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 Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:58 am
Mir smiled and winked at her. "Very good." In breathing, her mind had calmed down, and she addressed the situation more clearly.
She new exactly what to work on with Demi.
Parkour.
"OK. Now I'm going to teach you a very importance skill set. And I want you to have a firm knowledge of it before we even pick up a weapon. This skill set is called Parkour. In parkour, you train yourself so that you can have complete trust in your body and your abilities. You will be aware of your surroundings, and be able to get out of any situation you might put yourself in. Because once you know how to get out of a situation, you can walk into it with greater confidence. Honing your mind and your body together. That is the secret." Mir straightened up and smiled. "Now if you are really serious about this, that means multiple lessons and lots of practice. Think you are up to it?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 2:07 pm
Demi's eyes got wide and she slapped a fist into her other paw; that made perfect sense! Of course one would have to learn to trust your body and instincts before attempting to fight with something like that strange knife that Mir had. With her calmed mind, the bobtail realized how silly she was being and giggled to herself as she gazed up at the Singapura. "I believe I'm ready for it!" She mewed positively, "At least... I think I would really like to learn this... and I know I'll benefit from it!" Lightly, she shifted her weight from paw to paw in anticipation.
She wanted to be as magnificent as the woman before her, and so if she had to train for ten years or more, Demi was determined to go for it. It felt good to her to suddenly have a goal now, instead of aimlessly wandering all over. With a confident smile and eyes charged, she mewed brightly, "I'll follow your training for as long as I have to! Where do I start?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:13 pm
Mir winked at the eager bobtail kit. "Well, I find the best place to start is always here and now. " Mir clapped her hands together and rubbed them in a business-like manner. “OK. Now there are ten fundamental groups of movement; walking, running, jumping, moving on all fours, climbing, balancing on an unstable surface, throwing, lifting, defending and swimming. You will eventually excel in any of these areas, depending on your fighting style, but you should have a firm grounding in all of these areas. ” Mir tossed about in her head what to do next, and then decided that she might as well do a general test for starters. “So I say let’s throw ourselves into it, and we’ll see where you stand. Sound good?”
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 10:44 pm
Demi thought hard about the areas of skill that Mir listed off for her and scrunched her nose up a little. "Well, I'm a pretty good sprinter, I think. I'm always walking, and I like to be in high places a lot, so I guess I'm good with climbing and jumping?" She mewed slowly, blinking up at the older cat, "I don't know about the others... but I'm not very good at swimming.." Thinking about it, the kit figured that'd be normal, seeing as most cats hated water anyway, but admitting the weakness still made her feel a little awkward.
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 12:45 am
Mir smiled kindly at the younger cat. "Not to worry," She held out her slender arms, palms up. "Think I can lift much with these? And just between you and me, I’m not really one for swimming either, if I can help it. But," Mir raised her finger in the air, “Sometimes you can’t, so it’s always good to know. I had to swim a little in order to pass my test to join my territory. Those first six I listed off; walking, running, jumping, moving on all fours, climbing, and balancing on an unstable surface would be the ones you’d in all probability use the most.” Mir winked at the little cat. “I'd say the best place to practice would be back in Kokitsu Plaza. Come on.” Mir beckoned, chuckling. “On the way we can see how good you are at walking.” She teased lightheartedly.
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 11:45 pm
Demi adopted a confident grin as she padded quickly after Mir, "I guess you have a point, but I can get better at those things if I have to!" She nearly bounded to keep up with the other cat, but smiled happily all the same. "I've been to Kokitsu Plaza before, I've wandered all over that place!" She mewed proudly, grinning up at the singapura, "You see, Mir-sensei, I'm very good at this walking business!" Demi giggled humorously, her hips naturally swaying in an up-beat rhythm as they walked together. "What should we test me for first, I wonder?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2009 1:06 pm
"Indeed I do have a point, little one." Mir smiled at Demi. I guess this is what having a little sister might feel like...Mir mused to herself. Granted, one that doesn't annoy the living c**p out of you, but it feels nice none the less. Mir reached out and ruffed Demi's hair almost unconsciously. "Good. You should start developing your sense of direction as soon as you can. 'Sides," Mir winked, "The more aware you are of your surroundings, the more you notice the little joys."
