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Post by Rinkotsu on Aug 31, 2010 16:45:01 GMT -8
Training Day One: Old Man Power? [Hakuda]
Rinkotsu woke up today feeling a little different than usual but not quite sure what the feeling was. He stretched his limbs before finally mustering the strength to leave the covers that had given him warmth during the night. He slowly made his way to the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror and noticing his bad case of bed head. He laughed silently to himself for a moment before getting ready for the day, not really sure what he was going to do yet though. Several ideas came into his head as he made himself presentable, like possibly going to the squad 3 barracks to see if there was anything he could do to help out. Or he could possibly clean his house, something he hadn’t done in some time he figured due to the smell that was lingering. He decided against cleaning today, it wasn’t necessary right now seeing as no one ever came to his house anyway or even knew where it was for that matter. Finally prepared, he opened his sliding door and was greeted with a blast of sunshine, the sun high in the cloud free sky.
As Rinkotsu made his way around Seireitei he came to the conclusion that he hadn’t made much progress in strength since joining the 3rd squad and that wasn’t acceptable in his opinion. He had goals and he planned to reach them whether he felt like it or not because that was his nature. He changed course then, having been headed toward the 3rd barracks but instead began to head towards the training grounds. There were several areas he could work on since he was far from perfect when it came down to it but he had to decide on what to focus on for the moment. Right now his weakest points where hand to hand combat and shunpo, he was very poor at both. They could be the difference between life and death one day and he needed to improve. Rinkotsu came to the conclusion that he would focus on hand to hand training today, liking the idea of being able to overpower someone without having to use a weapon.
Rinkotsu arrived at the training grounds and made his way over to the practice dummies figuring he could lay a few hits on them to warm himself up. He made a solid fist and gave the dummy in front of him a punch, not really sure why though. At this point he realized he wouldn’t get much out of training on a dummy when it came to hand to hand combat. “This is ridiculous.” Rinkotsu said to himself and a moment later he heard a voice off to the side of him. “If you want to learn how to use fists then a dummy isn’t good enough. You have to fight a person or else you might as well swing at the wind.” Rinkotsu turned to see a slightly older man talking to him. “Thanks for the advice. Do you mind helping me out then please?” Rinkotsu asked, being polite as always. “Sure boy, just promise me you won’t cry.” The old man said before coming within a few feet of Rinkotsu. “I promise.” He replied before going on the offensive.
Rinkotsu closed in, giving a right handed jab at the old man and expecting it to connect but meeting only air. The old man had dodged by side stepping to his right and gave a right hook into Rinkotsu’s exposed left side. Rinkotsu’s ribs felt like they had been squashed as he fell to the ground, grasping his side as the pain swelled across his body. He wasn’t expecting such a hit from the man nor his speed and he paid the price for underestimating his opponent. The old man lent down to give Rinkotsu a hand up which he took generously because he definitely needed the help. “You rushed it and left yourself exposed kid. Keep your hands up and always be ready to block or you’ll end up a lot worse than your feeling now.” The old man advised and Rinkotsu was glad for it. “Thanks for the tip.” Rinkotsu panted but he was ready to keep going. He faced the old man once again, ready to try a different tactic this time and hoping it would work in his favor.
Rinkotsu slowly made his way closer, testing the waters and watching for any response in the man. He was hoping he could anticipate his movements by watching for when he tensed, getting ready to strike. The old man tensed and Rinkotsu saw it so he was expecting the coming blow, a right hook that was aimed straight for his head. Rinkotsu ducked and took the opportunity to send a strong left hook into the man’s stomach and was surprised when it connected. However, the old man had not dodged it on purpose and had Rinkotsu set up nicely to take him out. The old man quickly used his left arm to come up under Rinkotsu’s chin, lifting his head up and then brought him into the crook of his arm. Rinkotsu was placed in a guillotine and was desperately gasping for air, unable to comprehend the strength of this submission. “You stayed down there too long kid and now you’re screwed. Unless you plan on taking me to the ground, its best to strike from above.“ The old man said as he released Rinkotsu from his clutches.
Rinkotsu was getting very irritated with how easily he was being defeated but he knew he was learning information that would help him in the long run so he calmed himself. The old man was only trying to show him the flaws in what he was doing and how to fix them and he could accept that. “Alright, strike below from above. Got it.” Rinkotsu said as he rubbed his neck which was sore from the hold. This time he was determined to do a better job and not get man handled so quickly. He just needed a way that he could overcome a stronger and more experienced opponent and it was hard to come up with an idea. He examined the man he was fighting and came up with an idea that he figured wouldn’t work but he didn’t have any other options. Rinkotsu brought his fists up and approached the man once again, this time ready to have the upper hand.
