The Warriors Heart training ground(Viden / Zaku)

Viden Voidstar

Viden was walking near the "BackLight" District, or at least it was called like that by the people who he asked about. He still had a lot to learn about the city, particularly the names of the Districts, or areas, of it. He also heard about a Detective Agency, which he was very curious about, but for the time being he didn't bother going there. What he was curious about was a, from what he heard, sort-of Dojo called the "Warriors Heart training ground". He was mostly curious about how the place was handled and by who. He wasn't good at fighting, he only knew the basics, but never praticed. After all, who would go around town, hurting and killing people with a sword, a bow, a dagger, a gun or any other weapon?

He followed the directions of the people he asked, and when he arrived there, he entered.

"What if you had to pay for training, or even entering the place? That would really get me in trouble..."

He thought to himself, while he looked around the place. It seemed pretty big, but that was understandable: If multiple people wanted to train, there had to be a lot of space in it.

"Is anybody here?"

He shouted, trying to get the attention of someone, maybe even the owner himself, or herself.

In the back Zaku was taking care of a few things, making sure she had supplies for when she got more students, and also making sure the place was clean. She had gotten one student so far in a boy named Tatsui, and he seemed to want to learn a lot, he learned well but had a Long long LOOOONG way to go on any of it, but at least he was willing to try. now wondered if she should actually advertise the place? Granted the rent was cheap, and she could keep the place easily enough with her other job, but actually running the place as a Dojo was one thing she REALLY wanted to do, so with that decided she had actually taken full steps to get it ready for more students.

It was about at this time that she heard a voice calling out and she headed out to the main room to see who was there, she was in her normal Dojo attire, Tight Gi to help movement, and a set of Contacts so that her glasses wouldn't fall off when training, of course this meant that her normal figure wasn't hidden behind baggy clothing nor her eyes by the glasses. As she walked out she seen a boy standing there, she nodded to him as she walked over.

As she got closer her Cowlick moved even closer to Viden and made motions as if it was sniffing him, and after a moment or two it seemed to nod as if satisfied with what it discovered and went back to simply hovering over the girls head and watching the door to see if more people showed up.

Zaku herself looked at the boy and nodded a bit Zaku is the owner of this Dojo. Who can She help you? Zaku?" she asked him as she looked up at the taller male.

After waiting for just a little bit, Viden saw a girl in a tight Gi, a suit that, if he remembered correctly, martial artists used, or people like that. She apparently didn't wear glasses: Either she's fine, like he was, or she wears a pair of contacts, but he couldn't really tell.

As she moved closer to him, Viden noticed that she was smaller than him. What he also noticed was that the Cowlick on her head was, somehow, moving towards him. He reacted in a very surprised way. He tried to back away with his head, but then he stopped, seeing that the Cowlick was somehow moving back to the girl.

Zaku is the owner of this Dojo. Who can She help you? Zaku?"

Viden immediately noticed that the owner of the Dojo, Zaku, liked saying her own name. Either that, or it was a habit developed when she was a child, or something along those lines.

"Yes, I wanted to..."

He thought about it for a few seconds. The answer was obvious, though, even for how much it was against Viden's way of thinking: the thought of hurting, or even killing, people never crossed his mind.

"...Train with a weapon. Is there a specific place to train? And also, do you have to pay for the training?"

He asked, in a curious tone.

Zaku looked at the boy as he made his request, and as he did so she nodded a bit as she looked to him one last time before heading to the back where the training weapons were After a moment she walked back out with the rolling container that had all the training weapons, all made of wood and all of them twice as heavy as the real thing "Zaku will give the first session for free, if you wish to join after that then she will tell you the price, But what Weapon did you want Zaku to Train you in? Zaku?"

She asked him as her cowlick seemed to be looking down into the container of weapons and apparently taking stock of what was there, then looking at the clipboard as if it was making sure the inventory was correct "Also did you know what style you wanted to learn in? Zaku?" she asked as she waited for his response, it would be nice to have more students, currently she only had Tatsui after all.

Zaku, to Viden's surprise, seemingly left after nodding to his questions. He was very confused.

"Wait, is she really going to-"

He thought that Zaku was just going to leave him there, but in reality she brought a rolling container containing all varieties of wooden weapons, or that's what he assumed. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, I thought...whatever."

He thought, again, quickly shifting his eyes to the container.

"Zaku will give the first session for free, if you wish to join after that then she will tell you the price, But what Weapon did you want Zaku to Train you in? Zaku?"

Said Zaku, regarding the questions he asked before. And, again, that Cowlick moved on it's own. Again. Viden just accepted it, not even thinking about how that worked.

"Also did you know what style you wanted to learn in? Zaku?"

Said Zaku, again. He then stood there, looking at the container, searching for something.

"Weapon and style...Mh."

He then noticed the weapon he wanted to try. He reached out at the container by first lowering himself to then grab the weapon with both of his hands. He then took it out with some effort, and then made it visible to Zaku.

