1 Never Good Enough [No kill/Private/Training] Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:50 pm
Nozomi
D-rank
OOC: Reaction Time training.
Nozomi had been pushing herself quite a bit. She was simply getting exhausted by her training. After all, the human body could only do so much, and hers wasn't exactly the picture of perfect health. Sure, she was perfectly fit for someone her age, but the health issues she had always presented a problem. It was the main reason that in the Himitsu clan she was one of the few that fell short of expectations. Because she could never be as good as her peers due to her failing health. It was problematic for a combat centered clan. Of course, that didn't stop the young girl from trying her best. She had trained day in and out as of late, and pushed herself as far as she could go. When she thought that she was done, she pushed herself even further. The only way to get better was to push the mind and body to its utmost, and then give it some more. And that was always dangerous.
Nozomi looked at her training partner. He was a teacher from the academy that had offered to train her a little bit. He smiled at her, twirling a Kunai around on his finger. "Alright Nozomi. We need to work on your reflexes and reaction time. Without the ability to dodge or react to outside stimuli, it is impossible to function as a shinobi. It is essential that you learn to improve your reaction time, as this is one of the most vital skills you can learn. Sure, it's good to be able to hit things really hard, and always good to be fast and outspeed people, but don't underestimate what natural reflexes can do. Against a stronger opponent, it's fine to be able to take his hits, but its even better to not be there when he hits. And while natural speed can definitely help you dodge, you also lose ground when you dodge. But if you can simply react to cues given, you can be where it isn't. Not only that, but if something's coming as a surprise, the better your reaction time, the better you can-" he cut off and hurled his kunai at Nozomi. She flinched out of the way, leaping to the side as it sailed harmlessly past her. "-move out of danger." he finished, smiling.
Nozomi smiled back at him. Sure, it was dangerous standing in the way of a kunai blade as he threw it, but only by putting herself in danger can shee truly force her absolute best. If she knew she wasn't in any real danger, it would slow her senses, and she was trying to be as focused as possible at the moment. Now that her mind was focused on the task at hand, Nozomi was picking up on some visual clues, watching his movements, waiting to see what he'd do next. He had an approving look in his eyes as he noticed her attentive gaze. With that, he launched into another attack, throwing another Kunai at Nozomi, who side stepped it once again, although it grazed past her shoulder, opening a small scratch on her arm. The damage was negligable though. She'd have to do better than that. Pulling out her own Kunai, Nozomi waited for the next cue.
It didn't take long of course, and yet another Kunai was launched at her, aimed at her left thigh. Nozomi quickly brought her kunai down and the two blades just barely intercepted before it could hit her, and his blade skirted off into the corner of the room. The teacher smiled at her and nodded. "Good, now for the hand to hand." he said, and rushed forward, lashing out his arm and sending her own kunai sailing into the wall. They were now locked into a hand to hand combat, the main skill of the Himitsu clan. He was teaching her so that she would be able to react better in her spars, and that's what this was about. As the two exchanged blows, Nozomi noticed that she was starting to react quicker, noticing more and more about her teachers movements. Soon she was knocking his attacks off course. She wasn't able to attack back yet, but she was defending just as easily as he could attack.
As their spar dragged on, Nozomi felt herself tiring out quicker and quicker. Soon enough her breath grew ragged, and she started to sweat a little bit. To be honest, she couldn't ever sustain her top performance for very long. She had been born sick, and it took its toll on her stamina. Sometimes she could push past it, but the more rigorous the fight or training, the worse it was. She finally slipped up on her defense and her teacher's palm came forward and smashed into her face, knocking her onto the floor with a thud. He held his stance for a second before straightening up. "You alright Nozomi?" he asked, making sure that his young charge was safe. After all, he wasn't as rigid as her family was. He actually had some moral fibers in his body.
Nozomi nodded and sat up, breathing in heavily. "Yeah, I'm fine Sensei.... I just need a quick break, before we can begin again." she replied, standing up with a grunt. She went around the room and collected the thrown kunai from earlier, pocketing her own and handing the rest back to the teacher before sitting down again. She still wasn't good enough, but she was improving. Perhaps she'd amount to something after all.
