Wearing holes in punching paraphernalia

[bane]

Bane frowned as he examined the spot that he'd been tenderizing on the schools new punching bag.

~What's the point of training when my opponent can't move or fight back?~

He pushed a button on the mp3 player on his belt, and the tones of the berimbau ceased to ring in his ears. He bent down to touch his toes and straightened up again, brushing sweat and brown hair from his forehead out of instinct. He reached out and felt the soft spot on the bag, and looked down at the foot which had done the damage.

~This school is supposed to be full of low-lifes and ruffians... So why is it so hard for me to find a sparring partner these days?~

Bane smiled at the irony of the situation before crossing to the nearby bench. Picking up his towel, he wiped off his face, sat down and ran his fingers absentmindedly through his medium length brown hair again as his smoky blue eyes scanned the cieling.

~How long have those ceiling tiles been missing? Oh well. I didn't expect much from the facilities here. It's not like the school wants to encourage people to fight after all.~

His thoughts meandered for a while longer, pondering the fabrics of space and time, as well as the questionable stain that his math teacher had left on his grade report, before taking a sip from his water bottle and squaring off with his inanimate opponent again. He shuffled through his play list before settling on Eye of the Tiger.

~Why not? It's been a few days since I've worked on my boxing form.~

He brought up his guard and started wearing another soft spot into the punching bag.

[taru]

ooc:Cya in a week.

Wap. Wap. Wap. Taru heard those sounds. The sounds of apunching bag being whacked. This was the guy looking for a sparring partner huh...? Interesting. Taru smiled before walking toward the punching bag in nothing but shorts and a tank top. Taru saw him hitting the living crap out of the bag and started to wonder. So...Let's see what this guy can do besides hitting a little bag...Taru saw him listening to music. He better have some awarness.

"Hey looking for a sparring partner!!?"

Taru shouted probaly reaching the ears of the student. Here we go. Taru steped forward with left leg and threw his right leg with strong force right at the guy's head. You better turn that music off or your gonna get whacked right in the face boy. Taru's positioning was perfect for the kick to be executed right for his face. The guy had no clue at all of Taru even entering. Never listen to music. It dulls your senses of everything. Sound being one of those things you need in a fight. Taru being bare footed gripped the surface of the floor in the gym so he could spin as his body throwing the kick right into the guy's face. He might lose a tooth. But he asked for a sparring partner so he got it. After the kick, Taru would say no matter what happened if he somehow missed or if he somehow only skinned him.

"Pleased to meet you I'm Taru your sparring partner."

[bane]

(OOC: Meaning you won't be back for a week? Oh well. Better use the time we have then, right?)

~Someone talking to me?~

Bane's internal question was answered rather suddenly as a foot appeared seemingly from nowhere. He didn't have time to dodge out of the way, so his initial instinct was to duck behind his hands, which were already semi-upright for his typical boxing stance, while bracing his legs to avoid being knocked over. The foot collided roughly with the backs of his forearms, making a loud slap that was all too familiar to him.

~Ahh... music to my ears... ouch.~

He pushed back against the leg with both arms to try and widen the gap between kicker and kickee, being sure to keep his elbows tucked in to protect his rubs in case his sneaky adversary decided on a second assault. The point of impact from the opening blow stung a little, but mostly because he hadn't had time to prepare himself to take the hit properly.

"People around here certainly know how to say hello! I'm just glad that I hate loud music, or I never would have heard you coming. Nice kick, by the way. I'm Bane, and it looks like we're both interested in the same thing."

~So Taru likes using his legs, does he? Thats fine by me.~

He extended his hand and smiled genially.

"Here's to a good fight."

[jdmthe1st]

The masked boy walks in and sees two people ready to start a fight. He heard this as he walked in: "Here's to a good fight."

Antonio might learn something since one of them looked like a boxer who could have some grappling experience and the other appeared to be a standup kickboxer who has grappling as well. At least that is what Antonio would think judging from their body language.

Antonio could probably learn alot from watching this fight. He sits down with his mask still on near the wall and he is observing hopefully so they wont pay attention to him. Antonio was looking to see how others throw standup kicks and see how standup grappling and standup striking is. The only thing Antonio was good at was being a luchador. But being a luchador has almost no standup skills.

[bane]

Before Bane and his new partner could shake hands some movement attracted his attention. He took a quick glance out of the corner of his eye, and ended up doing a doube take.

