trans_9 | Martial arts training meeting go [so so open]

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Martial arts training meeting go [so so open]

Morgan having made the call for anyone interested in their potential class to come meet them in the city, they awaited everyone who said they would be attending. The location itself, at least, was easily spotted by those looking for it, so Tim had approved the suggestion by Morgan for the meeting spot. And it did have a training room.

Tim himself was willing to give them a window of time to arrive, though he wanted to be organised and punctual enough to not keep people waiting either. At least they were able to mingle with each other in the mean time.

First they would have a meeting for those interested in assisting-- as teachers for specific skills or otherwise-- so that they had a firmer idea of where they stood with what they could teach. After that, of course, was the meeting for interested pupils, to organise. After that, they could get sanction to begin.

((ooc: Appropriate subthreads are up for everyone!))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I'm used to dealing with larger classes. Not super-large, and across more age levels, but this is no sweat for me."

He put aside the obvious joke about Allenby and balls, especially since she fairly blatantly had none in the literal sense. "Oh, that's on my agenda too. I already agreed to try to teach her a few things."

"All the better for you then," Hit Girl said. "But I bet you ever had to teach a pony in your other classes, right?"

Hit girl nodded. "Yeah, we're all on the same level where we have to learn a few things. Still think I can take her though."

"No, as it happens, I have never taught a pony," Morgan said, wryly. "But I will find a way. Probably a variation of capoeira, really."

He honestly had no real ideas of either Hit Girl's or Allenby's skill levels. He had no reason to doubt that each was capable! So he just said, "Do me a favor and leave her in one piece afterward!"

Hit girl laughed. "Capoeira! Man, I'd really like to see that Applejack able to do that: you'd be the best teacher ever if you taught a pony to do that!"

But here, she wold be honest. "She's not a weakling. I don't think you'll have to worry about that. If anything, we'd both be pretty messed up."

"It's one of the best-suited I can think of for a four-legged practitioner with powerful kicks," he said. That simplified the matter, but the more he had considered it, the more he felt this was the first thing he should try.

"I'd be disappointed if she went down easily, but I'd be surprised if she did. Let me be a fly on THAT wall if you ever get her for a spar, I'd love to see it. I'll give you extra special training if you do a couple of fanservice rips to her suit," he said with a wink.

"Yeah, and she seems like the type that deserves to get stronger, you know? She has determination, and I can tell this world is pretty different from what she's used to. Like, you can see the strength in her that just needs a little push."

Hit Girl laughed aloud. "You know, on behalf of, like, womankind or whatever, I should be yelling at you. Then again, I'm hardly a woman yet, so I have no problems doing that. Better believe after a fight with me, there will be some fanservicey easter eggs there."

To Hit Girl's statements on AJ, Morgan could only nod. That summed it up exactly. She was a terribly brave pony who was terribly out of her element; Morgan's heart went out to her entirely.

"It can be tasteful!" he said. "I'm not asking for strip sparring! But I would assume you of all people wouldn't yell, since you already told me I ought to be going out and charming some ladies."

"Don't feel bad for her," Hit Girl said, not missing a beat. She could guess what he might be thinking. "If you really care about her, hit her hard with training. It'll be back breaking, but if she's anything like me, she'll appreciate you not holding back."

She shook her head. "Dude, I'm not stripping her: if she's in a fight with me, she'll be losing clothes because I don't play nice. She wouldn't expect me to either: hell, if she's worth her salt, I'd better have some torn clothes. Next best thing to having a scar, right?"

Hit girl's libido? Second fiddle to fighting...and just about everything else.

Morgan couldn't help but laugh. This had taken such an odd turn!

"Seriously, though, I'd rather avoid anything that does long-term damage. I can help with the healing, but even for the sake of some really quality training, it seems like a bad idea to have any of our good fighters out of commission for long."

"Oh, it won't be all that bad. But even I know in a fight with Allenby, you go all out. Who knows how many opponents she's had here that are willing to take it to a level where you're both out of breath and beat up?"

That was real training, the way she figured. You had to get hurt a little bit* to make sure you were doing it right!

*a little bit meaning fairly injured.

"Maybe so, but the ideal level of skill is one where you know what you could have endured. If you know that your opponent would have landed a devastating blow on you, even if they didn't, then that in and of itself is motivation enough to figure out where you went wrong and correct the error."

