[training log] september training sessions

[darkinferno]

WHO: Anybody on the Retrospec network!
WHERE: Utsuki Dojo in Tisse
WHEN: Sundays in September and the beginning of October (9/10, 9/17, 9/24, 10/1), 6pm - midnight
WHAT: FIGHT CLUB Weapons/self-defense training and trying new weapons out for new characters and information sharing!
WARNINGS: None expected; will edit as usual if necessary

HEADS UP: This will be the only fight club log posted for all of September! New threads can be started throughout the entire month (and fresh topleveling if necessary is fine; developments happen!) and everyone is encouraged to keep coming back periodically to check for new information!!

training sessions - September

i. I'm calling you from the future.

At 6:00, the dojo closes for the night, open to only those members of the Retrospec network. There's a good mix of people who have been coming for a while and people brand new to the network, but regardless of if you're new or old, you've got some time before everything really gets underway. Some might take this time to warm up and stretch out, getting ready for the evening, while others might be mingling or chatting and still others are examining the practice weapons available. Regardless of what you choose to do, things don't really begin until 6:15 when, as has become his norm, Dante Rantanen climbs up onto a chair to officially start the meeting.

"Hey," he says, a far cry from his normal openings. To those who know him, he still seems a bit more restrained than is really normal, but he takes a deep breath and continues: "I'm glad to see how many people made it out tonight. If you're new, you've probably heard about the stuff we went through last month--if you've been here a while, you lived it. Either way, these sessions are more important than ever. If you know anyone who hasn't come out here, try and get them to come at least once; Retrospec's sending people weapons whether you've ever used them before or not. You don't want to get caught off guard if they do it again.

"For those of you who are new: this isn't some sort of Skyler Murden Fight Club thing. We're not here to punch each other senseless. If that's what you're here for, the door's over there." Dante points, giving it a moment to make sure everybody's got his point. "The point of this is to test out and see if you've got any memories of fighting and, whether you do or don't, to learn how to fight in a safe place. We're not fighting monsters here, so take care of each other.

"Make sure you sign in before you jump into anything. There's a waiver over there--" he points to a table, "--just to keep things legal. We don't need the cops swooping down on us, not with the stuff some people have gotten back so far.

"Last thing: a lot of us have been practicing with our weapons for several months now and are willing to teach people how to fight. So those of you that are willing to teach, you know the drill. Go ahead and introduce yourselves."

Once the introductions have finished, Dante nods. "All right, I think that's it. Anybody needs anything, come and see me."


ii. To let you know we've made mistakes.

Did anybody wonder what Dante was going to do with the money he made from that bingo stand in July? If so, wonder no longer: alongside all the practice weapons available for use is a large wooden axe, shaped and crafted and sanded down smooth. Anyone want to give it a go? It's got a bit of a heft to it, but it's not overly heavy. Who knows, maybe you were a lumberjack in a past life!

Outside of the axe, the usual range of weapons are available to be picked from: wooden swords, with and without crossguards in various styles as might be found around the world, fencing foils all tipped with practice buttons for safety (again in a variety of styles, with quillions, without, bell guards or swept knuckle-guards, and so on), staves, polearms, spears and shields, and at the end of the row a handful of Nerf guns with a couple packs of new darts for the more modern fighters amongst them. (Sitting behind the Nerf guns is a sign, written in thick black Sharpie: "DON'T AIM FOR PEOPLE'S HEADS." There's been trouble in the past.)

Once you've selected your weapon of choice, it's time to get to work! There are multiple people offering help or instruction, but there are also training dummies to spar against if that's your preferred way to train. Perhaps you're a trial-by-fire type of person ready to spar, or maybe you're one of those offering your skills as a teacher? What will you do tonight?


iii. There's a fog from the past that's giving me such a headache.

A couple hours into the night, you might notice a number of people putting down their weapons to take a break. There's no specific structure to the evening, so maybe you've already taken a break or two yourself! At any rate, as it gets closer to 8:00, Dante will put finger and thumb in his mouth to give a sharp whistle, commanding attention once again. "Sorry to interrupt," he says, "but since we got called out by Jim and Maurice for trying to be secretive about these meetings, there's no real point in it any more. Head on outside if you want to talk about everything we know so far--" (on September 10th he'll add "--if you didn't get enough of that already with Souji and Dave.") "If you just got added to Retrospec this month and have questions still, this might be a good time to ask them."