"I think a two handed sword should do fine...I think."

He said, with a little bit of doubt in his voice.

She watched as he selected his weapon, her cowlick seeming to watch over him as he did so and as he took the time to heft the training two hander it would be rather obvious that it wa far heavier then it should have been, she nodded at his choice and as she reached into the box she took out one as well lifting it easily with one hand even though the weapon was far taller then her, it was also a training blade so it was twice the weight of the real thing but she was handling it with ease.

"Very well Zaku will train you with this, though She is unsure how much you will get out of just one class, Using a Long sword takes strength and lengthy training, however there are a few things you can learn in a simple session, the proper stance for instance. Zaku" she said as she moved her legs to stand in a wider stance, holding the weapon at an angle from her body and keeping her arms low so that the blade was between her and her imaginary opponent.

He would porbably notice that every time she said her name the large cowlink on her head seemed to snap to attention as if it was being called, but then seemed to relax again as it was obviously not the case, it would then resume looking around and checking the door now and again to see if more people walked in.

"Now first of all forget what you heard or seen in Video games, or table top RPG's, The proper name for the weapon is a Long sword, the ones that most games show you that is used one handed is actually known as an Arming sword, These weapons we are training with have been known as long swords for much longer then those games have been around, Zaku" she clarified the term so he wouldn't be incorrectly calling his weapon that name.

"Secondly, when using this weapon one must be precise, any large exaggerated movements will throw off the balance of someone that is only just learning the weapon, now then wait here. Zaku" she lowered her weapon for a moment and left the room again, but after a few moments she returned bringing with her the training dummies she set them up a safe distance apart and looked to him "take a slash at one please. Zaku"

When Zaku nodded to the weapon i had chosen, she also picked up a two handed sword, but with one hand and, apparently, easily. Viden was very surprised.

"Well, i guess...Never judge a book by it's cover..."

He thought. Zaku then explained some things about the weapon, mostly the stance. He looked at the stance Zaku was doing, interested by it. While he noticed the cowlick moving everytime she said her own name, Zaku also explained about the term of a "Long Sword" and an "Arming Sword".
She then explained, yet again, that people who use Long Swords must be precise, and any dumb or exaggerated movements may throw off balance someone like Viden, who was just learning to use that kind of weapon. She then asked Viden to wait there, and brought training dummies. She then finally asked him to slash at one of the dummies.

"Ok, i'll try my best."

Viden said, to then take the weapon from the hilt with both hands, and lower it to his right side, to then start running at the dummy. When he got close enough, he then would have tried to quickly change the direction of the attack to not make it a vertical slash, but an horizontal slash, coming from the right to the left, trying to slash the body of the dummy.

OoC:

Zaku watched the boy completely ignore her points on stance and instead run at the dummy keeping the sword low, in a grip that was never meant to be used with the weapon, the motion of trying to swing it around to suddenly change the attack angle only worked against him as he was using a training weapon, designed to be twice as heavy as the real thing, and as he wasn't watching his stance or footing the weight of the weapon would wrench it from his hands and send it flying over the dummy, as well as the sudden shift would threaten to throw him off his feet and to the floor.

Zaku meanwhile shook her head once more as she walked over to the thrown weapon "Zaku told you about the stance...and instead you run at the dummy holding the weapon like it they do on Movies, or games, Those are made to entertain, and for the most part hold no significant lessons about how to hold and use a weapon of any sort. Zaku" she said as she walked back to where the boy was and she looked down at him her cowlick seeming to shake it's head as it too looked at the boy.

"Watch...Zaku" she said as she walked over to one of the dummies placing the second long sword down for now and took up the one she hand in both hands, she then shifted her feet into the proper stance before taking a swing at the dummy shifting her weight with the weapon as she did so and hitting it in the right side collar bone region and slashing down to it's left hip in one  fluid motion before returning to her stance, bringing the sword back up and counter balancing it with her body as she moved it about. she then returned to a neutral stance and looked to the boy.

"Running up with a weapon like this.. just isn't done, the movements have to be measured, you need to know what your doing, and how, just swinging it will end up hurting you more then anything else. Zaku" she said as she picked up the second sword and walked back to the boy holding it out for him to take "What is your name? Zaku?" she asked.

Much to Viden's surprise...Actually, it wasn't even a surprise, he knew from the moment he tried to swing that he was going to fail miserably. After that gigantic failure, which he sighed in disbelief to the idiocy he put in that attempt, Zaku rightfully complained about his stance, movement and everything else. After that, Zaku showed Viden how it was done -literally- and performed a precise cut at the dummy, or at least it looked like it. Viden stared in disbelief, even though he didn't show his surprise.

"Oh, yes, I can and will do that too...In fifty or more years."
"..I guess that's what they call Talent."

He said, in a tone mixed with sarcasm and depression, to then think about Zaku's swords(wo)manship. He was very amazed by Zaku's ability. After seeing Zaku coming towards him, for the Long Sword, probably, he would have tried to pass the Long Sword to her, and after hearing her question, Viden would have said, in a respectful tone:

"Oh, right, i never introduced myself. Sorry. I'm Viden Voidstar, nice to meet you."