Rinkotsu was within striking range so he feinted a right hook figuring the old man would block which he did, raising an arm to protect himself. Rinkotsu knew there would be a counter attack and he saw the right hook so he once again ducked to avoid it. “I told you not to go down!” The old man growled as he sent his left elbow straight down, aimed at Rinkotsu’s head but he had other plans. Rinkotsu quickly slipped through the old man’s legs and stood up behind him before his elbow had stopped, the momentum carrying it. Rinkotsu grabbed the old man’s shoulders and made a slight bounce, lifting himself about half a foot off the ground. He then shifted his weight as he began to descend and pushed his feet directly into the back of the man’s knees, sending him straight back onto Rinkotsu. The old man wasn’t expecting this and that made him hesitate with a reaction which gave Rinkotsu ample time to get the advantage. Rinkotsu put the old man in a rear naked choke as they made contact with the ground, the weight of the old man hitting him made him grunt. It was then that he fortified his hold with a leg lock around the old man’s waist, squeezing his thighs together to force him to exhale his air and further hinder his movements. “I think I have you pinned.” Rinkotsu said as he struggled to keep the squirming man apprehended. To this the old man grumbled something but Rinkotsu couldn’t make it out due to the circumstances.
Finally the old man stopped fighting and Rinkotsu released his holds, letting him catch his breath and recover. Rinkotsu’s muscles were sore from having to restrain such a strong guy but he knew they would be stronger from it so he would deal with the pain. “Good job boy, you nearly killed me.” The old man said with a hearty laugh while Rinkotsu could only smile in response. “Well, looks like you’ve gotten a bit better now, doesn’t it? Anyway, I got a family to feed. See ya.” The old man said before walking off. Rinkotsu stayed there for a little longer, revisiting the advice the man had given him and how he had implemented it. He went down again even after the advice because he knew the man would figure he wouldn’t do it but also because he wouldn’t be able to sneak behind him any other way. He would have to remember this stuff so the next time he had to use his hands he wouldn’t be so overpowered like he was earlier today. With that thought in mind Rinkotsu began to head home, he needed a long bath to sooth his muscles and something to eat, he was desperately hungry.
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Post by Rinkotsu on Oct 1, 2010 21:18:18 GMT -8
Training Day Two: The Freshest Move I've Ever Seen [Hoho]
Rinkotsu woke up today, still sore from the events that occurred yesterday. He hopped out of bed and decided to take a quick morning stretch before facing the rest of the day. He got in a good couple arm and legs stretches before moving on to some flexibility stuff to limber him up. He still hurt but it was a lot better now that he had done that and he was ready to get started for the day. After he was all settled and dressed, he headed out his door and began to once again head for the training grounds, knowing that he wasn't done trying to better himself. He had worked on his hand to hand the other day and felt that it had paid off quite a bit but he wasn't done, now he wanted to touch another subject he was unfamiliar on.
He was very inexperienced in shunpo and didn't even know if he could do it, having only tried like once and then stopped. He knew that it was a beneficial skill but he had never taken the time to learn or practice it and he now was feeling the repercussions of his ignorance. If he ever faced an opponent who could effectively use shunpo while he couldn't he would be at a steep disadvantage and defeat would most likely be unavoidable and he couldn't let that situation arise. Today he really needed to get in gear and learn how to use shunpo so that he can progress onto other things that will probably be more challenging for him, or possibly easy, who knew. Rinkotsu then entered the training grounds and took in the atmosphere, the will to train was present here and that's what he was going to do.
Rinkotsu now tried to remember the basic concepts of how shunpo is done and what steps are taken to use it. It only took him a moment to realize the only thing he knew about it was that you use reishi under your feet to walk on air or something like that. It was enough of a start for him to try it out though and was more than enough to get to a good start. Rinkotsu decided he might as well get started or else he would end up being here all day and he didn't want that, but this time he was smart enough to pack a lunch.
Rinkotsu focused his reiatsu, figuring he would do just like what he was told, solidify it beneath his feet and see if he can walk on the air. Rinkotsu figured it couldn't be that hard to do and after a moment thought he was ready to go. He lifted his left leg and tried to step on the air and watched as his foot merely came back down to touch the ground. He wasn't upset that he hadn't gotten it on his first try though, he didn't expect everything to come easy and knew that hard work was required. Rinkotsu was about to try once more when he heard a familiar voice in the distance. “So what are you doing here this time boy?” the old man shouted at him from a nearby bench.
