combat training mingle log

[policier]

characters: everyone
location: the village gymnasium
date/time: every monday, wednesday & friday throughout april, before the floods
content: beacon's residents gather together to teach each other how to fight, spar, and learn basic field medicine
warnings: violence, injury

What began as a conversation between Javert and Soldat, about what the latter man could do to make himself feel more useful, has now led to thrice a week training. The training itself begins as it often does, seven o'clock in the evening, right on the dot, because Javert does not tolerate tardiness. It ends just as punctually at nine, with a session of first aid training following thereafter.

The gymnasium itself is still in a state of disrepair, with creaky floors and a broken ceiling, but it's serviceable enough for their purpose. There are two torches lit on either side, illuminating the room, and exercise mats scattered across the floor. Against the wall, near the door, is a trunk full of swords of various quality, fencing equipment and training handbooks, several first aid kits, medical supplies, and cpr equipment.

Those who wish to learn how to fight are paired with someone willing to teach. Those who do not are encouraged to spar among themselves, to keep their skills sharp and work to better their technique. There will be a lesson in first aid afterward, should anyone require it. The lesson itself also serves as something of a makeshift clinic, allowing those who have been hurt during training, or those who are still recovering from old wounds, to be tended to and healed. It's a cooperative effort. Anyone who wishes to help out with combat training or first aid may do so.

Comments

javert | ota

[policier]

( He arrives early, not much sooner than Jason and Soldat, to make certain that everything is in order before the others arrive. He brings with him his sword, a knife on his hip, and walks without crutches or a cane for the first time in two months. His gait is still a bit slow, awkward and uneasy at times, but it's much improved over the past several weeks.

He meets with his students, instructing them in their footwork as well as their technique before sending them off to practice. He wields a knife and a sword, but he can also fight unarmed, and he'll spar with anyone that wishes to. Much of the time, he keeps to the sidelines, making certain that the fighting isn't getting out of hand.

Afterward, he tends to the injured, shoving bandages into their hands and instructing them on how to stitch a wound. He's a bit gruff and distant, but he wouldn't be here if he didn't possess a desire to help. He doesn't linger overly long, knowing that Rosalind is waiting for him, but you may catch him before he leaves. )

[legalcy]

[Minimus refrains from sparring, considering that most people here would hurt themselves if they struck his body. He does offer advice on stances for those who are bipedal, but there is a limitation on teaching an alien species how to fight.

At least he has the ability to keep order among a large group and to carry equipment in one trip.

Like now, as he sets up the punching bags, carrying one over each shoulder like nothing.]

How many are we expecting today?

[policier]

A dozen, perhaps.

( He has his notebook out, resting against the wall with it spread open over his knee. In his hand, he has a pen, articulating his words across the pages in French. Minimus' appearance seizes his attention, though, as he looks up from the pages with a calm expression. Javert may never say anything to the effect, but he does appreciate the robot's help. )

Many are still recovering from their ordeal at the hospital.

todoroki shouto | ota

[swellter]

i. Directions

[ Freshly off the boat, Todoroki hasn't had a chance to explore the whole of this place but when he reads about a weekly combat training course he's too curious not to check it out except, he doesn't quite know how to get there. So, maybe he spotted you in the lobby of the Landmark Inn or walking around Downtown, either way, he's not shy and comes up from behind to ask for directions. ]

Do you know where they hold the combat training?


ii. Exploration

[ Todoroki has made it to the gymnasium and finds himself lost in the shuffle. He's taken enough hero courses to know the drill, but he's not exactly here to train but to watch. You'll find him sitting outside the mats watching your training session with interest or perusing through the medical supplies. Generally, he'll be exploring the area while people go about their training. He'll be careful to stay out of everyone's ways but accidents happen and sometimes a fight spills over leaving him to dodge you or your attack. ]


iii. Training

[ He's finally moved on from people watching to participation. He already knows how to fight so he won't be joining the beginner's group. He'll go through several mock fights on the mats with whoever wants to train with him. Next, you'll find him sitting in on one of the medical lessons and he'll partner up with anyone for the demonstrations like CPR, how to treat a wound, etc. ]

i

[policier]

( The man that turns toward him is tall, dressed in a long, dark overcoat and a cudgel tucked firmly under his arm. He's not traversing through downtown for any sort of amusement, that much seems clear. When Todoroki approaches him, however, he doesn't seem the least bit perturbed, regarding him with piercing blue eyes and an inquisitive look before saying, )

It is in the village, past the bonfire and across the river. Why is it of interest to you?