WC: 926
Reaction Time Training: (926) 750/750 E-D
Nozomi had been pushing herself quite a bit. She was simply getting exhausted by her training. After all, the human body could only do so much, and hers wasn't exactly the picture of perfect health. Sure, she was perfectly fit for someone her age, but the health issues she had always presented a problem. It was the main reason that in the Himitsu clan she was one of the few that fell short of expectations. Because she could never be as good as her peers due to her failing health. It was problematic for a combat centered clan. Of course, that didn't stop the young girl from trying her best. She had trained day in and out as of late, and pushed herself as far as she could go. When she thought that she was done, she pushed herself even further. The only way to get better was to push the mind and body to its utmost, and then give it some more. And that was always dangerous.
Nozomi looked at her training partner. He was a teacher from the academy that had offered to train her a little bit. He smiled at her, twirling a Kunai around on his finger. "Alright Nozomi. We need to work on your reflexes and reaction time. Without the ability to dodge or react to outside stimuli, it is impossible to function as a shinobi. It is essential that you learn to improve your reaction time, as this is one of the most vital skills you can learn. Sure, it's good to be able to hit things really hard, and always good to be fast and outspeed people, but don't underestimate what natural reflexes can do. Against a stronger opponent, it's fine to be able to take his hits, but its even better to not be there when he hits. And while natural speed can definitely help you dodge, you also lose ground when you dodge. But if you can simply react to cues given, you can be where it isn't. Not only that, but if something's coming as a surprise, the better your reaction time, the better you can-" he cut off and hurled his kunai at Nozomi. She flinched out of the way, leaping to the side as it sailed harmlessly past her. "-move out of danger." he finished, smiling.
Nozomi smiled back at him. Sure, it was dangerous standing in the way of a kunai blade as he threw it, but only by putting herself in danger can shee truly force her absolute best. If she knew she wasn't in any real danger, it would slow her senses, and she was trying to be as focused as possible at the moment. Now that her mind was focused on the task at hand, Nozomi was picking up on some visual clues, watching his movements, waiting to see what he'd do next. He had an approving look in his eyes as he noticed her attentive gaze. With that, he launched into another attack, throwing another Kunai at Nozomi, who side stepped it once again, although it grazed past her shoulder, opening a small scratch on her arm. The damage was negligable though. She'd have to do better than that. Pulling out her own Kunai, Nozomi waited for the next cue.
It didn't take long of course, and yet another Kunai was launched at her, aimed at her left thigh. Nozomi quickly brought her kunai down and the two blades just barely intercepted before it could hit her, and his blade skirted off into the corner of the room. The teacher smiled at her and nodded. "Good, now for the hand to hand." he said, and rushed forward, lashing out his arm and sending her own kunai sailing into the wall. They were now locked into a hand to hand combat, the main skill of the Himitsu clan. He was teaching her so that she would be able to react better in her spars, and that's what this was about. As the two exchanged blows, Nozomi noticed that she was starting to react quicker, noticing more and more about her teachers movements. Soon she was knocking his attacks off course. She wasn't able to attack back yet, but she was defending just as easily as he could attack.
As their spar dragged on, Nozomi felt herself tiring out quicker and quicker. Soon enough her breath grew ragged, and she started to sweat a little bit. To be honest, she couldn't ever sustain her top performance for very long. She had been born sick, and it took its toll on her stamina. Sometimes she could push past it, but the more rigorous the fight or training, the worse it was. She finally slipped up on her defense and her teacher's palm came forward and smashed into her face, knocking her onto the floor with a thud. He held his stance for a second before straightening up. "You alright Nozomi?" he asked, making sure that his young charge was safe. After all, he wasn't as rigid as her family was. He actually had some moral fibers in his body.
Nozomi nodded and sat up, breathing in heavily. "Yeah, I'm fine Sensei.... I just need a quick break, before we can begin again." she replied, standing up with a grunt. She went around the room and collected the thrown kunai from earlier, pocketing her own and handing the rest back to the teacher before sitting down again. She still wasn't good enough, but she was improving. Perhaps she'd amount to something after all.
WC: 926
Reaction Time Training: (926) 750/750 E-D
Last edited by Nozomi on Sat Jul 19, 2014 2:46 am; edited 2 times in total