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 Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 12:21 pm
It was hard to say if Kuyoja was happy or not. He looked over his list of supplies, checking his equipment over, oiling the blades checking the leather's on the handle before replacing them on their rack and checking that the matts on the floor were aligned neatly and wouldn't slip when run on. He had to make sure everything was perfect. It had been a while since he had seen Valen's. He wondered breifly if the bamboo weapon he had given the boy had survived.
The boy was strong, very strong but...had very little restraint when he came to using his strength. He had tried to teach the boy restraint in his movements last class. Ah well...if the bamboo rod was ruined he would just had to let the boy have another one. And it would continue until he could finally move up to a wooden one. A broken weapon only shows the boy had not learned how to control his strength....and until he had then he could move up in the type of weapon.
So in a sense Kuyoja was 'excited' or at the very least curious about how the boy had progressed. By this amount of time he should of mastered or at least gotten fairly well at the two moves he had been taught before. Turning he adjusted his gi so it setteled on his shoulders. Valens had been prompt on his previous class. He assumed he would be just as on time as before.
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 1:34 pm
It was like the sound of a herd of elephants rushing down a hallway, the sound that proceeding the horse boy... of course he ran right passed the right door. He was so bad with directions and remember where it was that he was supposed to go... luckily he always had a helpful voice reminding him where he was supposed to go.
The helpful voice, a female's voice, called after the boy, "Valens! Right here!"
There were more footsteps coming from the direction Valens had run returning to the right direction and then the door opened up. The pair stepped inside, Ellie first since she was the lady followed by Valens who was dressed as he had been told to dress during the last class though the items looked a little smaller on his this time around. It would seem he hit a growth spurt or two since the last time he'd come to class, "Hello." He greeted the teacher, ears turning forward and a smile appearing on his lips.
Ellie sat down next to her boy, nodding her head, "Hello." She greeted him as well, her tail swishing behind her in delight. Finally she was back in this class and could get another look at the man and figure out if he were a dragon or not!
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 2:38 pm
Kuyoja if he were like most men would of chuckled at the sound of Valen's tromping past his objective only having to back track. Perhaps he was laughing on the inside. He gave no sign of it otherwise however. He stood back straight his hands, neatly behind his back as he watched as Ellie the horse boy's silver dragon came in. She was as beautiful as the first time he saw her and he took in sheer delight as he took her image in. Dragons...were his first and only real weakness.
Though...he hadn't expected her to speak. Even as Kuyoja his eye's widened only slightly at the surprise, though he offered her a gentle smile.
"Konichi wa Ellie-sama." He greeted her with a small bow in her direction. He obviously held a great respect for them. He then went to focus on Valen's he did take note that the gi was already getting too small for the boy. Growth spurt it looked like. He would have to fix that ...and quickly.
He gave him a nod of approval.
"I am glad to see you in the proper attire...though you have grown since the last I have seen you. I suggest we change your gi before we continue. " He suggested as he walked back towards the lockers and pulled it open. He looked inside a moment and pulled out a much larger gi and handed it to him before gesturing to the change room for the boy to change.
"When done we will start. Do you still have the bamboo pole I sent you with from our last class?" He inquired.
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 3:46 pm
Ellie couldn't help but perk up happily as the man talked to her and not only did he talk to her he even smiled! Her tail started to swish that much more behind her, surely he had to be a dragon or else he wouldn't be so charming.
Valens couldn't help but grin, nudging his dragon before he looked over at the teacher, "Ahh... yeah... I seem to be always growing." He said. While the gi hadn't fit very well he'd pulled it on anyways since the teacher had told him it was what he was supposed to wear to class.
"Yes!" He said. The horse boy untied the rope that he had across his chest like a sash which held the Naginata on his back. It had made it easier to carry it along with him when he went out and about, "I have it right here." He tossed the rope to Ellie then held the bamboo weapon out for Kuyoja to see.
Ellie gave a squeak sound and caught the rope though just barely and then set it aside for her boy.