( He doesn't need to ask whether the other man is new. Javert already knows, because he makes it his business to know who everyone is. Perhaps not by their name, but by their looks and their habits. It's not so difficult to do with so few people here. )

[swellter]

[ Todoroki certainly stands out in a crowd but it's not his hero outfit that gets him noticed what with the simple royal blue combat suit, but his heterochromatic features. He's split right down the middle in every way. His hair is half white and half red with a soft grey eye on his right side and a bright teal on his left which also carries a large scar where his mother burned him with hot water when he was a child. He regards him with an open, neutral look when he speaks. ]

Soldat told me about it. It's supposed to be like hero training and I'm a hero.

[ A concise answer said in an even tone. ]

III

[notthatjason]

[Jason liked helping beginners and he was uniquely suited for it since part of his duties when he'd been a centurion of the cohort involved training new arrivals in the War Games and other ways of fighting monsters.

However, there were just some times where Jason wanted to work off steam -- to push himself because the spirits he had fought so far continued to push him and that meant he couldn't slack off. Of course, sparring people, even the enhanced ones like Soldat, was not the same as the spirits but it was still better than nothing.

He'd noticed the boy near his own age starting to show up a few days ago, probably fresh from off the ferry. Jason had watched him a few times himself and he knew that he'd been watched in turn. But, watching was only going to show him so much. When he'd realized the other boy was interested in getting involved for real (and not as a beginner), Jason had volunteered to help.]

Ready to go?

[swellter]

[ He watched him for some time in silence, so when he asked for a spar, Todoroki quickly accepted. The combat training here was a little different from his Pro-Hero classes, mainly, there's no use of quirks. He didn't think many people here had any quirks which was an odd thing for someone who lived in a society of people with special abilities. It was just another odd thing about this afterlife. ]

I'm ready.

[ He takes his stance across from him and waits for him to get into his own stance before beginning. ]

ii

[originallutece]

[He's not the only one sitting on the sidelines. Rosalind has sat here from the beginning, her nose buried in a book on famous medical cases. On occasion, she'll glance up, eyeing the others; even more rarely, she'll make a note or two in the pad next to her. But she mostly seems disinterested in the proceedings.

Alas, a book can't last forever. Sooner or later she finishes it, closing the cover with a snap, and glances over at her sole companion.]

I know why I'm not participating.

Why aren't you?

[swellter]

[ He's staring at Soldat, watching his sparring session with intense scrutiny. ]

I'm gathering data on my opponent.

i

[legalcy]

[A 9-foot-tall robot turns around, holding a tablet with a threateningly complex spreadsheet. He looks down at Todoroki with this default look of furious disappointment.]

Training is held at the gymnasium. [He triple saves his work and opens up the map. He slightly squats to get closer to the human boy.] Follow this path, and turn here. You will be able to see a cleared area on which to walk. Do not attempt to cut through the forest.

Cao Pi | open

[pure_havoc]

[when the Wild Hunt was around, Cao Pi kept his opinions to himself, but truth be told he found their training pointless. He already had swordsmanship skills ten times what they were trying to teach before the raid. So now, with hindsight being what it is, he's showing up to training at least one night a week to show off. Oh, and put others with sword training through their paces, but mostly showing off. He's not weak dammit, and no face-stealing spirit is going to steal his ability to fight...

Spar with him, one on one. He'll show you how Pure Havoc works. Or...

Chat with him. After rounds he will make a stroll through the gym, sizing up others, waiting for another challenge, or just make himself available for small talk. After all, one can learn a lot through idle chatter.]

chat

[callada]

[Perhaps once he's in better shape, Rosinante will offer to help train people finally. It would do them some good to learn tactics against an opponent nearly twice their size - if nothing else, it's a workout for the brain. But in his current state, still healing from the injuries inflicted by the green-eyes, he's not here to spar. He watches from the sidelines, simply observing.

As people begin to disperse, he nods to Cao Pi and makes his way over.]