What do you choose to do? Will you go outside and join those talking about the network and all its secrets? Or would you prefer to just stay inside and get some more training in? There are no wrong decisions to be made at this point.

[[September training logs! This log will cover Sunday, September 10, September 17, September 24, and October 1. Please use this log throughout the entire month to log anything that might happen at Sunday practices! You're encouraged to make new toplevels as necessary for any new developments that might occur throughout the month, such as new metaplot developments/reveals or character development leading to spars, or anything else you might think of! There will be a toplevel in the comments to OOCly collect all new metaplot details collected in the info-sharing meetings in one place.

Any questions, concerns, or additions can either be PM'd to me here or PP me at journeys.]]

Comments

OOC PLOT ROUDNUP

[darkinferno]

I'm sorry, I love you guys, I'm not trying to sum up everything that happened in August's plot. Check out:

• Info-sharing on the network (posted by Souji and Dave)
  
• In-person mingle log for info-sharing (ICly September 9)

Report new developments here!

Elliot Craig | OTA | September 10th Only

[fiddlestick]

[A. WEAPON SELECT ]
[Elliot did not want to be here. He hadn't even been planning to come originally. Buuut when it turns out the guy who runs it and personally invited you is a guy you knew when you were a kid -- it was really hard to get out of it. Or at least, it was hard for someone like Elliot who had serious trouble putting his foot down.

So here he is, standing in front of the weapon's rack as he tries to figure out what weapon he was supposed to use. He's had enough exposure to military things to know those kinds of weapons - most of these looked like they belonged in a video game rather than actual real life. Did people really fight with this stuff in this day and age???

But he'll try them out, or at least try to grab onto them and give them a swing -- at least the ones he can lift. Most of them get a reaction of a frown, a sigh and then him putting it back. He really can't see himself fighting...]

[B. THE WINNER IS YOU ]
[No. seriously.]

[Elliot will agree to spar people, to try out different weapons and to see if there's any way to improve on his fighting. For the first few moments, he seems okay. He's small, but he's got the stance of someone whose actually had fight training. He seems to know at least the basic principles of how a fight works.

But each and every time? It'll end with him crashing down into the mat within a minute. If the person fighting him is skilled? It's even less. He's not fast enough to react, not agile to dodge, and not strong enough to block blows. If he somehow manages to land a hit? It's far too gentle to actually hurt- he lacks the strength to do heavy blows, and he's too timid to actually hurt anyone. All around, it's a pathetic fight. A training dummy would put up a better fight.]

O-ow...

[Or at least it'd whimper less]

[C. LEAVE ME HERE TO DIE ]
[After many rounds of spars that ended up with him being thrown down into the mat, Elliot doesn't even have it in him to move. He's laid up on a pile of unused mats, looking like he's waiting for the sweet embrace of death. ]

I-I don't think I can even feel my limbs anymore...

[He'll be fine. Probably. Needless to say, he probably won't be back anytime soon.]

C;

[complementing]

Hey, don't flop down like that, it's not good for you...

[Minako kneels down next to him and prods his shoulder.]

Elliot, right? You okay?

17th, 24th, or 1st; ota

[complementing]

I. FORM

[After introducing herself, anybody who wants to work in polearms can join her for a round of kata. Practicing body movement is important before you actually try and stab someone in the gut, after all. She'll be at the front demonstrating at first, but after a while she'll walk around and check that everyone's doing okay. The touch at your arm is probably her.]

Widen your stance just a little bit, and then try again.

[Or. You know. Since very few people actually are interested in polearms, you can catch her while she's watching her dog Koromaru practice with a wooden shuriken.]

Maybe I should get an actual shuriken for you to use, Korochan. I can't keep giving you kitchen knives...they just don't hold up that well in battle.

[Koromaru barks in agreement.]

II. FUNCTION

[If you want to spar, Minako is more than happy to be your opponent!

