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 Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:33 pm
Valens eyes went huge as he starred at the teacher in complete confusion and awe before he set the wooden item down. He then went to inspecting the bamboo one closer, "You mean... you mean I won't break it?" He sounded rather unsure about the idea, he didn't want to accidentally prove the guy wrong as he would feel really bad if somehow he broke the bamboo thing.
The teacher seemed pretty sure though that the item would stand up to Valens using it though... the horse could only hope that he was right. He gave a bright smile, "Neat, something light and delicate looking that can compete with me." He sounded strangely happy about the idea.
The again he had a long track record with breaking things...
He nodded his head rapidly, "I understand." He agreed, tails swishing again rapidly behind him.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:45 pm
"I didn't say you can't break it. Like all things there is a breaking point. What you need to learn is restraint in your movements, as well the force you put into a swing." He corrected Valens again.
"now if you will take your weapon and move towards a mat, we shall stretch and then begin. Once reaching your mat please place the weapon at your hooves."
He moved back to his own mat where he was stretching before, he then looked to Ellie and back to Valens. "If your dragon wishes, they can join in the stretching exercise. There is nothing wrong in calming ones mind and inner soul. All creatures should enjoy it, and it shall strengthen the bond you two share I am sure. " He said offering the silver dragon a place to stretch with them.
"Pardon if I keep referring to your dragon as they. But i don't believe I have been formally introduced to her." He continued as he then started to stretch his legs.
"Now do as I do, stretch slowly and take even deep breaths."
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:56 pm
Valens gave a nod, "But it doesn't sound like something that if I touch it it breaks." He walked forward to do as he was told, coming to stand where he was told and set the weapon down in front of his hooved feet. He looked over at Ellie when the teacher spoke of her. He gave a bit of a grin, "Gonna join us?"
Ellie rose to her feet, flapping her wings before she walked over to join them. She seemed a bit surprised that she was being invited given it was Valens class and not hers. She wouldn't pass it up given she would get to see the dragon markings that the man had, that and she was curious about the calming of the mind and inner soul thing... the first was more towards the front of her mind though.
"Well this is Ellie." He said to the teacher, "She is a Silver... though its not hard to tell that." He didn't understand who was the one so lazy that they would given dragons names due to their colors.
He watched the teacher a moment before trying to emulate him and Ellie followed suit rising to her back legs to stand as the others were doing to try to stretch in a similar fashion.
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:01 am
Nodding his head at the boys comment about the bamboo not breaking for just being touched he offered a very small smile as the dragon decided to join them. The smile was fleeting as if emotion was something that feared being on his face for long.
"It is a pleasure to make your aquaintance Ellie." Kuyoja addressed the dragon with a court bow to her. There was nothing more beautiful than a dragon in his own mind. He then continued with the stretching excercises.
Moving from legs to arms and then back to legs, the work out with methodically and perhaps a tad repetitive and boring on the whole. BUt they soon finished and he moved to retreive the wooden glaive from the floor and then back to the head of the class.
"Though orignially a weapon of war. the naginata now has both a form appropriate for modern competitive sport. There are two forms of study on the naginata. Classical and Modern. We will be working with modern today. In later classes we may move to Classical if you express an interest for it. " Tsuzuki explained as he then went to position his hands correctly on the weapon.
"Please follow my example. Place one hand on near the butt of the weapon whilst the other is comfertable distance ahead of the other. You must make sure you can extend your arm all the way when swinging or lowering the naginata. If you can't it means you have your hand too far up, and you should move it down accordingly, until you reach the proper distance." By showing Kuyoja placed his hand on the far end of the spear and then reached forward up the staff until he was able to lower his arms hodling the naginata level.
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:05 am
Ellie bowed back, seeming almost surprised by the man's courtesy to her when she was rather young for a dragon. She liked it none the less though, liked him. She and Valens both did their best to follow what the teacher was doing, to keep up with the right stretches though the pair would look a little awkward in their attempts.
Valens reached down to pick up the bamboo version of the weapon, looking it over as the teacher spoke to him, "They actually made a sport out of it?" He sounded a bit surprised that something could go from a weapon of war to just a game... strange... though the idea of learning it as a sport made the weapon feel more comfortable in his hands then learning it for war. He would see how he felt about learning the 'Classical Style' later and if he wanted to learn it.
He placed his hands according to how the teacher told him too, watching the placement of the man's hands then moved the weapon downwards as Kuyoja had hoping he was doing it right.
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 7:46 pm
Kuyoja watched intently though it was out of the corner of his eye. Without his glasses couldn't see well things that were close up, but he could make out everything cyrstal clear at a distance. He nodded his head taking his weapon in one hand and approaching the boy.
"Good, now spread your feet, you need to center your balance." he intstructed. "Keep the weapon level. See how long you can sustain its weight before gravity takes ahold." he continued with a nod of his head.