"That's why I want to fight her," Hit Girl replied. "I mean, sure, I could go into the Sensorium, or I could play it safe, but I want to push what we can do to the limit, you know? And with someone like her, I know we wouldn't have to hold back except for death."

"Whoa, I'm not explaining clearly enough, obviously!" He held up a hand, touching his other fingers to his forehead. "Look, let me try it this way. The greatest martial arts battle I ever saw, a conflict by two of the most skilled masters of any number of arts I can think of, was decided without a single punch, kick, or even motion on either of their parts."

Hit Girl just sort of stares at him here. Did he actually expect her to understand how anyone would be able to win a match like that? That made no sense!

"How? Did they do a Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon where they fight in each other's mind or something?"

"No, no, not that that isn't possible, but... it was a matter of both knowing themselves perfectly, and being able to read the other person perfectly." Morgan got just a bit distant as he remembered that scene. "Reading the other person, knowing what move you would use, how they would respond, but most importantly, being able to understand exactly what would come of it."

"So they knew each other so well they were able to tell who would win," Hot girl said, shaking her head. "That's some world you live in, Morgan. They actually sound like they have morals. If someone in my world knows they're going to lose, they come after that person with a gun or something."

"Knew themselves and could reach each other," Morgan said. "But martial arts is as far from trying to kill or win as can be. Yes, it serves a purpose for self-defense, and even offense, but that isn't its purpose in and of itself. In most cases, unless you're going up against someone who can catch bullets, it IS smarter and easier to just shoot them. But what do you learn from that?"

He had a point. Then again, she wasn't trying to learn martial arts just so she could be bad ass. The truth was, she had all of this inner strife and questions, enough questions and frustration even beating some things up and blowing shit up couldn't stave.

That meditation stuff had actually helped to center her a bit. If martial arts could do that, why refuse it? For a reputation? If people were going to underestimate her because she strove to understand herself better, it was their mistake.

"Not a lot, I guess. So you're all about fighting all honorable like. I can get into that."

That didn't mean she could be as near pacifist like him, of course. She just wasn't made that way.

"Wrong track again," he said, chuckling. "I'm into training, learning, and practicing martial arts, of which hand-to-hand or melee combat is only one part. If I'm fighting to win?"

He reached into his coat, then smoothly yanked out a submachine gun. "I fight to win too. If you have to win, you don't hold back. I agree with you there. "

He slid the weapon away again. "Now, that doesn't mean I don't work daily to make sure I don't have to resort to killing someone as often as possible. But don't think for a second I'm advocating fighting with anything less than everything you need."

Man, this guy could be really confusing. Or maybe it was her? She couldn't tell: maybe it was just her needing to learn about this martial art way. But at least he was talking about winning: that was exactly what she was all about.

"Good. Because I fight to win too: if you knew how I did it, you might be a little bothered teaching me. But a lot's changed since then, and anyway, it's not like I was given a choice of what I could learn."

Ok, she could be cool with that. "So what can I expect in this first session?"

"Introductions and some talking, for the most part, I'm afraid." Sure to be disappointing, but necessary. "We're intending to split up duties a little, I think. I'll probably take on the more meditative and philosophical lessons, for example, since that seems to be more important to me than anyone else," he said with a self-amused grin. "Not that I won't give personal lessons either, since what do we have on this ship but time?"

"Aww," Hit Girl said, making a face. "I was hoping to go toe to toe with someone today. Not that a little meditation and philosophical stuff will kill me, but you know I'm all about action. But if you're going to be doing all of that, what's T-um, the guy in the mask going to be teaching?"

"I think he's leaning towards karate and staff-fighting at the moment. The latter may be of possible interest to you?"

He'd missed her slip entirely, oblivious as he was.

"Definitely. If I want to learn abut meditation and self control, I can come to you for private lessons, right? At least here there are people learning with me and stuff."

Thank goodness.

"Absolutely. That's something that, especially once you have the basics of meditation and movement down, is best done privately anyway. All instruction past a certain level is like that, honestly. Once someone gets enough experience to begin forging their own path, what works for them and helps them will never be quite the same as for anyone else."

And past a certain point, there came a time when the only way instruction could help someone learn was in their giving it, not their receiving it.

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