~Since when do people wander around high school gymnasiums in luchador masks?~

He shook it off though, and smiled at the newcomer, and gave him a nod before redirecting his attention back to his new-found sparring partner.

~I bet he's an interesting person. I'd introduce myself, but my new friend here doesn't seem opposed to kicking people when they're not looking.~

His hand was still extended toward Taru. Luchador or no, he wasn't going to be distracted from this match. He'd been itching for a chance to test some of the students around here for weeks now, and his patience was running a bit thin. Judging from the sting that still pulsed slightly in his arms this was bound to be a fun match.

[taru]

ooc:I'll go on once a day when I get the chance.

Taru smiled.

"Yeah we both like to fight. Your lucky your guard was up. My kick could of hurt you buddy. Well...I won't hurt you bad. So don't worry. Just show me what you got. I'm much better than that stupid peice of crap punching bag."

Taru took a breath as he put his right leg slight back his right arm tucked in with his elbow against his ribs and his fist against his cheek so he was able to defend his face and his chest/stomach area from body shots. Then he put his left leg slightly in front bending it along with his right leg. He took the guys hand and shook it.

ooc:I'm presuming you were shaking with your right...Just like most people do.

"Cheers."

Taru grabbed the hand with his left hand and pulled him right toward him throwing a right punch right at the guys face. The guy better get some guard up or his face is gonna get knocked. Taru smirked at his dishonorable antics but whatever. His opportunity to fight this guy was well on it's way. With half his guard up, he pulled the other guy toward him with a right punch to the guy's face. Taru smiled as the fist came right at Bane's face. Taru quickly spoke as he was striking.

"You better get your guards up!"

Taru was an ass for taking his sign of good will and using it as a weapon. No one would expect a person to quickly grab the guys hand and pull him toward him so he could launch a punch right in the guys face. Just as Taru was punching, he took a step too giving more force in the punch at the guy's face. Taru shivered as the punch was moments away from contact with Bane.

ooc:Post tommorow cya.

[bane]

Bane half smiled as he felt the tug on his hand.

~I'm glad I didn't over-estimate my opponent's code of ethics.~

Bane allowed himself to follow the initial tug, but instead of letting the force carry him straight into the intended blow, he blended it with his own movements, and ducked quickly down, planting his free left hand between his opponent's feet, while kipping his legs upward and spreading them apart into a handstand. He still didn't have complete controll of his right hand at the moment, but it would be difficult for his opponent to negate the full force of his body, and since Taru had already committed his full body to the punch, Bane took advantage of the arm positioning.

As he reached the top of the handstand, the attacking arm was now reaching its full extension. He quickly closed his legs, attempting to wrap both the arm and his opponent's head in their grip, and pull his torso tight against his opponent's armpit. This would do a few of things. It would pin the arm upward, so that it would not be as effective for grappling or striking, it would allow him a good position to squeeze his opponent out by straining the neck joint, and it would force Taru to hold Bane's weight as well as his own, allowing Bane mobility in his planted hand, and taxing Taru's endurance.

"Fool me once; shame on you..."

As soon as his grip was secured, he let the weight off of his left hand and reached for his opponent's front leg, gripping it at the ankle and lifting it off the ground. He positioned the knee against the back of his right shoulder and pulled the leg in front of him, hyper-extending the joint.

Already, Bane could tell that his opponent was an opportunist.

~He's either an extreme realist, or he lacks scruples. There isn't always a difference, but let's see how he handes this.~

[taru]

ooc:crap...Ill just deal what you just gave me.

[bane]

As soon as Bane felt Taru reposition his arm, he knew something was up.

~He doesn't have a whloe lot of mobility at the moment, so judging from the way he's bending his arm...~

Seeing as his crotch was the only nearby target, Bane felt a certain obligation to repay kindness with kindness. He released Taru's leg and sat up, using his opponent's neck as a fulcrum his opponent's fist had already been crammed into a rather unpleasant spot, but Bane managed to intercept the first blow to his "pride" by wrapping his left arm around the back of taru's head, so Bane was now sitting on his chest with his legs wrapped firmly around his adversary's left arm and head. His upper body was hunched over above Taru's torso with his own head and shoulders hunched foreward, shileding his genitals and reducing available target area for Taru's free hand.

"Pressure points? You don't say!" Bane retorted as stars winked in front of his eyes.