At some point, she might wander off and come back with a practice sword.]

I'm more of a spear girl, but...I got all of those abilities back in one night. I want to try something else, learn it from scratch. Can you teach me?

II, 17?? 24??? Time is a flat circle

[lingeringwill]

Not really. [Terra's looming, monstrously tall frame seems to appear behind her. He's holding a practice sword behind his head across his shoulders.]

I only know how to punch people. [A smile.]

Hey, Captain.

ii

[me_matey]

I'll be honest with ya, girl, despite the whole... pirate thing, I ain't never used a sword in my life, and got no memories for it.

But I could see how you do against my anchor. -Since that was just... apparently how she was fighting now.-

ii, time doesn't exist

[usurpers]

[ Eren had a wooden sword in his own hand, weighing the faux weapon back and forth in his palms and frowning to himself. He's obviously fishing for some sort of trigger that had yet to come, and to his distaste, the gun-like weaponry left him as empty handed as he was now.

He's still running on a single childhood memory of an olden setting, heavy artillery probably wouldn't have pinged anything— as much as his military interests would have enjoyed it (let's be real, what sort of teenager wouldn't like knowing something cool and badass about your other life, or whatever he should be calling it).

When Minako approaches him, the young airman is just about ready to set the sword back where it belongs, looking disappointed and clicking his tongue to himself. Maybe if someone's up for some hand to hand, but— wouldn't he have remembered something by now, with the frequency he practices in mind? Once she speaks up, Eren stands at attention, wooden sword still loose in hand. ]

I— sorry. I don't know anything about swords. [ He shrugs apologetically, but his curiosity is piqued. All in one night? ] You said all those abilities came back in one night— How'd you do that?

II. Probably after Terra but idk

[destiny_key]

[Sora's sitting on the sidelines, just chilling. He doesn't know why he keeps coming to these things, really.

Probably because there's so many people he knows. He grins at Minako when she approaches him, glad to see she's feeling better, and stands up to face her.]

I can try. Dunno how much I can teach you, though.

II

[mincingminuet]

[Pen looks up from her seat on the bleachers at Minako with a tilt to her head, rolling the shillelagh in her hands over and over in her fingertips. Could she teach? Well...]

Not the sword, but if you feel like going and grabbing one of those canes from the wall, I'll show you how to use them.

[She points the tip of her own at the rack.]

The kind like mine. It's stuff you can use with an umbrella too, if you get a sturdy one.

Sept 10 & 17 OTA

[kagepuro]

I

[You may notice a tiny girl sitting in the corner of the dojo, keeping to herself. She's up against one of the corners hugging her knees, probably with a bored sort of expression on her face. Small and unremarkable, she certainly looks out of place, wearing a pair of shorts and a shirt with a skull that has a noose around its neck on it. Occasionally, you'll catch her nodding off, but otherwise she's just watching other people fight and train, never leaving her corner. Well, until her legs start to fall asleep and she gets up, stumbles forward, and grabs a practice sword. But instead of going over to train with anyone, she just brings it back to her corner and hugs it as she continued to watch. What's her deal, anyway?]

II

Heh...I feel like a total young lion, right now...[For some reason, Ayano has taken to cleaning the dojo later in the days. Wiping up what needs to be wiped, tidying up areas that may have become messy or out of place. Strangely, she seems to be doing this all with a smile as she goes about making the dojo look extra nice. From time to time, she'll be quietly mumbling to herself.]

Aaah, Shibata-sensei, I promise this place will look great when I'm done with it...

[Skipping back and forth through the dojo, she carefully makes sure all of the practice weapons make it to their proper place.]

Yes sir, Shibata-sensei, I would love to wrap your hands and lace your boots...fufufu...

I

[insantafe]

You know, you’re not going to learn anything just by sitting around.

[ What is she doing here, anyway? There’s no point in hanging around if she’s so bored. Using his own practice sword, Jack points at hers, eyebrows raised inquisitively. ]

You know how to use that thing, or what?

II

[matchbreaker]

... Girl, are you drunk or something?

[ Like. Just asking.

