Pratcial Lessons

[Oki]

"Good!" Oki encouraged. "But don't let your guard down, Ryo. If you can reach me, I can reach you too. You have to keep your focus divided between what you're doing and what I'm doing!"

[Ryo]

He nodded, not entirely sure how to keep his guard up. He didn't pull his punches, but did try to make sure he always returned to the ready position before trying again. Ryo also tried paying more attention to what Oki was doing and how to counter her actions.

[Oki]

Now that he was watching, Oki began to do more than just counter. She began to edge forward, feinting blows towards openings in his guard. She watched to see him move, wanted to see him work to counter her.

[Ryo]

Now that he was less focused on his attack, his moves were becoming a bit sloppier. This was a lot harder when his attention wasn't just focused on hitting... He took a few of Oki's soft blows, but grit his teeth, moving deftly from foot to foot, trying to figure out the best way to still try to hit her, but avoid getting hit himself.

[Oki]

"Move if you have," Oki encouraged him. "You don't have to stand in one spot. Make me work for it."

[Ryo]

Ryo picked up his feet and started circling her, darting from side to side and skirting around her. Making her track him and spin.

[Oki]

This was more like it. Now that he was harder to hit, Oki went back on to the defensive and kept her eyes locked on his. Only when he left a major opening did she go for it, pulling back just before she made contact with him. She just wanted him to flinch...

[Ryo]

And flinch he did, leaning back and tucking the 'hit' shoulder away from her, but darting in close and aiming a kick at the side she had punched with.

[Oki]

Oki used her momentum to spin herself away, but the kick just grazed her side as she did.

[Ryo]

"Haha! Close!" He crowed happily as they they started circling each other again, throwing the feigning blows. Every so often he'd get bold and impatient and attempted to throw in a hit that he knew wouldn't work, but had to do something anyway.

[Oki]

"That was good," Oki admitted, dodging the sloppy blows. After the last, she struck forward with the fingertips of her open hand, pressing them firmly against Ryo's solar plexus and holding them there. "But not good enough."

[Ryo]

Ryo blinked at the pressure on his solar plexus, the touch and his shock stopping his movements. He looked down at her hand, then back up at Oki with a grin. "I think I lose~" He laughed and stepped back. "I'll get better tho and hit you one day" He smirked.

[Oki]

"You were doing great until you got impatient, Oki grinned, lowering her hand to her side. "Then you lost your focus." She turned so she could address the rest of her class. "You've all grown up hearing that patience is a virtue, but it's more than that for a ninja: It's the difference between completing your mission and blowing it. You have to know when to strike, and that's harder than it sounds. Strike too early or too late, and you may never get another chance. There's no recognition for being the first, or the one who throws the most punches. Conserve your energy, and make every attack count."

The bell rang for lunch, and Oki dismissed the class until until later.

[Ryo]

Ryo lingered after the other dispersed. "That was fun~" He still had a grin on his face from the soaring they had been doing. "Do we do that every day?"

[Oki]

"That, or something like it in the mornings," Oki nodded. "I like to do hands on, practical stuff in the mornings to help burn off any... excess energy people might have. After lunch we settle in and do lecture and book work, learning theories or studying forms that we'll use the next morning."