Taking advantage of the momentary shielding, he rolled his right wrist, breaking it free from Taru's own hand, before reaching up with his newly liberated limb and jamming its fist into the crevice between his right leg and Taru's trapped arm, placing it just under Taru's jaw . His left hand curled instinctively across his right bicep, gripping it tightly.

(ooc: This is a rather complicated move to explain, so I appoligize if there's a lack of clarity in places. PM me if you need clarification.)

He had tied himself a rather interesting knot, but more or less, he was still sitting in the same place, and his legs had yet to shift. Now, however, his arms had Taru in a sort of headlock, with the head resting in the crook of Bane's left elbow and with Bane's right fist under his jaw and against his adam's apple. His right arm, being in front of Taru's trapped shoulder, pressed outward against it, further restricting motion of the arm as his left arm pulled against his own bicep, forcing the head to go with it, and pinning his right fist hard into his opponent's neck, just under the chin and a little to its left.

This particular headlock was one of his favorites. It not only crushes the windpipe, but it jams knuckles into the softer tissues of the neck where it's unprotected by muscle and tendons. It's extremely painful, and it makes breathing next to impossible. Also, since it it utilizes the resistance of both arms it maximizes the effectiveness of the grip, so prying it loose is a difficult task.

"So, I've ruled out the thought that you're an extreme realist when it comes to fighting. I've come to the conclusion that you have little or no scruples, so you'll be treated in kind. No hard feelings though."

This last statement was rather ironic, seeing as Bane's crotch felt rather like it had been crushed, but he knew better than to let this distract him in mid grapple.

~Our masked specatre had better be enjoying the show!~

[taru]

"Hmmm...Now I'm in a pickle. This head lock is a pain but I gotta deal with it just so I don't die."

Taru pushed his face down so instead of his neck being crushed to death, his chin will be instead."

ooc:Yes this is a real techinque. I wish my guy new brazillian jiu jutsu and judo and wrestling like I did. I'ma ask Liam about it.

Taru felt the pain in his chin as the stranger pushed with his fist. Dammit how can I get out of this. Taru started to think and thought of a childish way but shit it's the only he got. Taru pushed his head upward letting him choke him but here's the catch. Taru bit the living crap out of the left arm and kept it deep. Taru then still biting the guy's left arm pushed his whole body downward giving a small amount of space for Taru to squirm out of. He pulled his head away from the right fist and squirmed away from Bane and stood up trying to breathe. Damn bastard. He could of freaking knocked me out. Damn. Think think don't be so cocky with him this time Taru. Don't. Taru put both his guards up and tucked in to defend his whole entire upper half. Then put his left leg forward slightly bent and his right leg in the back slightly bent. The legs were a little away from each other giving him a balanced stance for this guy.

"I'll give you props. You dominate ground so far. But, I'm up again. Uggh hmm some damage on me. Good job. It isn't over though. So I suggest you get up too buddy. "

Taru took a few more breathes as his guard was up and waited for the guy to make his move.

ooc:I hope what Taru did is alright. That's all I could think of to get out of your head lock. Cause If he just stayed there with you crushing his chin, it wouldn't gone with anywhere.

[bane]

(ooc: You're fine. You've been throwing some cheap moves, but that kinda makes things interesting, so I'm not complaining. Do what needs to be done, and I'll do the same.)

"AH! You sunnuva-"

A shot of pain racked Bane's bicep as Taru squirmed free. It took his a second to figure out exactly what had happened just then.

~Did... did he really just bite me?~

He scrambled to his feet and rubbed his arm, grimmacing slightly. He glanced momentarily at the wound. It hadn't broken the skin too badly, but he was going to have an interesting bruise for quite a while. He panted as he shifted his gaze to his oponent. He held his left hand out with his fingers extended.

"Lemme get this straight... You kick me when I'm not looking, you try to hit me when I shake your hand, you swing full force at my crotch, and then you bit me."

With each new attack that he listed, Bane lowered a finger, starting with his thumb and index finger, but being sure to skip the middle finger and go straight on to the ring finger and pinky. He continued to speak as he held out his center-most finger, though his tone was actually more amused than angry.

"Care to try a little eye-gouging or titty-twisters while you're at it?"

Lowering his hand, he fumbled on his belt until he found his mp3 player, and pressed play. The earpieces had fallen out, but he put the right side back into his ear, and instantly the sounds of african drums and various other instruments fulled his head. He started into his ginga pattern, making a triangular step. His feet took the front two points, then alternated stepping back to make the third point. He crouched low as he weaved back and forth, kepping his hand and elbows up to protect his head and torso.

