Go With the Flow (D5, LA)

[Hantei Kinsen]

Kinsen removed her thick cloak and opts to warm herself up. She begins with some stretches and then moves up to hit some old dead trees around. The crackling noises and tremors are quite felt nearby, as all it takes for someone doubly blessed by Bishamon is a mere blow.

[Taochusu]

The sounds drew the giant, curious if there was some problem or if someone was in need of assistance. Seeing the lady he had helped move boxes days ago, he gave a wave. "Need a hand with anything?"

[Hantei Kinsen]

Kinsen blows up a wild bang from her face and smiles. "A training parter as big as you would do fine."

[Taochusu]

"What are you training? Just improving strength?" he asks.

[Hantei Kinsen]

She looks down to her legs and then up to him. "I was trying some kicks. After all, dear husband says that samurai must be able to use all the weapons available to them, even if they have preference for one in particular. But some strength training would do fine, too. What's on your mind?"

[Taochusu]

"Nothing really. I just heard some crashing and made my way over to see if someone needed a hand," he says. "Never really trained with punches and kicks and all that. Kind of just relied on my instincts when I needed to."

[Hantei Kinsen]

"Well, instincts are what taught me how to fight with my hands and feet. Perhaps I can teach you some of it, since you have been so diligent to our cause." She says, crossing hands at her back.

[Taochusu]

"Couldn't hurt, I guess," he says with a nod. "So, just punching trees to practice then?"

[Hantei Kinsen]

"Oh. That could hurt you if you're not fully prepared." She warns. "Let's stick with the basics, for now. We can try some hits afterwards. Also, we need to get wood to the campfires. These dried out old trees are good for that."

Kinsen shows one of her proto-jujutsu fighting stance to Taochusu to copy: The Kinsen's Talon pounce.

[Taochusu]

When he tries it he does it all wrong. His feet are in the wrong position and his center of gravity is off because of that.

[Hantei Kinsen]

Kinsen nods to him, seeing a similar pattern before. She bumps him firmly at the lower torso to correct core, instructing, "No fat belly. Strengthen up your center and root your legs down not to fall like those trees."

She takes a stance at his side and shows how, breathing steadily as she moves.

[Taochusu]

"Well, I can't really do anything about my fat belly," he says with a chuckle. "And I'm not about to stop eating." He pats his stomach and it's clear from the lack of jiggle that there is way more muscle than fat in there. "This is my lifting shelf."

He does try to make the corrections, but even still his stance doesn't look quite right. Their bodies are far too different, so when he tries to imitate her stance it comes out all wrong. The adjustments she made are kept for a bit, but he just doesn't have an image in his mind of what he should look like.

[Hantei Kinsen]

Kinsen is used to that. Most people she taught never really assumed the stance right off the bat. It takes time, training and dedication for martial arts to be assimilated. She smiles, and praises him. "You're doing fine, now. Although there's much to improve."

She shows how the front leg should be fixed, saying, "Next, mind the legs. Like this."

After its done, she shows how the pounce would go like –– not hitting anything in particular as it as just a form of a kata. Just to get him excited of the potential result.

[Taochusu]

He doesn't really ever show excitement, so it's not something she sees. But there is curiosity. He works through the stance with the corrections and the movements that she shows him. Despite his size he moves with a surprising ease. If he could improve his form it's likely that he'd be quite dangerous even with a basic understanding. He'd probably be like that with pretty much any weapon or style based on how easily he moves his considerable mass.

"Most of the time if things come to fists, I tend to try and grab what or who I'm fighting," he admits.

[Hantei Kinsen]

She nods, beaming up a smile. “That is exactly what this movement is for. A feral pounce over you’re target, so you act first and dominate with a strong grip.”

[Taochusu]

"It feels a bit like an first move too though. Hopefully I won't be caught without my hammer in that kind of situation, but it's better to know how than to not know how," he says with a nod, trying the move again.

[Hantei Kinsen]

Kinsen squints her eyes to think inwardly over how a hammer could be used. Satisfied, she nods, telling him, “I guess if one is strong enough to pounce while slamming a hammer down, this move could work. I might have to adapt a few things, though.”

[Taochusu]

"No worries. A hammer works way different from a fist anyway. You get more force from them with the weight at the end. My arm can't be as long as my arm and a hammer after all," he says with a chuckle. "Better to learn how to use my hands like hands and use a hammer like a hammer."

[Hantei Kinsen]

"Ok! Now, show me what you've learned!" Kinsen assumes a defensive stance to check how well he grasped what she has showed so far.

--
Spar: Initiative vs. Taochusu: 3d10o10k2 11
Spar: Defense/Reflexes: 4d10o10k2 30
ATN: 30 --> 10 (Ref) + 5 (Armor) + 15 (Full Defense Roll)
Stance: Full Defense

[Taochusu]

The big guy lunges at her fiercly, but just barely misses grabbing a hold of her armor. It slips through his fingers when he makes contact, her movements letting her get away.

D5 LA, Sparring w/ Kinsen, Init: 4d10o10k3 22

D5 LA, Sparring w/ Kinsen, Initiate Grapple, Full Attack, Jiujutsu / Agility Untrained, TN 30: 6d10k5 24

Armor TN: 15 --> 20 (Ref) + 5 (Armor) - 10 (Full Attack)