Because what. ]

ota, all month

[buncho]

i.
Me! I can teach! My name's Mafuyu! I'll fight you!!

[ WOULD THAT BE A GOOD IDEA THOUGH. There's probably better teachers out there, somebody who looks more professional and like they know what they're doing, not this high school girl waving an arm above her head, standing on the tips of her toes to make herself just a little taller, just a little more noticeable in the crowd of people here tonight.

Mafuyu doesn't have anything on hand, although she came with a backpack stuffed full of things: a wooden sword, brass knuckles, a pair of ninja stars, and half a dozen bags of gummy fruit snacks. All of that is shoved into a corner, because what she's most used to fighting is hand to hand, or so she says. She might be a good teacher to somebody new to fighting so they can't hurt each other too much...? Sorry if you think that. ]

ii.
[ Of course she's playing around with the axe. Who let Mafuyu touch the axe? At least somebody had the presence of mind to shuffle her outside to practice with it, but for as easily as she seems to be able to carry the unwieldy weapon, she has no idea how to use it. Axes are something you just swing around, but they're super slow and hard to aim, so what if she just...

gives it a whirl, literally, spinning around like she's performing a hammer throw and lets it fly

hahaha watch out ]

wildcard
[ Mafuyu will be here every Sunday! ]

II. Because it's our destiny

[fiddlestick]

[ You know who isn't good at dodging??

THIS GUY.

To give him credit, he hears the axe coming by the way it cuts through the wind. But all that really does is makes him see the oncoming axe with a look of terror seconds before--

WHAM.

Annnd down to the ground he goes. Overkill.]

i

[admiringly]

[ Chiyo does want to learn how to fight, and she especially wants learn how to fight properly. She was only half-surprised when Mafuyu dragged her here but was also half-grateful. Of course her childhood friend is gungho about volunteering to fight. Of course she is, but.... ]

What can you teach, Mafuyu? Will you show me?

[ She still believes in her friends. Mafuyu gets into fights all the time and she fought so many monsters last month, so surely she knows enough about fighting to teach it. Chiyoo's not sure how good of a teacher Mafuyu will be, but Chiyo hopes for the best. ]

Sorey | All September | Sword Lessons! | OTA

[openhanded]

[A. GRINDING EXP ]

[Sorey has been a little spotty about showing up lately just because of all the craziness going on, but those who are new and those who've gone before are free to recognize him. Dante came to him personally, asking for him to be a sword instructor, and Sorey does take it seriously... It's just that he has to work at the bar sometimes, too.

He brings his own equipment for students to use, all of which is used but in good condition. He's been taking kendo for over ten years so he has armor, bokken, and shinai in all sizes-- there are less-standard swords nearby with the rest of Dante's donated weapons. In addition to all this, he has a big 24 pack of water bottles, gatorade, and some protein bars for people wanting a quick pick-me-up. Sorey is nothing if not overprepared.

Sorey himself is dressed down a bit for ease of comfort-- stretchy gray jeans, a black tank top that says 'MY JOB ROCKS' on it, and a peculiar white glove. The sword he prefers is unusual, red and engraved and lacking an edge. He sits in the middle of his area atop a stool and waits with a smile-- sometimes offering someone water or refreshments if they look seriously bushed.]

[B. SPARRING ]

[He's quick, not supernaturally so, but with the ease of practice. And his technique is completely unpredictable. This isn't a school of kendo he's drawing from, it's something else. He's not sure what yet but he has just as much benefit from these sessions as the 'students' do.

Maybe you're watching, or maybe you're the one who asked him for a spar-- but he shoots out his foot to push his opponent's leg and make them stumble. At least hitting the mat doesn't hurt too bad.]

Ah, nope. You can't always look at someone's face to know what they'll do, [he says gently as he offers a hand up.] You have to take in their entire body language. Right before I kicked, I shifted my weight to my other foot and leaned in a bit, like this.

Let's try that again.

[He might end up the one flipped next time, who knows.]

[C. Wildcard]

[Sorey can also be found testing his archery skills. Otherwise he is free for people to challenge, drag into lessons, recognize from school (where's the geek getup?) and whatnot. Just toss me a prompt!]