"Zaku is Zaku's name, nice to meet you, now come here Zaku will show you how to do the stance okay? Zaku?" she said as she walked over to her training dummy in sword striking reach and she looked to him as she slid into the stance and waited for his to copy her "We will be doing strike Drills in this stance for now, then Zaku can teach you how to properly move with this weapon so that you know how to move in, strike, and get back out before they can attack you. Zaku" she said with a sure nod on her face as she waited.

Her cowlick meanwhile was seemingly looking about the place as if checking to see if everything was clean, though every time she said her name the Cowlick seemed to snap to attention for a moment before resuming looking around, even checking the door to see if anyone was walking in.

"Oh, so it really is your name. Anyway, nice to meet you."

Viden said in a slightly surprised tone, to then nod at her question. Zaku then told Viden how to do the stance, so he kept the two-handed sword. Zaku then switched into the stance.

"We will be doing strike Drills in this stance for now, then Zaku can teach you how to properly move with this weapon so that you know how to move in, strike, and get back out before they can attack you. Zaku"

She said, while Viden nodded and noticed that the cowlick kept moving on it's own.

"Ok then..."

Viden said, to then try to imitate and copy as best as possible the stance that Zaku was doing.

Zaku nodded and waited as she watched him take up the stance, she then walked over to him and gently pushed his legs and feet into proper position, and moved his torso a bit to correct his posture "There now..Watch Zaku and follow the same sweeping motions, don't forget to counterbalance with your body okay? Zaku?" She said as she walked back to her spot and started to do some simple sword strikes, using the rest of her body to counterbalance and reduce the recovery time from each swing.

She was going slow though to make sure he could see the form she was using, first came form, then power later. "Just like this. Zaku" she said as he continued to move smoothly from one slash to another, slowly so as to let him see the motions, but slowly speeding up as she continued the lesson


Some time later after the simple stance exercises she looked to Viden and nodded a bit "Do you feel how the stance and weight work together to make the attack more fluid? How they  balance you and keep you from falling? This is the stuff that games and other things never show because they don't have to, it's not real in ether of those. But handling a real weapon takes skill and practice, counter balancing, and forms to better utilize the weapon, yes it is possible to simply swing the weapon and do well, but focus and discipline give you more then just sword skills. Zaku".

She Explained with a smile, as she stood there looking at him, the Gi she was wearing having slipped a little due to her movements, showing a bit more of her shoulders, but the girl didn't seem to notice as she waited to see if he understood.

When Viden imitated the stance, Zaku corrected the stance by pushing him and correcting his posture, while she told Viden to imitate her moves and remember the counterbalance with his body, to then move to her spot and practice a swing, making it easy to imitate. After Zaku spoke again, he would have tried to imitate her swing while she was doing it, noticing that her swings were, slowly but surely, going faster.




After a while they seemingly stopped, while Zaku questioned Viden as if he understood, explaining also how using a real weapon takes skill, and other things like that. He completely ignored her Gi wearing off. He then would have said, in a slightly satisfied tone:

"Yes, you're right: The movements seem a little bit more fluid, but I guess not as much as it's supposed to since i'm not the type of guy that trains everyday...But I think I understood how to do these things...I think. Speaking of which, how long have you been training?"

Nodding as Viden seemed to get the Idea she smiled a bit and adjusted her glasses, his question was one that made sense, after all most would want to know how long their teacher had been training, "Zaku has been training since she was little, about age 9. Zaku's parents wanted her to get involved in things, so Zaku picked this. Zaku" she said as she answered his question, taking up the long sword she had and looking to her student.

"Now that the basics are handled and you know how to stand, next Zaku will teach you now to properly move with a large weapon like this. Zaku" she said as she took up the stance and moved back to the dummy, moving slowly as she circled it, to show him how she kept the weapon balanced with her body even as she moved, "after this Zaku can teach you other grips and stances, but first the basics are always required. Zaku" she advised as she began to show him the proper way to retreat and advance on the target as well once more going slow so he could see the proper method.

"Zaku has been training since she was little, about age 9. Zaku's parents wanted her to get involved in things, so Zaku picked this. Zaku"

"Mh, that's very surprising."
"So that means she takes these kinds of stuff very seriously...?"

Viden said, to then think about Zaku's "work".

"Now that the basics are handled and you know how to stand, next Zaku will teach you now to properly move with a large weapon like this. Zaku"

Zaku said, as she slowly circled around in a "moving stance", while Viden, from time to time, slightly move to a side to see the movements.

"after this Zaku can teach you other grips and stances, but first the basics are always required. Zaku"

Said Zaku, to then show Viden how to retreat and advance, slowly as before.

"Ok then. I'll try now."

Viden said, to then slowly circle around, imitating Zaku's moves from before and after with the long sword.