They entered the streets around the plaza and Mir made her way to a back alley that was littered with trash cans, metal poles, and all sorts of interesting rubbish. The walls were climbable, with gutters interspersed here ans there, and the roofs of the surrounding buildings were mutli-leveled, providing more unusual terrain, should they end up on the roof. There was always the chance of danger where ever one went, and this alley was no exception. But Mir felt secure in the weight of her knife down her shirt and the confidence that she could get herself and Demi out of a fight, if one presented itself.
Once they had gotten there, Mir made a wide sweep of her hand. "Your training ground for today."
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 3:19 pm
Demi laughed at the hand that ruffled her hair, bringing her own hands up to smooth it down unconsciously. She finished and brought her hands back down, one falling on her hip in her usual fashion and mewed brightly, "We definitely won't have a problem there! I've been exploring the streets of this town since I was left on my own, so I've gotten to know my way around pretty well." She paid keen attention to where exactly they were going, and recognized the plaza as they entered it. When the singapura led her into the littered alleyway, Demi's eyes lit up excitedly. She let her gaze sweep over the numerous, different sized trash bins, and all the various poles and other junk that had been left out. The walls were also rather jagged, and the rooftops above them were staggered in height. Demi felt that this would work well for training, her confidence in Mir-sensei growing as well. "It's perfect, Mir-sensei!" She chirped, her brows knitting in excited determination as her stubby little tail began flicking back and forth, "Where should I begin? Climbing? Jumping? Or are you gonna grab one of those poles over there and test my reflexes?!"
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:48 pm
Mir grinned down at the little kit. “We begin with safety and good technique. With Parkour, you move safely and efficiently; you end up putting a lot of stress on your body with constant movement, and so you need to learn how to move in a way that does not cause injury to yourself in the short or long term. Take running for example: when you run, you should touch the ground with the ball of your foot. Your body absorbs the impact by passing the shock of landing through the ball of the foot, the arch, then the ankle and muscles of the leg. When landing on your heel, your body can’t do this, and the shock gets taken more in the joints than the muscles. The same with jumping: you want to land on the ball of your foot, then roll back on you your heel. And you want to bend your knees when you land, but not too much.” Mir smiled apologetically. “Sorry, that was a lot to take in at one time, but I don’t want you hurting yourself, alright? We’ll take it one thing at a time.” Mir clapped her hands together. “So! First things first; up on a trash can, you.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:19 pm
Demi gazed up at the Singapura as she talked, nodding every now and again and soaking up the lesson like a little sponge. She was interested to learn the mechanics behind the way her body worked through impact and stress, and was surprised to learn about the proper way to handle a fall or jump. Snapping to attention as the other clapped suddenly, the small Bobtail smiled happily and mewed, "You got it, Mir-sensei!" before turning to the trash bin and crouching momentarily before springing up to it. Not realizing that it wasn't very full, the small cat had to spread her stance and hold her body carefully to stay on top of it as it wobbled with her sudden weight and impact. With her ears laid back sheepishly, she turned and grinned at her teacher, once the can had settled and she could stand upright on it. "O-oops... I guess that wasn't the most amazing jump ever, huh?" She said with a little laughter. She was fine now that everything had stopped moving and she was on top of the can, but now what? Gazing down at the older female, Demi waiting expectantly for her next instructions.