Do you have a moment?

spar

[notthatjason]

[Jason was in a similar boat when it came to the Wild Hunt's offer to "train." He'd been trained to fight monsters and in large groups his entire life. Once he'd been brought here, he'd been offered the chance to train others, but also to better improve his own ability to work with people with largely different fighting styles and backgrounds. It was the only part of the Wild Hunt he'd agreed with -- getting a chance to see how different people worked together.

That being said, he was a little surprised to see Cao Pi walk into Javert's training time -- he'd never seen him here before. Jason got to his feet -- he'd been doing some stretching and strength training -- and walked over.]

I haven't seen you here before. [He bows his head a bit, Cao Pi's an emperor or something if he recalls correctly.] Are you here to watch or for a match yourself?

spar

[mindofathief]

[He's only been free of the flu for a week, but the time he was stuck in a small room and then confined to a bed for days afterwards has left him weak. He has to practice walking every day in order to keep his balance with his limp.

He walks into the sparring area more slowly than usual wearing his coat/shawl monstrosity cobbled together from yarn bomb material. He's not risking catching cold.]

Anyone free?

Spar

[fjorgedinfire]

[Well, this guy sure looks like he knows what he's doing with those swords. He's not confident with the shortsword he's playing with, but what better way to test it than against someone who clearly knows how to use them?

He comes up with the training sword held loosely by his side, wearing a mild smile.]

Think you could teach me a few tricks with this thing?

Bucky/Soldat | OTA

[worthallthis]

These days, classes aren't as stressful for Soldat as they were in the beginning. Yes, they're subdued compared to their demeanor around friends, and yes, they aren't super comfortable with being looked at or giving actual orders, but they know pretty much everyone who comes to these and they know what they do here, and that helps a lot. It's part of the routine. It's practice being seen. It helps people not get hurt or killed.

The new faces since the kidnapping are a little surprising, and the sight drops them below the regular level of comfort, but it's still not enough to make them need to walk fast around the gym after lessons are over just to calm down. A little thinking of origami folding now and then while watching someone practice a move they showed them is enough. And on another level, it's good to see new faces, even if those faces aren't all here to learn, exactly. The more they know about each other's skills, the more effectively they can fight together.

Soldat is available to show people the very basics of battle: how to fall and not hurt yourself, how to break common holds, how to stick a knee or an elbow or a foot in the right place to make a normal human attacker to let go long enough to bolt, simple tumbling for dodging and avoidance. Soldat also has at least one knife student, Sora, and if you can prove you won't cut yourself or stab them on accident, is willing and able to teach more. And Soldat is available any day there's no one for them to teach, and before, for practice spars. They also are a primary teacher for field medicine afterwards, because while they can't stand watching other people do medical treatements, they know a lot themselves, and teaching isn't as bad.

The first week or two, of course, they're moving slow and avoid the actual sparring sessions, because they still hurt from the experiments and the kidnapping. After that, it's back to business as usual, fight him as hard as you'd like.

/watching you/

[swellter]

Moving carefully through the different training sessions, Todoroki makes his way through the gym exploring the various activities going on. Soon, he settles himself away from the mats and stands in silence watching the ongoing combat lessons. He watches a fight with particular interest and when it's over his gaze wanders through the room, narrowing when catches sight of the assassin from before.

Over the next ten minutes, Todoroki will don a strict demeanor while keeping his eyes on the villain at all times. He pays attention to his lesson, studying his movements to get a better sense of speed and tactics.

[notthatjason]

When Jason wasn't helping novice fighters, he liked to make sure there was time to hone his skills against the more experienced members of their little group. He'd started to seek out Soldat especially since, well, he could hold back less against the enhanced soldier. Jason still had trouble some days determining just how much Soldat could take -- not wanting to make things too crazy or out of hand for Javert -- so he'd decided to come at it from one of his own areas of weakness: non-weapons training.

That's not to say that Jason didn't know how to throw a punch or kick, but most Romans and Greeks fought with weapons. Monsters didn't get taken down by every day objects, it had to be specially made: Imperial Gold, Celestial Bronze, etc. Jason was trained in the sword and shield, could use a lance or spear, and had certainly used less conventional weapons in a pinch -- but they weren't usually fighting things that could be taken out with a punch or could be easily grappled.

That wasn't exactly the case here and, as always, Jason was in search of ways to improve himself. So, he'd started working with Soldat not just on sparing, but specifically on combat that encouraged him to get creative.

