Hiroshi Yamagata [Basic Shaasskah] - Peer mod

[Hiroshi Yamagata]

 

Peer Moderation For Zinn'Sunn. This Thread has been approved for Peer Moderation, assigned to Peermod Kour'el Kha'Serith under the authority of Gossamer , as per the accepted Modplan. Participants are advised that conditions and circumstances may be adjusted to ensure fairness and balance.

7th Brightening of Kalendryas in the Season of Winter, Era I of the Celestine Mandate, Era XV Post Fractum

Hiroshi moved quickly through the Phoenix district, eager to reach the Dojo. He had awoken early in the day, excited at the prospect of learning a new martial art, it was as if he was a child again expecting a present on his birthday. Having paced around his room for some time, he eventually had left to wander around the city, grabbing a bite to eat before leaving. Wandering aimlessly, he eventually had decided to pay a visit to the lovely Garden of Reflecting Pools in the Kitsume District.

Gazing into the tranquil waters of the many pools, time had passed quicker then expected, and as the sun drew higher into the sky, he had began his trek to the little building cloistered among the many warehouses of the Phoenix district. His mind was still at ease as from the previous brightening and he was looking forward to his training immensely. He could forget about his family matters for the time being.

Arriving at the Dojo, Hiro entered quietly and stood near the front, waiting for Vess to greet him.

[Kour'el Kha'Serith]

The dojo was silent now, the previous classes had finished and gone home. The only people now present was Hiroshi himself and Vess. The saurid female was making her way to the kemite, her toes clicking on the wooden floor. She was a healthy specimen of her race, towering over the smaller kemite by almost two feet. Her brownish green hide gleamed with health and care, while the thinner skin of her underbelly, jaw armpits and her thighs was a softer yellow colouration. The black kilt she wore, for for Hiro's sake than hers, was tightened firmly around her slim hips. Bobbing her head in greeting, she spoke in the distinct saurid hiss.

"Ssserale ssstudent. You are jussst on time. Which isss good, I don't like waiting. Jussst to warn you, thisss classsscan be quite ssstrenuousss. Likely you will sssusstain bruisssess. If you do not pay attention, broken bonesss are alsssso possssible. I don't like foolsss in my Dojo. Can you follow my inssstructionsss and ordersss? If not, there isss the door. Ssshould uyou be able to, you will recieved the bessst training in the city." Tilting her head to the side, she watched the kemite with a reptilian gaze.

Having finished her speech, Vess turned and padded to the middle of the room. Squatting down, the saurid blinked slowly at the kemite. "Ssso, tell me sssstudent, what do you know of my racesss combat ssstyle and why you wisssh to learn it?"

[Hiroshi Yamagata]

Hiroshi bowed to his instructor in greeting. He listened carefully as she spoke, not paying much mind to the warnings of injury, he had every intention of listening and following directions closely. He more then expected to have a few bruises before the day was done, such was the nature of combat training, he had sustained more then a few growing up with 3 older brothers. Thoughts of his brothers pained him somewhat, he dearly missed his sparring sessions with Keiji, hopefully this training would satisfy that itch. Before coming further into the building, Hiro quickly removed his footwear and socks, leaving them at the door, and then followed the saurid towards the center of the room.

"I fully intend to follow your instructions Sensei, and I do not expect you to go easy on me. I am eager to learn even if it means a few injuries." While he considered her other question he did some minor stretches. "To be honest I know very little on the combat style of your race, other then what I've seen on the occasions I've looked in on your training sessions. It is certainly impressive with the various kicks and the high jumps. All in all this peeked my interest, and that is why I came to you. Plus it would be useful to know an unarmed combat style in the event I'm ever pinned down without a weapon, knowing how to fight without one could very well save my life." He left out the fact that a good training session would help him take his mind off his family matters and his search for a job.

Standing straight, if not tall when compared to his teacher, Hiro waited for a response from Vess, eager to get to the training.

