Shimazu Teahouse

He was surprised to say the least as he saw Kinjous grandmother look so young, for a moment he blinked in some confusion, despite the fact Jay himself aged very slowly he was caught off guard by seeing that beastkin could also do that huh.  He heard her talking about doing push ups, forty sounded like a good number for a work out, he lay down facing the ground, quickly spacing his arms around he began to push himself up, it wasn't too hard to do the push ups.

As he did the push ups he didn't seemed to show fatigue of course this came from him travailing, training and being a half vampire.  By the twentieth he seemed to have picked up the pace his impatient was showing a little but the warm up was starting to tire him, not physically but his patients for keeping it going was growing thin. Finally he got to the last push up. after finishing he quickly hopped up Done he had an obvious look of excitement in his eyes, he was so close to learning the basics.

As she noted his eager nature, she'd decided to let him in on the little understanding now, why...she was explaining so many things to him. She'd continued the pressure until students learned it. Well she was certainly going soft, that was something that she'd have to remedy. "You must learn patience, young one. Loss of patience or focus means you lose at the very least, 25% of your potential in battle. Discipline is the prime lesson you may or may not pick up. Let these exercises teach you this, if no less." Turning from him, she'd raised both of her hands and let them slowly come down in front of her.

"You will now learn, movement number one. Watch me and try to mimic." This was something that she'd take slowly, so that his eyes could follow the movements. Raising her left palm to her waist, she'd brought her right fist back in front of her and bowed to the air. Following the moment's lingering in one place, she'd stepped forward and thrust a straight kick forward, bringing her foot back down slowly so that her left heel rested upon the ground and her right foot balanced her. Following her next action, she'd swept a slow roundhouse through the air, though just before her foot would touch down; her toe tip would snap forward and strike again before lowering to the ground completely. She stopped and turned to see if he could follow the graceful motions, they were obviously intended to be slowly performed and above all with balance.

Jay nodded, feeling rather nostalgic at the lecture of patience and discipline, his father and teacher both gave him the very same lecture. He watched the teachers slow movements, despite being slow they seemed smooth, obviously the woman's skill was great to even make the movements this slow yet fluid. After she was done Jay raised his arms then brought his left hand to his waist and let his right hand out in front of him. He didn't quiet get the foot right, he tried to do the roundhouse then the follow up attack but only managed to almost trip Wahh he said hopping on his one leg trying to keep balance Its..harder than it looks..

As clearly knowing of this fact, she'd gestured for him to center himself again. "Yes it is, what I need for you to envision is a leaf on the rippling brook. The stones beneath the surface may be wet, but you will hold your balance, since you must stay afloat. Are we understood?" it was almost purely philosophical in nature, but it was meant to get him to understand the main focus of their form. Why it was powerful was most because of knowing when to strike, how to unleash key force and how to direct that very power with the minimal amount of strain or effort on part of the user.

"Balance is very important...so you will hold your leg up for 15 minutes, I've cut in half the usual time I have any student of mine go. But you are a unique case, I'll break you into this with less force." well this was being nice apparently, something that she wasn't exactly known for when it came to being an instructor. She waited for him to get in posture.

It took Jay a moment to think of what a brook was, then he thought a little on what the teacher said I get it he began to stand on his left leg, it was odd how he was wobbling, he was used to balancing with his spear was that it ? Was it simply because he was using his spear to balance ?  Either way he seemed to gain his balance after a minute or so of wobbling. The wobbling lessened as he was quickly getting his bearings, by the five minute mark he seemed to have gotten it, his arms were out a little as he let out a deep breath.
Shouldn't I do this for both legs ? he asked at the ten minute mark Its just..seems more beneficial that way..? he said slightly confident with his idea.

While pleased that he was on what she saw as a beginning of his grasping the concept, she answered the question with a simple answer. "You will be balancing on your other foot, you will be doing so for 20 minutes. Given your ability so far, you should be fine upping the ante for your other leg. So once this last 5 minutes ends for this leg, you are to switch." She continued to watch him in earnest, paying attention to even how he wobbled, each of it would make for a decent means of commanding him during his lesson.