Rinkotsu hadn't noticed him when he arrived but he also hadn't seen him approach either, it was weird and unnerved him a bit. He got over the feeling though, figuring he should respond lest the old man come over and rough him up again. “Hello again, I'm trying to learn how to flash step. More so, how to solidify my reishi beneath my feet actually, flash step comes later.” Rinkotsu said to the old man, hopeful and afraid that he would offer help to help him again this time, he wasn't sure if he was ready for that again. “Well, no need to ask, of course I'll help you.” The old man said, standing up from the bench and stretching, Rinkotsu once again unnerved.
“Well boy, from what I saw all you did was try to walk on air, that ain't gonna work. You have to focus and visualize. Visualize your reiatsu, don't just hope it works.” The old man said, slapping Rinkotsu on the back urging him to try. Rinkotsu just took the advice and decided to try again while implementing it. Rinkotsu focused his reishi, this time visualizing it under his feet and then solidify into a brick like shape. He wasn't sure if it would work or not but he would atleast give it a shot before blowing it off. Now with his mind visualizing his reiatsu and focusing only on that, Rinkotsu took a step into the air, astonished as it held.
“There you go boy! Good job.” The old man laughed. Rinkotsu wanted to test it more so he lifted his other leg and also placed that in the air, he was standing! However, it only lasted a moment as his concentration was destroyed and he wobbled a moment before falling to the ground in a heap. The old man laughed again, this time from his gut, “Well, you held it for a second I guess. Next time remember that gravity still exists when your in the air boy.” The old man laughed. Rinkotsu stood up, ignoring the mans comments about his failure and just decided to try again, that was all he could do because he wasn't leaving without having gotten at least the basics down.
Rinkotsu calmed and centered himself, ignoring the old man who was still making comments about how he could flash step in his sleep. He merely thought of his reiatsu and his goal, also this time he was envisioning a flight of stairs that he would walk up, just to give him an idea of level ground. Rinkotsu solidified his reishi and took the first step, which landed on air like it had last time so that was good. He lifted his other leg and once again found that he was stable and not crashing to the ground. Making sure he didn't lose focus he kept lifting leg after leg, rising into the air where he could feel the wind blow stronger. After a moment he looked down only to realize how high he really was, noticing he was above a nearby building and looked around to see the old man laughing.
All in one quick moment he saw the old man down at the training grounds and next thing he knew he was right next to him. “Now that's it boy, good work. I was wondering when you would come tumbling down but you sure made it up here.” The old man said, smiling at Rinkotsu who was still shocked at how quickly he had appeared and with such ease. “Thank you.” Rinkotsu said as he slowly descended back down to the ground, the man following him as well. Rinkotsu landed safely back on solid ground and found that he was actually relieved to have done so, maybe he was afraid of heights....no.
Rinkotsu looked over at the old man as he touched ground, realizing he hadn't asked an important question. “Who exactly are you?” Rinkotsu asked with a puzzled look. The old man could fight well and knew how to use flash step quite effectively and probably had many other skills. He was genuinly curious about who this guy could be to know all these things. “Well, I'm an old man who has a daughter and a wife to feed, which means I have to be going now.” The old man said before turning and beginning to walk off. “Didn't you feed them yesterday?” Rinkotsu said, making the old man laugh as he vanished from site after going around a nearby building. “That man...is very mysterious.” He said to himself before heading to the market district, he felt he was entitled to a snack after all that.
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Post by Rinkotsu on Oct 14, 2010 22:00:10 GMT -8
Training Day Three: It's All Just Smoke & Mirrors [Hado]
Rinkotsu yawned, stretching his arms out wide and sprawling his legs as he finally woke up. He looked out the window to see that the sun had barely risen over the horizon so it must have still been early. He got up and put on his clothes and merely making himself presentable for the day, even though he would just be doing more training. He grabbed his sword and and left out the door, closing it behind him as he realized how nice today was going to be. There were only 2 clouds in the sky which meant that the sun would be able to shine freely, that was good. He wouldn't like it if it had been raining or windy, either of those would distract him from his training, as well as irritate him to no end.
As Rinkotsu made his way to the training ground he went over what he had learned the past two days, reflecting to make sure he remembered everything he had been taught. When it came to hand to hand fighting, you have to make sure to keep your hands up and be ready to block. He learned that one the hard way, with a huge blow to his ribs that still hurt a little. “What else was there?” Rinkotsu said to himself. He then remembered that unless he was strong enough to take the opponent to the ground, it would be best to strike from above so that he wasn't left open. He thought a little more thinking there might have been something else but he couldn't think of anything besides using his brain if he couldn't win with brawn.