[Kour'el Kha'Serith]

Vess titled her head to one side and she listened to her newest student's words. He didn't seem to be stupid, which was good. It meant he could be trained. Nodding her head slowly, Vess picked up a stack of parchment, flicking through it before handing it to Hiroshi. "For you to read later, it containsss everything you'll need to know about Sssshassskah. It isss yoursss to keep. Don't read it now though, I'll sssummarize it to you. Now, my people were the onesss who created the art. There isss a lot of movement involved, why sssstand and let someone beat on you when you can avoid and confuse them? The jumpsss and other movementsss can take erasss to master but some amazing thing can be done by the massstersss."

" But to be able to attack and move around efficiently, one must learn to ssstand properly. The ssstancesss are the basic thing ssstudentsss learn. Each of the sssstancessss I will be teaching you today are wide and are ssstable. The first one isss called the forward ssstance by many. It has a sssaurid name but you wouldn't be able to pronounce it." Rising, the female placed her leading foot forward slightly, leaving her legs wide enough to be stable, but not enough to be uncomfortable while bending them slightly. Her weight was equally balanced on both feet. Her arms hung loosely at her side for now.

"Try my posse first then as you get more comfortable your own body will adjust itself till it isss comfortable. Alsso experiment with both feet to find which isss comfortable for you to lead with. Hold it until I ssssay ssstop. You may feel a burning ssssenssation after a while, let me know if thaiss occursss."

[Hiroshi Yamagata]

ooc: So hard to make training posts interesting >.<

Hiroshi took the small pile of parchment from Vess, putting it aside for the time. He would read it later, but for now he was more interested in beginning his training. The young Kemite listened attentively as the saurid gave him a brief run down of the principles of Shasskah. It was a pretty basic introduction, but he could care less, he was here for the technique, not the history. Luckily his scaled sensei didn't drag things out, moving right into the lesson. As she showed him the forward stance, Hiro almost smirked, it was very similar if not the same to swordplay. I suppose all martial arts share the same basic building blocks. I guess I need to show her I can walk before I can run.

Standing in front of Vess, he spread his legs slightly, placing his right foot forward somewhat. Having been trained in combat from a young age, he quickly found his comfort zone. Used to having a katana in his hands normally, he needed to adjust himself somewhat, as he was compensating for weight that wasn't there. Making slight changes to the positioning of his feet, he quickly found a good balance and gave a quick nod to Vess in affirmation that he was satisfied with the stance, waiting for her signal to stop.

[Kour'el Kha'Serith]

OoC: Yeah I know >.< Should have gone for the indirect approach not classroom setting, bad Matt!

Vess watched her student with a critical eye before coming to the realization that while they may not be the awesome capabilities that could level a city in a brightening, this one at least had some combat training and experience. It made her job slightly easier. She relaxed a little, and the look in her reptilian eye changed from forced boredom to something with a little more interest. Deciding to test him, she circled around him, judging his posture, then she stood back and waited to see how long it would take for him to break. The only movement in the dojo was her slow blinking and her tail weaving from side to side lazily.

When she had waited enough, almost a quarter of a candlemark, the saurid female approached the kemite, towering over the youth. Reaching out a taloned hand, she splayed it squarely on his chest and pushed against him with rapidly increasing but controlled pressure. She didn't want to shove him over, but she was looking at a few things. First to see how long he would stand, and then when he moved, to see how well he flowed into a stance where his weight was to the rear of his body.

[Hiroshi Yamagata]

OOC: Yes, but you have take laziness into consideration.

He wasn't sure how long he stood in stance, but it seemed quite a while, and the fact of the matter was, he beginning to grow bored. He glanced around the room casually, but didn't find anything of interest he hadn't seen upon entering. I understand the need to test me, but if something doesn't happen soon I'm going to fall asleep. Finding nothing of interest in one last scan of the room, Hiroshi let his eyes point straight ahead, staring into empty space. He began to think back to his last sparring session with Keiji, thinking of what mistakes he made and how he could correct them. He hadn't been at his best that day and his brother had given him a good thrashing with the wooden practice swords, the young Yamagata's ribs had been sore for days. A slight smile showed on Hiro's lips as he imagined an ogre running a food stand barking "Come get your Kemite ribs, fall off the bone tender." He stopped himself from chuckling, not wanting to annoy his teacher.