Jay nodded, his wobbling seemed to stop during the last five minutes, his grasp on balancing had come quickly it seemed. As the five minutes ended he quickly moved legs, as before he was wobbling but not nearly as much, he was using what he learned to balance correctly, he was grasping spreading his weight without the spear.  It was strangely calming standing on one leg, he wasn't sure why, but it felt right for some reason, quickly time passed as he stopped wobbling and then finally the time was up.

As she monitored his stance, she seemed to be certain of one thing and that was how rough it was, he'd had some idea behind it and possessed some general gift of talent. It was how it felt, so once she'd seen enough of his balancing she spoke out. "Well done, now practice the first form again...here watch and then show me." the beastkin instructor turned away from her student and once again repeated her actions: showing the slowness of her movements in order to emphasize this to Jay so that he could focus.

Jay put his other foot down, once again he watched his teachers movements, watching closely at how she managed to move her body to maintain the balance I see he said, bringing his left palm down to his waist and his right hand out wards. He shifted the weight and brought his right leg up for the round house kick slowly, then he snapped his foot forwards before it landed on the ground, wobbling a little but not falling down.
As his foot finally rest on the ground he smiled Did I do it right ?

He'd had some good progress, but if he was to build these basics into his understanding, then she would have to drill the lessons harder into his person. So she decided to treat him as she would any regular student. While she would not make these lessons a very common thing, she would be sure to impart the knowledge into his mind. "Repeat this action 50 times, it might seem like excess. But it is the actions we learn from most, I would see you do just that." she'd much preferred him to actually make the sense of difference. The first form was the most versatile of their style, it was not the most important, but it could be mixed up anywhere within the form of combat itself.

Jay nodded, to be honest he was expecting something like this, reading comic books had prepared him for such a training..kinda. Well it was more his previous training and physical enhancements.  Deciding to take it a little faster he got into position, left palm at his waist and right hand out, his left leg planted firmly on the ground, he brought his right leg up for the roundhouse kick, as nearly touched the ground he snapped the foot forwards.  It was a little faster than before nothing impressive thought.
As per his teachers lesson he began to repeat the action, showing no sign of fatigue as he was clearly showing signs of focusing more, each time he did the action it was becoming faster not by much however, if anything he was gradually increasing the pace and getting used to balancing with the kick.

By the forty fifth kick he was in a near zen like trance, his focused side was now fully showing itself as he consistently did four kicks in a fluid and fast motion, however sweat had began to drip down his fore head as it seemed like fatigue was slowly starting. Despite this he had a fire in his eyes as he brought his right leg up for the roundhouse kick, there was a cracking noise as though a whip had been used, and then his foot snapped forwards, for a moment his right leg stayed up Jay focused on his foot before slowly bringing it down.

To see that he had improved over the 50 kicks was a slight surprise, since most repeated the action until tiring. But if he had stamina to go still, then he would simply be pushed harder. The next action was soon being set up. "Not bad for a beginner, now that you've completed that, it is time for our second form. Pay attention closely." there was not to be a break until the third form was complete, this included the entire exercise itself. So without any further thought, she continued.

Taking root stance again, she performed the an inside crescent kick with her left foot; having made sure that the edge of her foot was curved outward like a blade while it swept in a full inward circle before slamming to the ground. As her foot's edge hit the ground, She immediately swept her right foot up and then outward in a thrusting high kick, before slowly lowering her foot. "Realize that the second kick must be lowered just as slowly as the way I did so. This is how the Shimazu clan keeps one's kicks from being too limited. A mix-up is important, a slow foot is an able weapon." this was the last that she had to comment on the kick itself.

"Show me how well you can follow that."

Again Jay watched the teacher closely, taking note how she swung the leg then slowly brought it down, he noticed she curved her foot to make it look almost like a blade, in fact he mistook it for a blade as he watched. He got into the root stance, left palm to his side and right hand out he brought his left leg up for the crescent kick he didn't curve his foot wanting to get a feel for the kick first. As his foot lowered it felt and looked awkwardly slow however when he snapped the leg up for the high kick it seemed more natural. It was obvious on his face he knew something was wrong with the kick.