He was satisfied with remembering what he had learned that day, it had cost him a lot of pain and some bruises to learn it. He figured he could go over what he had learned yesterday about using his reishi to walk on air as well. He remembered he had to visualize his reishi in his head, that way he wouldn't just fall to the ground. Also, he thought of a flight of stairs that he was walking up which helped quire a bit, so he figured he should always believe he was walking on level and solid ground. He figured he had recapped on most if not all of it, so he was ready to move on and learn something else. He figured he would learn more kido, most likely he would learn Hado spells today and maybe bakudo tomorrow.
Rinkotsu entered the training grounds, unsure of what kido he would attempt to learn but he did know they would be hado. After a moment he decided he would start with the most basic of hado that he hadn't learned before just because, Hado 1: Thrust. He had a good understanding of kido and knew he would probably get this in 1 or 2 tries because of how simple it was. Rinkotsu walked up to a training dummy that he would use to make sure he was pushing something and not just looking at the air. He focused his reiatsu and mouthed the incantation before pushing his hand out towards the dummy, watching as it was pushed back violently, dislodged from the ground. Rinkotsu figured he it would be easy so there was no excitement at having done it the first time, merely understanding. He attempted it one more time without the incantation, which delivered similar if not slightly stronger results now that he knew how easy it was.
Next kido he figured he would learn was quite a bit more difficult than the first but he knew he would be able to do it. He was going to lean Hado 31. Shakkaho, where he fires a ball of red energy at his target. He would take this one more seriously since he knew it would be more difficult and he wouldn't get it right away. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado 31. Shakkaho!" Rinkotsu said as he pointed his hand out, watching as a ball of red energy didn't emerge. Instead it was replaced by a slightly inadequete shot of red light that only went about 2 feet away. He wasn't sure what happened but he figured he would only try again and this time he would focus a little more and channel his reiatsu better.
Rinkotsu was about to point towards another dummy but realized he wouldn't need to to gauge the response of this kido so he merely pointed towards the sky a little. He focused his reiatsu, hoping he could get the full power this time. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado 31. Shakkaho!" He said, figuring he had done it right. He had in fact as he watched a good sized ball of red energy fly out of his hand and explode later in the air. He did feel a little good about learning this kido since he thought it could come in handy. He wasn't done however, now he wanted to learn how to cast it without the incantation and still have its full power come out.
He readied his reiatsu for the the kido, already knowing that the results would probably much less extravagant than his power would be with the incantation but that was why he was practicing. Rinkotsu pushed the palm of his hand outward, “Hado 31. Shakkaho!” he shouted as he watched a ball of red energy fly out of his hand. He was surprised for a moment but as his eyes realized what they saw his excitement died down, the kido didn't have nearly as much splendor as it did before so he would have to keep trying to get it to work at full power without the incantation. After a few more tries Rinkots felt that he was on the verge of success, his last attempt having been almost the same as with the spell but still lacking slightly. Rinkotsu concentrated on the kido and his reiatsu before attempting once more, “Hado 31. Shakkaho!” he yelled and watched as a full size blast of red energy sprouted from his hand and exploded in the air. He was proud of himself and figured he had done a good job but he still had more kido to learn.
Rinkotsu decided to take a quick break before continuing his training, he was getting slightly tired and figured he could use a quick bite. He went over to a bench and sat down, placing his lunch beside him as he peered up at the sky. “Why am I even doing this?” Rinkotsu questioned himself as he gazed at the slowly moving clouds. He had been training for about 3 days now and he didn't even really remember what his goal was. He had Silent Echo, to which he would eventually return and set on a new path that would bring them renown but besides that, what was his reason. “I could say that I'm merely trying to get a lead in front of Dalj, but is that really it?” He asked himself as he reached for a sandwich in his sack. He took a bite out of it and closed his eyes, reflecting on his time in Seireitei from the start and how everything had led to him being here. Did he merely want to be strong so he could return to Silent Echo and live a life of crime and evil or to surpass his only true friend. Or did he want to be strong so that he could make a difference for others who had to go through the same struggles he did in Rukongai...he wasn't sure. He swallowed the last bite of his meal before standing up, coming to the conclusion that his motives would hopefully straighten out at a later time.
He had wanted to learn a few more kido before calling it a break seeing as how the first two were so easy, but he didn't have the muse anymore. He figured he would just work twice as hard and learn much more next time he trained kido. Right now he just wanted to go home and think things through so that he might find more clarity, not only that but his week so far has been pretty strenuous and he owed himself the rest. Rinkotsu packed what was left of his things and began to walk home, whistling a small tune to himself as he walked, reminding him of how much he enjoyed making progress in his life.
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