But, before they did that, "Are we doing holds again today or are you feeling up for sparring yet?"

[unwieldy]

Having seen the bulletin posting, Haein finds himself at one of the combat training classes. He's not sure what exactly he's there for. Maybe to sate his curiosity, maybe to linger off to the side, or maybe to actually start working on not being completely useless. He's heard the stories, after all, and the hefty amount of warnings that other people had to offer. As much as he doesn't want to face the potential dangers in store, they've sounded more and more inevitable.

Upon entering the gym, he catches sight of a couple of familiar faces, and it's Soldat that he eventually approaches. He's not sure what to think of the other person just yet, but their first interaction hadn't left a sour taste in his mouth or left him with a bad impression, so... so it's where Haein starts.

"Hey," he mutters in some attempt at a greeting once he gets close enough.

Link | OTA

[sublimebeast]

[Link patrols around gym sometimes giving people unsolicited advice about their footing.

He's here mostly to give lessons, not to spar, since a lingering wound in his leg from the Court House spirits has left him less mobile than he'd like. If he spars, he wants to be able to give it his best.

He may suddenly brush past you and try to nudge your shoulder with his hand or your foot with the flat of the enormous sword he's always carrying.]

[fjorgedinfire]

i. Weapons training

It's a fucking blessing that Misty deigned to heal his ribs up towards the end of the month; he's still a bit tender, still a bit careful in case he pulls or cracks something, but this is honestly the best he's felt in literal months and he's not going to waste it by being overly cautious.

But he should brush up on a few things. His falchion is one thing, that he'll always have on hand that he knows how to use - but when he tries to pick up an actual shortsword, it feels unwieldy, heavy and just kind of off in his hand. And when he gives it a few swings around, he's clearly unused to it, and frowns.

"You know, I thought I'd have a handle on this by now," he grumbles, giving it a displeased thrust.

He has a look at other weapons too, but the only ones he takes down and shows actual proficiency with are the more simple ones; hand-axes and daggers, bouncing the light weapons into easy flips; javelins and spears, too, and perhaps surprisingly, a large crossbow, that he needs both hands to heft - but aims reasonably well at the training dummies.

ii. First aid

When the weapons training portion of the night is done, Fjord is around every time to keep working on his first aid technical skills. He's got bandages on lock, but everything else still needs a bit of work, and he desperately wants to learn as much as he can, so he can be useful with that in the future, if something happens when he's around to help.

He'll stay late, as well, helping to tidy up all the kits at the end of the night. Using the time to familiarise himself with the supplies all the better.

I.

[worthallthis]

"Learning swords is hard," Soldat says from standing a couple meters away, noting Fjord's expression out of the corner of their eye as they watch Haein practice a fall into a roll. "Harder than most weapons, actually. And it isn't the same length, weight, and balance as your sword. Completely different feel."

Which is to say, they're not surprised, or judgmental, about any lack of skill with a non-Fjord-familiar sword.

ii

[policier]

( Javert does no linger overly long after each session. He stows the swords away and sets the mats aside, putting the gym back to how it was before. This night, however, he remains a bit longer, waiting for Fjord to finish collecting the medical supplies before approaching him. He seems to be much healthier than he was the last time they saw each other. )

Have you recovered much from your ordeal?

( He wonders, and he isn't only speaking of the courthouse, but of the torture as well. )

1. Weapons Training

[really_sketchy]

Naminé wasn't much of a fighter but after her kidnapping she wanted to learn more. She had her powers but she didn't want to reply on them. They were a frightening and it made her nervous when she used them. What if she shattered another's heart? Wouldn't that be worse than dying? If she could only protect herself. That would be better.

She stayed off to the side and out of the way since she'd only been learning to use a sword for the last few weeks.

She didn't actually pick up a sword to start. Instead, she used a long wooden rod and attempted to emulate the way Sora fought with his keyblade. It was very awkward and a few times she ended up falling on her butt when her arm swung a little too wide. Naminé wasn't really training, so much as she was swinging around a practice stick and flailing. But with each swing, she gets up and tries again.

After one particularly brutal fall, she looks up and meets Fjord's gaze. Her arms are still bandaged but she smiles and waves before swinging the stick once again.

Maybe she needs some help...