"You are aware already, that is good...you are sharper than you let on, so what you need to do is let your foot angle itself a little less. Your foot may not have the proper flexibility to mimic my foot blade; but you can compensate by letting your foot rest angled. So while not a sword, a scimitar also cuts things finely." she gave him a nice allusion to envision, the curve of the scimitar was no less effective than any sword at slicing something. She adapted this for human students who might take up lessons from her. Though she had not employed them in years.

Hmm like a scimitar... he began to imagine his leg being a scimitar, sadly he kinda got off track a little and seemed slightly unnerved for a moment as he imagined his leg was literately a scimitar. His face went a little blue before he finally got back into focus Hmm let my foot angle...  As he spoke he lifted up his leg he he put his foot at an angle and gently swung it, then he brought it back down and did the crescent kick again with the angled foot, it was slower so he could get used to it.

He seemed to have the idea down pretty quickly, this was only the second form, he'd have 4 more to learn in order to complete the basic course. She was certain that after she drilled him in this, that he would be able to take it somewhere. It was obvious that ideal that picked up, she had not even gotten his name by this point. it was going to be something that she'd have to do later, without a doubt she was impressed with his talent for learning. But there would not be quite the time in the day for giving him more than the core six stances and forms with them. It was the trick of the trade, simplistic forms with their own imagination being applied, it would grant him some good tools for innovative thinking. "You do me proud, young one...you are at least able."

Jay smiled at the compliment for a moment he remembered his former teacher and father, almost seeing them beside the old woman. It was a strange moment of nostalgia, happiness and sadness and it showed on his face, his eyes seemed somewhat older than his appearance S-so what's the next form ? he tried to get back into training.  Nostalgia was wasting time right now and he had a burning passion that had began to burn in him, memories of what happened to his father pushed him forward, the burning passion showed in his eyes with the red they almost seemed to be set a blaze.

She decided as to how she might proceed and offered something gentle in point, a small pat on his shoulder just before she spoke to him. "I need you next to practice these two as a complete form...this is form three, and as endurance is important. You will need to perform this no less than 70 times. I wish you luck with that completion." she's given his shoulder another pat on the shoulder, just before she stepped and stood backwards with her right foot drawn back and left just off to her side; still shoulder length apart, with her knees in balance as she slid her right foot forward before sweeping in a low mid range kick, before raising up her right heel straight up and bringing it down in an axe kick. Her movement ending in dropping strike to the ground just before she'd have thrust her heel outward on point.

Jay nodded as the teacher was done talking, once again he watched with great interest in this third form, he then began to try the technique him self. He drew his right foot back and left foot just out the to the side keeping them shoulder width apart making sure to have his knees were balancing right.  He slide his right foot out then swept it in a low mid range kick, then the foot raised and brought down as an axe kick.  Finally he he did the dropping strike followed by the thrust of his heel outwards, his movements were not as fluid as the teachers of course, still learning he got back up and went on with the actions.
As before each time he preformed it he got used to it, the way his knees needed to balance, the way his body moved. It was odd but he had a slight zen feeling to this, his mind began to think a little less on the movements.  It seemed he was lucky to have so much combat experience and training before coming here it was helping out with this, he shuddered to think of doing this without any type of experience and then he tripped as his mind had wandered.

He was lay flat on his back, the floor was very unforgiving to his head and back however he just sat up, then pulled himself up and continued the training 40 he uttered starting again. He couldn't let his mind wander again, who knows what would happen if that happened in a fight, or maybe he would get told to do more ? Feeling his mind wander again he tried to focus harder on the training.
It felt exhausting now, maybe it was him focusing for so long ? Or was he really not getting the type of excessive he needed ? Whatever it was he kept pushing on he would get a second wind at the end. Probably.