Just as he was considering closing his eyes and turning his training into a "deep meditation" session, the saurid began to push him. Having relaxed somewhat he nearly lost his footing, but quickly tensed the muscles in his legs and stopped himself from being pushed back. He maintained his stance for a short while, his back bending slightly as the pressure increased, but eventually he had to move his feet to prevent himself from being tipped over. Carefully he slide his right foot back so that it was behind him and then brought his left forward slightly, bracing himself against the powerful Vess. He knew she was still testing him, but he wasn't as confident this time as he had been in the beginning, given his lapse in concentration.

[Kour'el Kha'Serith]

OoC: Don't I know that And playing with the text formating are we?

Vess cocked her head to the side as she watched the kemite stumble. A hint of a frown crossed her thin, scaled lips at his mistake. However the saurid reserved judgement for now, as she watched him shuffle his weight around into an almost acceptable position. "Do not to lossse concentration in my classss again. As for your current ssstance, it isss acceptable. Your back leg will provide a good center for your balance Thisss isss the defensssive ssstance. When you get a chance, you ssshould practice ssswitching between the ssstancess until you are comfortable moving and can do it quickly and effecently. In a fight, no one will wait till you are ready before attacking."

With that, the saurid withdrew her taloned hand from the kemite's chest and circled him one more, her tail weaving from side to side as she disappeared from Hiro's field of vision. When she was behind him this time, she reached out her hand and placed it on Hiro's head, this time pushing him down towards the ground. Her reptilian eyes didn't blink as she watched what the kemite would do next. This time the pressure came faster then before. Obviously the saurid had decided to pick up the pace and keep her student focused.

[Hiroshi Yamagata]

OOC: Not really, just a side effect of writing the posts in Wordpad and then copying them over.

Hiro flushed in embarassment at his sloppy transition. It wasn't like him to lose focus like that, he would be certain to keep his attention on task for the rest of the session. My apologies Senesei, it won't happen again." he responded quickly. He was already fairly adept at switching from stance to stance, but after this incident he would no doubt find himself practicing later for assurance.

The saurid let the pressure off his chest and the dissapeared behind him. He maintained defensive stance without being asked, awaiting, no expecting some move from his teacher. The wait was not long, as Vess seemed to have picked up the pace. Feeling her warm, scaled hand on the top of his head, he found himself being pushed down to the ground, much more forcefully then previously. Compensating for this quickly, the kemite bent his knees and straightened his shoulders, moving into a crouching position. His legs would absorb most of the downward force, though with her strength she would no doubt still cause him to lose balance if she kept increasing the pressure on his head.

[Kour'el Kha'Serith]

OoC: Hrm, I don't get problems like that but I type all my coding, I don't use the control panel for it.

"Acceptable." The saurid said curtly as Hiroshi moved to keep up with the pressure. Perhaps still a little miffed at his proper lack of respect shown earlier to her dojo, Vess kept up the pressure until the human was forced into a rather rude looking position. Like a dwarf who had a bit too much spicy food to eat out in the woods or something and the meal had caught up to him. There she kept him for a few moments before she released him and stalked around into his field of vision again.

"Now that you know the ssstancesss, we'll move to the blocksss. At basssic level you learn three. They are sssimple but you can ssstill fight effectively with them. Asss you progresss you will learn more complex onesss. I will firssst ssshow you how to do them, and then we'll sssee how you can ussse them when I ssstrike at you. The firssst one I'll teach you isss the upper block. Begin in any of the three ssstancesss you jussst learned." She watched unblinking until he had gotten into one of the stances.

When he had adopted one, she stepped into her own forward stance, to show him how it was done. "Thisss is how the block beginsss. Raissse your elbow till it isss pointing to the sssky right above your opponant'sss head. Whichever ssside the attack is coming from isss the elbow you raissse. Ussse the meaty part of your arm, the bicep to block with, not the forearm. Tucking your head into your arm a bit will alssso soften the blow sssometimes. Imagine you are being attacked from the right ssside now." She watched him, while she held her own position, to give him a better idea of how to do it.