~I wonder how he'd handle a little mixed capoeira.~

The singer on his mp3 player began to shout the chorus of the song.

Zoom Zoom Zoom, Capoeira meta um. Zoom Zoom Zoom, Capoeira meta um.

~It's a shame Mazda stole this song for those lame commercials... it kinda ruined it, but it's still got a good rhythm.~

He kept his eyes focused on Taru as he moved from side to side.

~Let's see if this guy knows any legitimate moves...~

[taru]

ooc:nah man I wasn't sneaking behind you. I jumped onto you where you were facing me.

Taru smirked. True, he was using the cheapest moves in the book, but that's not his issue. Taru went back into his stance and had an idea that was bound to work. Now he just noticed the dude with the mask. Taru was baffled by why a guy would even wear a mask in this place. Especially the gym. Another mistake. Taru shuffled slowly toward Bane and going in a circle as he did it. He was now only a few inches away from Bane but still kept a little distance. Taru then finally started his idea. Taru used his right arm to look like a hook but was it a hook? Nope. Taru went inside of the guys guard but instead of hitting him, Taru's forearm pushed right against Bane's neck. Taru then wrapped his legs around him criss cross apple sauce. As he did that, he put all of his weight on Bane trying to get him on the floor. Along with trying to get him on the floor, Taru dug his heels into Bane.

ooc:Bane is facing Taru. Taru throws a hook and pushes against his neck with the forearm then wraps his legs around him and tries to get him to the ground.

[bane]

(ooc: My mistake. I was semi-unconsious when I read that. I beg your pardon.)

"Didn't we already try the grappling game?"

He almost grinned as his ginga was interrupted by Taru's grip. He could feel Taru dragging him to the floor, but if Bane went down, he was going to do all he could to make sure it was on HIS terms. He stepped back with his left leg, crossing it behind him and bending his front right leg to allow him to roll backwards. He rounded his back to allow the motion of the roll to continue in a fluid movement, as opposed to doing a breakfall and ending up on his back. Even with Taru along for the ride, a backroll was a fairly simple maneuver. You just had to know how to direct the momentum.

It's one thing to allow him to grip me with his legs... It's another thing altogether to end up underneath him in the process.

Were he to fall straight back, Bane would essentially end up on his back with Taru straddling his torso, and pressing against his neck. The aim, therefore, was to make a complete roll so that Bane would end up on top of his attacker with his own legs spread and shins firmly placed against the ground, allowing him as much stability as possible. Taru was still gripping him tightly around the abdomen with his heels digging into Bane's back, but it was semi-bearable for now. The real nuisance was the forearm that Taru had against Bane's throat. Nuisance may not have been the right word for it though, seing as it was cutting off his breathing at the moment.

Both of Bane's arms went into action. His right hand reached instinctively for Taru's thumb. He didn't pull on it yet, he simply wanted a good grip so he would have the necessary leverage to remove the arm from his windpipe. He seimultaneously straghtened out his left hand and chopped violently at Taru's funny bone. If he could land the hit, it would make the task of removing the arm simply a matter of leaning his head back, and pulling on the thumb, bringing the arm past his jaw and away from his head. If not, it was going to turn into a pulling match, and although the thumb is the most manipulable part of the arm, it was no guarantee of success.

Assuming that he'd freed himself properly, Bane planned to wrap his left arm around Taru's right elbow, and use his grip on Taru's thumb to pull the arm against the joint and put his opponent into a sort of bastardized arm-bar. The clincher for this particular move was not in the pulling of the thumb, but with the added torque from leaning foreward, which is the natural shift when executing this move. By pulling the elbow against his torso with his left arm, manipulating the hand with his right, and leaning into the arm bar, he would slowly and gingerly let Taru know that his arm wasn't mean to bend that direction, and that forcing it to do so would cause bones to snap like balsa wood. Taru, however, may have had something up his sleeve. Therefore, Bane's movements were not made blindly.

It's best to be flexible with the situation when one grapples... And Taru had better be flexible, because he's likely to be in a world of hurt if he's not.

(ooc: Okay... Here's my latest attempt to re-explain my counter. Sorry this is so confusing, but this is the reason I suggested avoiding grappling. It's hard to interpret what exactly each of us does. Again, I hope this helps.)