simple Karate as there is a lot of fundamentals in it and is one of the most utilized, and it has not changed much in the years after it was first made it is predominantly a striking art using punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes and open-hand techniques, I think this basic grounding will be what your looking for. Zaku" She said as she gestured for him to follow her to the training mat area her cowlick meanwhile seemingly angry that he called ancient forms not practical and was currently twisting itself into shapes to spell out some rather rude comments to him.

"Well, I guess you're the expert. I'm sorry if I came off as rude just now. " Gabe would say to the woman as he followed her over. He would have hoped that she didn't take offense to his words, Gabe just had a misconception as to the old ways of thinking or doing things. Just because it's old, doesn't mean that there could be anything wrong with it.

As a matter of fact, she suggested karate, and gabe raised his hand a bit. "Wait, I can't do anything yet in these clothes. Do you mind if I change for a minute?" Gabe would say as he went towards the men's restroom and started t change into his tracksuit. After Gabe managed to do that, he would then place his bag off to the side and follow Zaku to the area. "Ok, so what do i do?

Zaku looked at him as he called for a short stop so he could change and she nodded, she took the time to get a few crash mats out as there was more then likely going to be some falling over on the part of Gabe, or at the very least to offer some padding to the feet as they would be standing for a long time, if he decided to continue his classes here she would slowly remove layers of padding to get him used to bare feet on solid earth, after all he would need to toughen up his body and from what she could tell he did take care of himself but he didn't train overly much.

When he got back she looked at him and nodded a bit the cowlick having seemingly calmed down as well, "First is basic stances, Without knowing how to stand and hold yourself the teaching is useless Zaku" she said as she got into a simple starting stance, making sure her legs were properly spaced and giving her a good grounding and centering her balance, "Most martial arts revolve around keeping the advantage in your favor, though many also have ways to regain that if you lose it, but it all starts with balance and keeping your feet under you, as well as a stance that allows you to strike with the most efficiency for the style. Zaku" she said as she gestured for him to take up the stance as well.

Gabe went over to get trained, mulling over the idea as to how Zaku was going to teach him all of this. It wasn't like Gabe had any doubts about the woman, but he was simply unsure about the criteria. Either way, Gabe decided to give it a chance and hoped that he would be able to tough it out. As he came outside and placed his stuff a bit away from the mat, Gabe listened and nodded his head to Zaku.

"Stance huh?"

Gabe tried to mimic her stance a bit, but he wasn't sure if he was doing it right. He wondered if it was practical to take up a stance in a real fight. He doubted the opponent would let him, but he would trust Zaku for now. "Hows this?"

Looking at him as he took up the stance, Zaku studied him a bit as she then walked forward and placed her hand on his back without asking as she started to move him, pressing his back to get him to straiten up a bit more, and using her leg to widen his stance as he wasn't holding the stance properly "Like this. Zaku" she said as she corrected the positioning of his arms a swell, one hand gently pressing up his spine as she made him roll his shoulders back and re-positioned his arms, half the problem was the way he had carried himself once he took up the stance, and once she was done manually adjusting his stance she nodded a bit, "Do you feel the difference now? Zaku?" she asked as she backed up a bit.

She looked at him as she had been doing this and she could see the same doubt in his eyes as she had seen in others she taught before, she assumed it was a question she herself had asked herself when she was first learning and she figured at the very least, if she was wrong on her assumption she could answer the question before it came out "Stances might seem pointless right now, but eventually you will slip into them by instinct and second nature, to the point that you won't even think about it and just do it, though...the one that taught Zaku did so by a rather...extreme means Zaku" she said remembering the constant sneak attacks her own sensei had done to her to place her in a danger situation, Annoyingly the old woman had been right in that real danger made one learn faster.

Zaku had a slower approach though she was well versed in her old sensei's teaching method as well, after all someone might wish to have that method used on them, though she wouldn't explain what it was other then a fast track to learning, if they knew what it would intail...it would be pointless, "Though that kind of training can take years and years, Zaku was trained in a method that is sure to work and give faster results and is time tested and also traditional! Zaku!" she mentioned, in much the same way her old sensei had given her the pitch.

"But for now Zaku will at least teach you the basic stance and how to move. Zaku" she said as she moved over to the front and looked at him as she easily slipped into the stance, an ease that came from having trained in it and perfected it, she then started to move, going through a simple Kata to stretch "Follow what Zaku does. Zaku" she said as she moved slowly to let him see the motions, which were actually the basic blocking motions. which he would need if he decided on the fast track.

So apparently, Gabe was doing the stance wrong. He needed to be a lot more deeper into the squat, as well as having his legs a bit wider, much to Gabe’s dismay. Can people really stand like this for long periods of time? That’s a bit crazy, they must have trained their bodies since they were children or something. “Oh yeah, I’m starting to feel something alright. “Maybe Gabe is just imagining the idea of hearing a sudden snap of having his back broken or anything of the sort. If that was the case, he really needed his active imagination to stop.

“ What kind of extreme means did your master put you in for you to slip into a stance like this on instinct? Is it like one of those martial arts movies here you have to balance plates and get punished if you drop any? “ All jokes aside, Zaku was a professional, Gabe realized this, but he only used the jokes as a ruse in order to mask his difficulty. However, he did persevere and continue to follow what Zaku did. “How’s this?” It was slower and a little sloppy, but at least he didn’t give up.

Zaku listened to him as he made light of the situation, though her expression didn't change, it was stern but not angry "That feeling is your body not being used to being active...Just by looking at you Zaku can tell you haven't done much of this before, the most active you have been is simple exercise that most people do. The Martial arts are not simple exercise, they are a means to defend yourself and others if the need arises, to center yourself in times of stress and to take your body beyond what normal exercise will give a person, just like weightlifting can do, but unlike weightlifting this gives you the skills to put that strength to use. Zaku".

As she spoke her stern teachers gaze never wavered from him, so unlike the girl he had met at the small eatery, To Zaku this wasn't anything like before, here she was in command and in control, this was her home away from home, much like her forge, could she be beaten here? yes of course, but that wouldn't change the fact that this was her place, her energy filled it and suffused everything, not to mention the fact that she kind of got more confidence from the cosplay of a sensei from those old Martial arts Movies.

As Gabe asked about the Extreme means she simply shook her head "If you wish to know you will have to agree to the training...and of course sign up. Zaku...As for your motions they are sloppy, tighten up the movements, flow from one to the other, don't stop between each one as if they are all separate motions, you must think of them as one fluid motion, only the briefest of pauses from one to the other, as well as speed up a little more once you get more comfortable. Zaku" she continued the motions, warming her body up for the coming exertion, not her own but his as the simple strikes would no doubt wear this man down fast if taking the proper stance was enough to make him complain within a joke.