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 4:19 pm
Kuyoja took the weapon and looked it over, it was certainly loved. A little wear and tear but certainly not broken it was in fact just as good as the day he left if in the boys charge. He was impressed though didn't show it and merly handed the weapon back.
"Good, now once you change, I want you to show me what you have practiced in the time we have been apart. " He ordered firmly as he moved to his own weapon's rack and picked up a wooden Naginata. Turning he faced the young boy, he waited patiently for the boy to show him his learned skills as well change into the new gi.
He waved Ellie over to him so as to let the boy focus on his own. He was getting the idea the silver dragon was this boy's rock. The one thing that kept him going in the right direction. Ellie could help the boy outside of classes but not in class.
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 4:30 pm
Valens took it back happily then set down the bamboo weapon at his hooves so that he could change out of the several sizes to small gi and into the other other one that he had provided. He was somewhat sorry to see it go since it had been what he'd worn for his first class. No reason to get sentimental he told himself as he picked his Naginata again, "I did what you told me to do, practicing each day what I was shown last class."
Needless to say both his parents had been in complete and total shock to see him doing something everyday without prompting. He enjoyed the exercise in fact and learning to control his strength while different was something he'd been enjoying as well. His strength was enough that he could easily move furniture so harnessing it to do a specific task could be difficult at times.
He watched as Ellie moved to sit next to the teacher and made a mental note to tease her later. She was starring up at the teacher in a manner similar to the way he starred at cute girls. When she was out of the way he looked to the teacher and then set to going over what he'd been shown last class, guessing by the way the teacher was waiting and watching that its what he should be doing.
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Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 2:20 pm
Kuyoja watched as Valens displayed his training. He could tell just by his movement he had improved greatly, much more controlled he felt proud. So his lesson had gotten through to the boy, excellent. Though his face didn't betray his approval he continued to watch until he raised a hand to stop him.
"You have done very well. I believe it is time to move onto the next set of skills." He spoke as he moved towards the young boy. "Now due to the actual weight of the weapon some may see it as a disadvantage to weild in battle. But in truth a master can use this blade to cover 380 square feet of space in front of him or herself." He explained taking his own wooden Naginata to show.
Twirling the blade with one hand he managed to spin it around in front of himself much like the prop to a plane. He slowed it down before moving the weapon so he could show the Valens something particular interseting. Unlike Valen's Bamboo blade the wooden naginata had a metal bracket on the end of it.
"This...helps to balance the weapon. For if you only had the blade you woud find it extremely top heavy. Now. I believe you have worked with the bamboo training long enough. I believe it is time you moved onto the wooden naginata. It will help build up your strength for when you are actually able to weild the actually weapon." He explained offering the boy the wooden training weapon his empty hand reaching for the bamboo one.
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 6:03 pm
Valens did his best not to flush in delight at the compliments that he'd gotten from his teacher. It was the best one he'd heard for a long while, his tail was swishing behind him, "Thank you, I've been doing my best." He murmured.
He watched as the teacher took his own weapon in hand and started to show off the skill of twirling of the weapon, covering a wide amount of area in front of him just as he'd said could be done. Needless to say the Valens was a bit speechless. It made his own attempts very childish, he had to remind himself that he was just starting out at this though.
The horse boy's eyes went wide as the teacher held out the wooden weapon with the metal counter weight out to him. He starred at it before he made the trade with him, "Thanks." He said, amazed that he'd been given a new weapon to practice with.
He tested the felt of it in his hands, the weight. It felt much different but he was eager to try his hand at it.
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 7:53 am
Kuyoja nodded his head, the only sign of approval; good, the boy wasn't getting cocky. He didn't tolerate cockiness, and any child who tried it with him would soon be dismissed from his classes all together.
"First I want you to test out the first two move's I taught you first class. You may find it a bit more difficult with the heavier weapon, but I want to see just how well you can control it. Once done I will decide from there where to move on in your training." He stated moving off to the side the bamboo weapon now in his hand. Placing it back onto a rack gently as if its value was just as great as the true weapons beside it he then turned to face his student again, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You can begin at any time. I will tell you when to stop." He ordered.