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 7:54 pm
Valens shifted so that his hooves were more parallel with his shoulders, lifting the bamboo weapon up and held it as he was instructed to do. At least this was one thing good that he could do, lifting things. It was light weight so he wondered what the man meant by 'sustaining' the weight. Surely it should be easy given the naginata felt like it weighed nothing? He stood there, holding his weapon level and waited to see what happened, how long he could hold it.
His ears turned forward, to the sides, and back listening to everything around him as he watched the 'blade' of the weapon where it was in front of him and waited.
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:09 pm
Kuyoha said nothing as he then went and tap the back of the boys knees.
"You need to bend more, a stance like that will tire you quickly plus your muscles could lock." he corrected before moving around him.
He didn't say much else as if waiting for the boy to catch on. The weapon despite being lieght weight was long and holding such a thing parrelell to the ground would eventualyl get heavy on the arms. Gravity would wind up the winner in this case.
He now moved back into the stance that the boy was in. His weapon the wooden naginata held steadily in front of himself.
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:16 pm
Valens gave a little jump when the teacher tapped the backs of his knees before he shifted them so they were bent. He'd not even thought about the whole muscles locking things... he was soon starring at the end of his weapon again. Watching... watching... huh, the thing was actually starting to get heavy. He was supposed to see how long he could keep the thing level though so he laid his ears back in concentration though the tip of it was slowly falling lower and lower from where it had started despite his attempts to keep it from doing so.
After a little while of slowly losing against gravity he let it fall the last foot, groaning as his arms gave a bit of a protest. He released the weapon with first his left arm stretching it out then traded hands and did the stretching again with his right arm, "Wow! That got heavy." He said, sounding a bit in awe since to begin with it had felt like it weighed nothing at all.
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:36 pm
Kuyoja moved from his stance to then go over to the boy.
"The weapon acts like an extension of your arm. The longer it is the more gravity is applied to it. Thus after a while your arms will begin to tire, as they are unsuse to the added weight." He explained.
"Now I want you to be practicing that every day for at least ten minutes. If not more. Your arms need to adjust to it, and just like with all skills you need to practice." He said with a nod of his head.
"Now I want you to imitate me." he finished as he then went to stand a distance away from the boy. He then lowered himself into the standing position and brought the weapon back, like he was going to swing a hoe.
He then swung forward going in a 180 degree arc before stopping himself and then lowering the weapon.
"This is a basic swing, the easiest to learn. Give it a try."
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:50 pm
Valens gave a nod of his head, "I will practice." He assure his teacher, he wondered if a broom would be the same weight as the bamboo naginata? He could practice with it at home since he didn't have one of his own. Though he could only imagine what his father would think if he saw him standing in a stance with a broom...
His brown eyes went wide as he watched the the strike that the teacher did then gave a smile, "Ahh! Neat. I will try my best!" He said in an enthusiastic manner before giving it a try, maybe swinging a bit to hard in his excitement as he threw himself a bit off balance.
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 9:49 pm
Kuyoja watched Valens silently. The good was interested despite what he had spoke of earlier. And even seemed interested in practicing as well...he may go far with this student.
"In your next attempt try and stop the blade before you reach the point of over-extending. That is what throws your balance. The hand that is holding the naginata higher up should be your power as well as your breaks. Now try again." He instructed resuming his own stance and redoing the move in a fluid arc.
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 10:00 pm
Valens shifted back and forth on his hooves before settling back down into the stance he'd been shown. He looked at his hands, then to the blade of the bamboo weapon, and then attempted the swing again. He was a bit more careful this time, trying to do as his teacher had told him with stopping before he tipped himself over.
He gave a happy sound when he got the next strike done as he had been shown, this time not trying to fall over when he did it, "Cool!" He turned to look towards the teacher to see if he'd done it right.
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 10:07 pm
Much better. Kuyoja nodded his head in approval though offered no smile.
"Remember though having strength is an advantage untrained it is merly a force that unbalances you. Now...you need to swing it another twenty times before we can continue. A repeated move means you can get use to it. Most of these arts require that you master one move before moving onto another one. " He said moving to sit down on one of the matts.
"Now practice after you have done one set of twenty swings you may take a break for water. And then we will continue onto learning movement." he said as he went to sit crosslegged motioning for Ellie to join him, more so in case the boy lost his balance again there was no risk in accidentally hurting another body in the room.
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 10:16 pm
"Twenty." He murmured to himself then nodded. He set to doing the swing, counting out loud as he did them so as not to lose track of where he was. Were he to count in his head he no doubt would because he would end up thinking of something else.
He got into the motions, swing the bamboo weapon over and over again. He felt more comfortable as he went along. Each swing he took he felt as if he were getting a better grasp of what he was supposed to be doing, how to stand, how to hold the weapon, and he couldn't help but swish his tail in time with his swings.
Ellie looked the way of the teacher when he came over to sit by her. She lifted her head, watching him then seemed to be closely studying him. He was closer now and this gave her the perfect chance to see the markings he bore upon his person.
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