A

[destiny_key]

[How long had it been since Sora had asked Sorey to show him some moves? It's been a couple of months, at least. So, this seems like a great time to jump on that offer, and maybe be able to do more than just swing the Keyblade like a bat. It could come in handy in the future.

He approaches Sorey, grinning, and summons the Keyblade to hand.]

Hope you're not sick of tutoring me yet.

[seizedtheday]

I.
[ Davey doesn’t know what he’s doing here. Sure, he spent the past month as a faux miner, clutching onto a pickaxe like his life depended on it. It was only pure dumb luck he didn’t end up injuring anyone or himself swinging the weapon like he had been. He’s just a college kid, what does he know about fighting?

But then again, that’s why he’s here, isn’t it? There’s no denying they were all going to end up in a situation like that again and Davey’s determined to make sure next time everyone makes it back in one piece.

Unsurprisingly, his eyes are immediately drawn to the shiny new axe amongst the literal wall of an armory. A bit different than the one he’d gotten used to but apples and oranges, honestly. It shouldn't be too different ......right?]

If no one else does I suppose…..?

[ He’s hovering over it in indecision, someone help him decide ]

II.
[ Somebody is quickly learning despite being competent enough to wield an axe for a month, proper training is a whole different ball game. He’d even just stuck to the bare bone unarmed basics to start with and yet his questionable life choices are catching up with him.

Tired is one word for it. Quietly Dying is another. ]

I think my bruises have bruises.

III.
[ Or he can just be found near any of the convenient rest spots, watching the ongoing training in fascination. Feel free to hit him up with whatever! ]

I

[mincingminuet]

[From beside him, Davey will hear a little snort of amusement from Penelope as she reaches for a long, wooden cane. Best probably described as a shillelagh, honestly.]

If you like axes, you should take it. It isn't gonna bite, after all.

[Leaning on the knobbed end of the cane, she grins at him.]

Give it a go with me.

September 17th and 24th? I guess | ota

[matchbreaker]

A) Pussyfooting around

[ This has two parts: the first time she shows up, she's sort of picking up and swinging the various weapons, frowning at them while making no real attempt to fight anyone or do any real training or anything. More just watching people, wearing sunglasses indoors and frowning to herself in her tracksuit and shorts. The 5' forty year old feels out of place.

Second time around, she has... well, something that served her well last month? But she's not really rearing to use that in combat either, even if she is swinging the big thing around one handed as she crouches to watch other people. ]

B) Actual fighting

Okay, okay. So does anyone else have super strength or won't bruise if I try to work out how strong I am now? ... Which of course sounds stupid, but at this point I might as well.

[ They're inside and even if the lights hurt, the woman takes off her sunglasses, revealing her red eyes, looking oddly predatory. She's still in the same sort of shorts and tracksuit combo as ever, and still weaponless, but she's bouncing around ready to test this and that out. ]

B!

[ladytakamaki]

Hey, Elda; uh...I don't have super strength, but I can spar with you otherwise?

[ no. no, ann, you can't. ]

...Actually, uh. Maybe I can't. Do you think...you could teach me some of your moves?

Sep 10th | closed to dante | cw: underage drinking

[me_matey]

-May had managed to work up a sweat working on her cardio. Most of her strength training couldn't really be done at a facility like that, but she could still work her ass off. But now it was time to relax and...

She clapped Dante on the shoulder once she came up to him, able to do so without doubling most people over now.-

Got that 'soda' we talked about? I could use a break, dunno about you.

[darkinferno]

[Honestly? He could use the drink right about now. After first having to deal with Mafuyu trying to take Elliot's head off with the new ax and then hearing about another catastrophe involving the girl, Dante's just a touch put out tonight. So when May comes up and claps him on the shoulder (jeez, girl, there's some power behind that...), he nods in understanding and agreement.]

Sounds good to me; I was ready to take a break anyways.

I left them out in the car, come on.

[Tatsuo might know he drinks, might have talked to him while the both of them were drunk, but he's not gonna disrespect the man by bringing it into the dojo. So follow him out to his car, May, and he's got a bottle of rum and a few sodas in the trunk!]