[Hiroshi Yamagata]

OOC: Yeh I think it's because I spellchecked it in the my webmail thing.

Hiroshi did his best to maintain the stance as Vess increased the pressure, but in the end he found himself with his back forward and his face push down below his knees. Needless to say it was not comfortable. Stuck this way, he wondered how long he would have to endure it when the saurid finally let up. Rising to his feet slowly, he cursed himself silently for his earlier lapse in concentration, it seemed Vess didn't let things go, at least not when it came to her class.

Hiro listened carefully as Vess gave him instructions. Upon her request, he spread his legs slightly, with his right leg back and his left leg slightly forward, entering defensive stance. It seemed to him it would be a good position for blocking strikes. Once this was done he listened to her further instructions, watching attentively as she demonstrated the technique. It seemed rather simple, though she did it with an ease and grace that came with era's of experience. Studying the position of her arms, Hiroshi imagined being assaulted from the right side, and brought his right arm up, the elbow pointing to the ceiling and the meat of his bicep protecting his face. He could see why it was known as the upper block, as it left his lower body exposed and vulnerable. Maintaining the block, he waited for further instructions

[Kour'el Kha'Serith]

OoC: Fail ^^

Vess watched the human intently as he went through the movements of the block. he lacked refinement and grace but that would come with time and practice. When the human got used to moving between the different forms, and got a few fights under his belt, he would make it look as easy as Vess did. Giving a small, quick nod of the head, indicating her approval, the Saurid switched the arm she was blocking with effortlessly. "Try with your other arm now. Depending on which hand you prefer to ussse you will have to practice with the opposssite arm to ensssure you get used to usssing both. In a fight, you can't expect your oponanentsss to hit at you with only one hand, and you should not be handicapped like that either. Ssswitch between both armsss ssseveral timesss and then do it from the sssquat ssstance and then we'll continue."

She watched him as he went through his paces, offering small suggestions on his techniques as he progressed. Either he could listen to them or he wouldn't, she was doing her job to ensure her student was as prepared as could be expected. When he entered the squat stance, she called out for him to either block from the left or the right, increasing the tempo till she was satisfied he could do it quickly. Finally she stopped him.

"Enough. The next block isss the middle block. It isss preformed by dropping your arm down to protect your ssside from attacksss. Watch me then you try." Sliding forward into a forward stance, the saurid dropped her left arm to protect her side, forming a v shape between her bicep and her forearm. "The shape should be tight, so a weapon or a blow can't sneak through it. Better to use your arm to block with then your kidneys. Try it now, with both arms again and when you learn the final block, I'll test you on them by attacking you." Stepping back, the female waited for her student to follow her instructions.

[Hiroshi Yamagata]

Following Vess' instructions, Hiro lowered his right arm and then brought his left arm up, positioning it in the same way he had moved his right. It was a little more awkward with his left, but he supposed it would come like second nature as he trained more. He had always envied his brother Keiji's natural ambidexterity, and had once attempted to emulate his brother. He had spent weeks training with his katana in his left hand, but despite that his skill still lay more in his right, and he had begrudgingly gone back to his normal habits. Even so he had improved somewhat with his left during that period, so it hadn't been a complete waste of time. After waiting a moment for any critique, Hiroshi lowered this arm and then switched to his right arm again. He continued to switch from arm to arm for a few minutes, getting a feel for the motion of the block, imagining a blow swinging towards him with the intent to crack his skull like a melon. Occasionally Vess would correct his form, or warn him if he was losing stance as he was more concentrating on the position of his arms rather then the positioning of his feet. Eventually she motioned for him to stop, he dropped both arms to his sides in response.

Taking a casual stance, he listened to her instructions and watched as she demonstrated the middle block. There wasn't much to it really, and he was more then confident to follow her lead. Switching to forward stance, Hiroshi bent his right arm, keeping it at his side, his forearm protecting his vulnerable organs. He then switched to his left, and then back to his right again, repeating this as he had done with the upper block. He continued this until she motioned for him to stop, and then awaited further instructions from his saurid sensei.