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 10:43 pm
“Nonsense,” Mir smiled. “Balance and adaptability are very important. I think you handled yourself pretty well. Now, when you land, you want to land as I told you, on the ball of your foot and then back on to your heels, and bend your knees, keeping them over a 90 degree angle.” Mir crouched slightly, demonstrating. Then she straightened up and jogged over to a pole that was resting on a couple boxes so that it was suspended about the ground. Placing a hand on it she swung herself up and landed on the bar, crouching then straightened up and smiled again at Demi. “Now balance is a bit more about a state of mind then how you move your body. We balance every day. You’re doing it now.” Mir winked and nodded at the trashcan. “Just, on a trash can.” Mir grinned. “You were even balancing on the ground before you jumped. Everyone has to balance, but once you get on something this small, everyone goes all wobbly. Tell yourself ‘I will balance on this.’ It’s really no different from solid ground. Keep your feet centered on what you are walking on, and your focus on a few feet in front of you, and that’s really it.” Mir hoped down and grinned. “Now we get to have a little fun. Hop around; climb, balance, and I’ll watch you. If there’s anything I see you could improve or do different, I’ll stop you. Alright? Now have at it!” Mir hopped up to the corner of the dumpster and then turned and grinned at Demi.
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 10:41 pm
Demi smiled and nodded in understanding; apparently a tail wasn't the key to good balance after all. She glanced around herself a moment before perking her ears up and leaping from the trash can to a plank of wood leaning against a building. It was at a slightly steep angle, so she dug her claws in to stay on. Climbing up it with swift, jumping steps, she clambered onto the rooftop of the shortest building and turned to look back at Mirelle for a moment. From there, the young bobtail took a running start and leapt at the wall to the next rooftop. She was only using the side of the building as climbing ground this time, and so she lost a bit of momentum and ended up scrabbling to get over the edge of the rooftop. Panting lightly, she wasted no time in scampering across the top and jumping the short gap between roofs.
Figuring she had spent enough time in the air at this point, the kit made her way down a fire escape and jumped from the lowest landing and back onto the trash can she began at. A few more jumps, propelling herself off of various objects in the alley, and she was ascending the bar that Mirelle was on. Her teacher was right, as soon as she was forced to balance on such a small surface, her body got a little wobbly. Keeping herself crouched uncertainly on the bar, the kit tipped her ears back a little and grinned up at the singapura. She was effectively out of breath by this point.
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:38 pm
Mir smiled as Demi took her first jump before making her way up to the roof tops. She watched to see if Demi was cushioning herself properly. Getting off of the dumpster, Mir moved a little in to the middle of the alley to watch her better. Grinning to herself as the little kit launched herself across the alley, she made a note to herself that jumping was certainly not a problem and soon proper technique would be second nature. Moving to go sit on the bar she had demonstrated earlier on, she watched Demi move about the alley. Coordination was not going to be a problem at all, but Mir could see that the kit was running out of breath. Endurance training it is then. Mir thought to herself. Smiling in a satisfied way at her pupil, she spoke. “Very good. Unrefined, yes; but with great promise. We’ll make a traceus out of you, yet. Pretty easy, huh?” Mir grinned. “We’ll work on endurance next, but I think we’ll call it a day for exercises today. I have a few questions for you to think about, Demi-san.”
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:05 pm
Demi smiled and panted, her tongue hanging slightly out of her mouth as her chest heaved. "Thanks, I think... What's a traceus, though?" She was really happy for the praise, and also pretty happy to hear that the exercises would be finishing for the day. "Wow... I'm exhausted... Endurance training would probably be a good idea..." With a happy sigh, the bobtail slid off the bar and landed in a soft crouch before falling back on her tail and putting her hands in her crossed lap.
Her ears perked at Mirelle's sudden questionnaire and she tipped her head to the side, "Sure, what is it, Mir-sensei?" She was getting sleepy from the energy she had spent just now and making herself so winded, but she still smiled and listened with attentive ears to what her new mentor was saying.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:42 pm
Mir smiled again. "A traceus is a female practitioner of Parkour." She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "What I wanted you to think about is how you imagine you'd eventually like to fight; what weapon you think you might like to use and what style." She grinned at Demi. "Think of this as a sort of 'Where do you see yourself in five years' sort of question. When the time comes to begin training with a weapon, we'll think about this again, so no pressure at the moment. Or at any moment, for that matter. If it doesn't suit you, you can always change." Grinning again, Mir winked at the eager looking kit. "So, what sounds good to you?" In her mind, Mir was thinking aobut how she might train Demi if her eventual fighting style was something she wasn't familiar with. She wondered who she might ask, or if it would be better to turn her over to another cat.
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