9/10 & 9/17

[thisloveisjustice]

Look, Tatsuo is a Grade A run of the mill bog standard human. None of this super strength, super speed, 'I can shoot fire from my hands' stuff. Though he does have twenty years of karate under his belt. So he's mostly just here to provide some 'adult' supervision. Make sure the dojo doesn't accidentally get trashed, make sure no one gets injured. Etc, etc.

He can be found on the sidelines, just watching, his bo leaning against the wall beside him.


[ooc: If your character would like some hand to hand practice, Tatsuo is good for that. If your character would like some general advice for staff fighting, Tatsuo is also good for that.]

9/17

[cattack]

Cleo needs to clear her head. There's been too much, all of it swirling around in her head, in her brain, until she can't make sense of it all. What she needs is just her old standby: To work her body until she drops. If her body is too exhausted to move, she can drown her brain's incessant buzzing in the endorphins, in the rush of the workout, in the satisfaction afterwards.

So she picks up her wooden practice sword and stretches, approaching Tatsuo with a small grin. There's an opponent she can work with. There's an opponent who she can go all-out against, pushing her body until she drops.

"Would you care to spar?" She smiles, her new tail flicking around behind her in anticipation, looking every part the cat who has seen the treats.

9/17, probably 9/24, ota

[twelfthspark]

[If monster fighting taught Arlene anything, it wasn't how to fight well with her Retrospec-granted weapons. It's time she came to the experts(?). She thinks she's making an entrance when she comes in for the first time, wrapped in black from head to toe in a coat that fits like it was made just for her, and flashes her knives into her hand.

The fact that those knives are still shaped like childish purple dragonflies might spoil the effect a little.

She can be found trying out a couple of the other weapons; staves and fencing foils to get a feel for them before they come up in stage combat class, target practice with a Nerf pistol, but the only thing that really feels right is knives. A training knife is back in her hand by the end of the night.

Who wants a spar? She wouldn't turn down a spar. Fight her.
Or: Her form is frankly a mess, the work of somebody entirely self-taught. She could really use some guidance.
Or: Target practice! Her aim with the Nerf gun is pretty good, and as she warms up she decides to give throwing knives a try. That's going to take more work...]

[usurpers]

[ The only thing Eren's more comfortable with is hand to hand, and even then, it probably wasn't something extraordinary. With his ability pool rather on the average side for an aspiring airman that did a lot of classes over the years, he still strives to find something. There had to be something he could get from working around these weapons and sparring sessions, whether he had to learn from scratch or had the luck of regaining something. So far— he's only gotten memories of getting his ass whooped.

With a practice knife in hand and taking stance (his form is basic, but doable), once he's found his dancing partner, he calls her attention and begins to circle. He's ready when you are. ]

Sakura Tohsaka | OTA | 17th, 21st, 1st

[imaginex]

Weapons

[This is a mistake and Sakura feels it in her bones the moment she looks at the wide range of weapons inside the dojo. She wasn't raised under a rock, but goodness, why have humans invented so many unique ways to puncture each other's skulls? Her mother would have a heart attack if she saw her daughter now.

... Which means of course she goes for the axe first. Can barely lift it, but it's in her hands, wielded more like a hammer she's gonna swing down at the county fair. She even has the nerve to try the weapon on one of the training dummies.

The dummy wins.

For the love of all that is holy, give that girl some space until she finally drags the axe back to its proper place and trades it for a nerf gun. Which she doesn't even use. It's more something to cradle while she goes to nurse her sore shoulders in a nearby corner]

Sparring

[But why would you spar this poor girl? Heathens.

But no really, Sakura will try her Very Best if anyone offers to teach her some moves, though please grade her on a curve. She's still paying for the assumption that she isn't out of shape, and ha. HA.]

Sorry! ... Sorry... I'll try again.

[Spoken after getting her ass knocked on the mat for the 50th time. At least she takes it in stride, never complaining and always getting back to her feet to embarrass herself once more. It's not determination so much as a limited well of perseverance. So long as her teacher is willing, she'll keep doing this all night]

17th/weapons

[twelfthspark]

[Arlene is at the next dummy over, taking a few exploratory stabs at it with a fencing foil, when Sakura brings the axe over. When the other girl goes all carnival strength tester on it, she can't help but put the sword down and watch.