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 7:41 pm
He nodded his head rapidly and lifted the weapon up, holding it out in front of himself as the teacher had showed him when he first gave him the bamboo naginata. He took a deep, steadying breath as he had to maintain his control to keep from letting his strength get the best of him. Once he was sure he was ready he started to move through the motions of the two skills he knew.
Mr Tsuzuki wasn't kidding when he said that it would be more difficult, at first he was doing fine but it started to get harder the more that he repeated the motions. He pushed himself to keep his hands from shaking, to keep his motions smooth, and to keep the 'blade' of the wooden weapon from coming in contact with the floor. All of it resulted in a sheen of sweat appearing under his hair and on skin.
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 9:17 am
Kuyoja raised a hand to show Valens was to stop. He was doing very well, his dedication was impressive. Though more impressive was his attempts to not let the blade fall and hit the ground.
"Good, I can see that you are learning the value of training. Now, I want you to take the wooden blade home to practice with, but we will go back to using the bamboo blade to learn the new steps." He said offering the silver a pat on the head as he moved past her. He didn't want Valen's wearing himself out or risk having him hurt himself by using a weapon he wasn't accustomed to.
Picking up the bamboo weapon again he moved over to exchange it with Valens before using the wooden one himself to demonstrate.
"I need you to stand in this position," He said as he moved his feet a bit of a distance from each other, a similar position that other moves used.
"Then I want you to watch how I move my hand as I turn the weapon." He continued as he turned the blade in his hand slowly so valens could follow.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 1:43 pm
Ellie gave a happy sound somewhat like a purr when the teacher pat her on the head, eyes following him as he moved to talk and teacher her boy once more. The more she was around him the more she liked him, she didn't know if he were a dragon or not but anyone that could get her boy to pay attention, learn control, patience, and dedication to something must be magical.
Valens traded the weapons with Mr Tszuki once more then took a moment to let his muscles relax and to take in some steadying breaths. As he did so his ears turned forward toward his teacher and he moved into the position he was told to take.
He took the bamboo weapon into his hands, lifted it up, and then watched closely what his teacher was doing for a moment before he started to follow the motions. Going from the wooden weapon back to the bamboo one was hard, he had gotten used to the weight of the other one so now that he was using the lighter weapon he had to work harder to keep himself from swinging to hard.
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 10:08 am
Kuyoja took into account that Valen's was having difficulty going back to the lighter weapon. It wouldn't matter in the rest of the lesson, soon when they got the weapon moving faster the boy would appreciate him changing back to the lighter weapon.
Kuyoja nodded his head as he watched the boy and then continued to increase the speed. As he turned the weapon, "Be sure to check the space of your weapon to yourself. If you arn't careful you could very well cut yourself instead. Make sure that you don't hit the floor, once you increase your speed hitting the ground could not only break your weapon but possible hurt you as well."
The idea of letting the blade or butt end hint the ground was...jarring. Not only was there a risk (depending on speed of weapon and what it hit) of the blade snapping off it could rebound and hit the user. His fingers moved delcately and swiftly as the weapon's pole turned in his hands.
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 8:33 pm
Valens faltered for a moment when the teacher told him that he should keep an eye on the space between himself and the weapon. It had only made him worry about hitting himself and worry about the space between the weapon's 'blade' and his own body parts. He bit his lip to get his concentration back as when he found himself worrying overly was when he nearly pegged himself with the weapon just as the teacher had warned against.
Can't fret, he thought to himself, just had to keep doing what he was doing and as the teacher was doing and he would be alright. To much worrying would only give him a head ache.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 12:10 pm
Kuyoja stopped moving his own weapon and then moved around to observe Valen's progress. It seemed like he was nervous...he could tell by the bunching of his muscles, a bunching that was not from the use but from tension or worry.
But he was doing well dispite this, and he was pleased to see him progressing.
"Now once you feel you have gotten comfortable with the speed try increasing it slowly. If you hit the floor I want you to stop, take calming breaths and then continue." He explained. He would add movement in, only after Valens had gotten more comfertable with the weapon.
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