On his final attempt he felt something strange, as he swung his leg for the mid kick he felt a weird feeling in his body, as he brought his leg up it was there again, and finally when he finished it was there again. He couldn't explain what it was but, he felt wrong. Something was missing from this.

To have seen her new student persevere through his training thus far, even she could not help but be impressed by the drive and stamina that he possessed. Earlier on, they were no less than strangers and while he hadn't needed to help, he stepped in and aided the Teahouse. Perhaps that unique blend of honor and humility that this child possessed was something that drew her into instructing him. He was trying so very hard, but she would give him a break now. He'd managed through to the third form, that was more than she'd thought he'd make so soon. "A 20 minutes break, if you need it will be given. I expect that may need some tea, so I will return with some." it had taken the spry beastkin woman had disappeared within moments and returned no less than about 2 minutes with some warm tea.

"It is from this recent batch, so it should be tolerable." she'd held it out for Jay to drink down.

Jay stood there still wondering what was missing, it bugged him it was simple he knew what it was but his mind just couldn't think of what it was. For a moment he blinked as he was told to take a break Uh yeah sure, he sat down and could feel his legs aching a bit Really has been a while since I did some serious training he said gently poking at his legs.  While he waited for his teacher to come back he sat there creating sparks around his fingers, really he was just killing time Wonder if I could become more accurate with this training ?
As the teacher came back his hands stopped sparking, he wondered how she would react to him knowing magic it couldn't be a bad reaction but people do tend to act weird around him when he fires off lighting bolts. He stood up Thank you speaking as he took the cup and sipped the tea, it was still warm the aches in his legs were quickly going away as he sipped the tea. This may sound a bit weird..but what do you think of magic ?

"You're welcome." her word came from acknowledging his 'thank you' for the tea. She drew her braid back down to rest at the side of her neck before answering his question, it wasn't much to answer that. Surely she had not known any magic herself, but she likened it to her the ability to tap into one's inner energy, the spiritual direction of one's very body, harnessing that was likely a parallel to magic; even if things weren't exactly the same. "Magic is a rare gift possessed by some people, since the fall of the guild of Magic, such traits are rare but; it is a heavenly gift. Something difficult to learn, as far as I might know of it. Something I surmise is difficult for the person to learn." she naturally thought positive or neutrally about it, not feeling about it negatively or particularly positive; she knew no one personally with possession of magic.

He felt a happy that she didn't hate magic, listening to her talking about it was making his pride swell a little however and made him considering not telling her he could do magic, he feared it may interfere with the training somehow. He continued to sip the tea, he wasn't sure what type of tea this was despite the fact he sat there drink it for several minutes, it was a strange break with the thoughts about magic and what was missing from his training.
He some what narrowed down what it maybe that he is missing, something about weight and balance it was on the tip of his tounge but he couldn't figure it out, it was very frustrating now and it showed on his face.

She seemed to be considering which advice to give him, he'd been doing fairly well for someone who had never really trained in their martial arts line, but she would at least attempt to make sure that each principle stood out in his mind, to sharpen his focus more so. "You saw it young one, that is a good sign for you, perceptiveness will aid your every lesson in the future. You were thinking just then 'what am I missing?' while you performed the moves fairly well, your breathing is one thing that is off. You must always keep a steady breath, maintain yourself at all points through the movements. It is very easy to lose oneself to the battle, if you have an issue with focus then perhaps you may need to repeat the actions. Focus on breath, balance, and grace. You will thank the 9 gates for these in any battle you may have later."

Jay listened to the advice it was good advice but he felt that wasn't what was wrong, still he took metal notes on it. He blinked a little as he put the cup down, he looked at his hands for a moment and blinked, like clock work his mind began to work.  Slowly he looked up with the expression of "I am an idiot" as he quickly got up and shuffled over to the bag he brought in This is what I was missing he said unzipping it and then pulling out his spear.  It didn't look too special but it looked completely made out of steel and seemed to be at least eight feet long I've actually had training in spear and I've been using this for years.  He felt more relaxed holding the spear his body felt more balanced too, it was something so simple to him but he was a bit too focused on training kicks to see it.