... From a couple extra steps back, because jeez. The axe-to-girl ratio is way off with this one. When Sakura finally lowers the axe, Arlene follows after, suppressed laughter causing her to break out in a grin.]

Were you hoping you woke up with super strength today, or what?

ota, all month!

[negativism]

a; everybody was kung-fu fighting (training - self-defense maneuvers)

[ Honestly the fact that there's a legitimate training group would worry David had it not been for the fact that they had literally just finished dealing with monsters last month, never mind that two of the three major memories he's triggered were due to sparring with people. Honestly at this point he's almost afraid that the joke theory about his other self being involved in a "super secret fight club" was actually true. But he can't deny the excitement thrumming in his veins at this point, either. But for now, he's at least attempting to keep a tamp on it, looking out to the others and watching, scrutinizing and ready to go himself, doing a few stretches before getting into actual warmups.

Might as well make sure he's good to go before anything else. And probably mention how he can help out. ]

Anyone that's interested in learning how to effectively disarm, grapple or evade - feel free to let me know. Having a good offence only goes so far.

b; let's get down to business (sparring)

[ Later on, though, David's much more interested in actually properly sparring with people, despite the fact that he still hasn't reached for any of the weapons laying around. Nothing's currently calling out to him, anyway. That might change depending on if his opponent does and if he's not as confident in his hand-to-hand skill, however (which is a feat in and of itself, he's proud of how far he's come over the years and even now). If anything, David's confident when he gives a small bow to his opponent and shifts to shake their hand.

He might not have any powers (yet), but he can at least try and hold his own. ]

Let me know when you're good.

c; wildcard

[ David will try and be here as much as he can, though he might take off suddenly if he's needed for work. It's the unfortunate part of the job he has. ]

b-ish; rng said before

[complementing]

[Weapons are absolutely Minako's territory, and she's the most impressive with a spear, flowing through different kinds of thrusts, lunges, and turns and moving faster the longer she's at it. The odd thing is that she sometimes holds the spear in just her right hand to touch her hip with her left...and it's during one of these moments that she sees him.] Hi David! Can't find a partner?

24th, 1st (and technically the 10th) OTA

[blessmefather]

WALLFLOWER

[ Anyone who had been around back on the 10th might have caught a quick glimpse of Matt on the sidelines. He hadn't stayed long, only for about half an hour before leaving. It seemed he was simply there to watch or more accurately listen to the meeting. He did walk a lap with his cane out tapping in front of him around the edges of the dojo but otherwise he didn't participate.

He's back again on the 24th (and again on the 1st), this time dressed more casually like he might actually get out on the mat but he sticks to the sidelines like a wallflower. Then again, can he participate some might wonder if they notice him? Between the glasses and the white cane it's clear he's blind. Anyone willing to teach him will have to get creative, no doubt. ]

WILDCARD

[usurpers]

[ At some point during dojo hours (because time doesn't exist), Eren plops down on a seat right next to Matt; he's seen him there for a while now, one of the first days and he probably left earlier than Eren did (and he left early on the first weekend). He can see how some might find difficulty in blindness, but Eren sees past it, already prying something together and giving the man's shoulder a clap. ]

Ready?

[ If he's going to just sit there, he might as well go home— and he himself doesn't want that for his friend. ]

9/24, OTA

[obscultator]

[It's the last training session of the callendar month, and look who's finally decided to show up.]

[Karl has been keeping to himself so far, which isn't exactly unusual in and of itself, but anyone who knows him may be able to tell that there are some larger-than-average chinks forming in his usual armor of pastoral serenity.]

[He's over to one side practicing with a wooden longsword from out of the collection, slowly and carefully performing a number of solo drills in the basics of footwork, stance and grip. He is very clearly at the level of a rusty amateur at best, and he seems to be getting increasingly (and somewhat uncharacteristically) frustrated at his own lack of progress. Help a Father out?]