Less than Orthodox (Kyousuke)

[Kyukaku]

"You're doing what, again?"

Audrey raised an eyebrow, the sight of Kyukaku tieing loops on each end of the six foot rope not overall helpful to her understanding.

"I'm going running."

"With a rope?"

"Yup."

"...You're weird."

Audrey rolled her eyes and turned back to her homework, chalking off Kyukaku's behavior to his uniqueness yet again. Kyu smiled without looking up from the rope as he continued to tie loops atop Audrey's bed. A few minutes later, Kyukaku finished the loops. With a pair of white athletic shorts and a tight black tank top Kyukaku left the room, Audrey rolling her eyes yet again.

It was decently cold for California, the evening air giving Kyukaku goosebumps where he lacked clothing. He was barefoot as well, and with rope in tow all he had to do was wait for Kyousuke to show up. He told him to meet him on the beach by Hircine, though he realized to specify where. The second he saw him, however, Kyu would make his way towards his blind friend, calling his name simultaneously.

[Kyousuke]

Kyousuke sat in his room, leaning against the wall, listening to a smooth beat from his cousins radio down the hall. He was trying to calm himself after finding himself helplessly frustrated with yet another task he lacked independence in. The music, changing into what felt distinctly like his old road work clothes, and knowing he could take the bus down to the beach instead of calling up Ketsren helped.

Kyousuke didn't mind the fact that it was chosen to head out onto the cool night to meet Kyukaku. It was one of the more refreshing parts of his current situation to be able to think he could train with Kyukaku and gain a sense of peace and independence that had been sorely lacking.

Although he didn't know why he was getting off the bus at the beach or where to go from there. It wasn't hard to pick however. He walked down onto the beach, stayed where the sand was soft and therefor dry, and started to work his way up the beach until, after a good walk, he heard his name being shouted.

Kyousuke smiled faintly and raised his arm into the air to signal it was indeed him.

[Kyukaku]

Kyukaku smiled in return, the gesture usually infectious. Once reaching Kyousuke, Kyukaku checked the loops over another time as he gave a brief greeting and then began speaking.

"Today's excercise will revolve less around form, and more around philosophical principles. I have a rope here, that I'm going to slide onto your waist. Raise your hands."

Kyukaku gave Kyo warning, as to not startle him as he slipped the loop over his head and onto the waist. He gave it a small tug, tightening it where it wouldn't slide down, but leaving it loose enough to tighten on its own as the excercise would go on.

"Take off your shoes, too. We're going to do some running. Not only is barefoot running in the sand, in the cool air mind you, great for endurance, but I'm on the other end of this short rope. I'll run in the lead, and not only are you to keep pace, but you aren't to break it either. You're to accelerate when I accelerate, slow when I slow, and turn when I turn. Let the rope lead you. Clear?"

[Kyousuke]

Kyousuke raised a brow slightly as he heard that Kyukaku had a rope and intended to slide it over his head and onto his waist. Not really sure what the plan was Kyousuke raised his arms never the less and let Kyukaku tie the rope around his waist. It didn't feel tight, it was more of just to have a constant presence.

Kyousuke put the toe of each foot to a heel and pushed off his shoes, not particularly caring that he'd just leave them on the beach because they were cheap and already worn out. The endurance running was not a new form of training as Kyousuke had done consecutive years of running along the street, and then several months of running with Odin.

But the fact he was barefoot in the sand made him think for a moment. The sand would offer resistance and would strengthen his ankles because of the ever shifting sand. And the rope running would train his sense of touch. "Sounds more difficult than it would look." Kyousuke said it mostly to relive a bit of anxiety from the task and huffed a light chuckle.

[Kyukaku]

(OOC: Back from a concert, and have to wake up early tomorrow. Forgive me if my being tired results in a POS post.)

"Don't even get me started. It'll be much harder when I have to teach you forms without you being able to watch my movements."

Kyukaku half chuckled as he spoke, finishing adjusting the loops around Kyousuke. When he was finished, Kyukaku would slide the other loop around him, tightening it to his own preference. When he was finished, he tugged on the ropes a few times, getting both Kyo and himself used to how its going to feel.

"But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Here we go."

A few beats after Kyukaku spoke he would beging jogging. He started with an easy pace at first, slower than most jogs. As they went in a straight line, Kyukaku would gradually begin to speed up. A few minutes of getting used to the pace, Kyukaku would do his best to disrupt it. He would burst forward in a quick sprint, moving roughly ten paces before slowly down to near motionless levels. As they continued to run, Kyu would repeat these actions in a random order, completely acting on impulse to prevent Kyousuke from predicting rather than reacting.

He would glance back from time to time, checking on Kyousuke when the rope didn't give obvious hints as to his position. Once Kyo would seem to be getting the hang of it, from Kyu's eyes at least, Kyu would begin to move in small angles, causing subtle changes in their direction. These changes would get gradually larger, Kyukaku even making a U-turn to catch Kyousuke off guard.

If Kyousuke ever fell, Kyukaku would be forced to stop as well. He'd check on his training partner, and if all was well he'd continue running. The smoother things got, the more difficult Kyu would make them by adding turns with changes in acceleration. He intended to run until either of the two could no longer move. It was likely it would be him, as Kyukaku's stamina wasn't as good as it could be.

Kyousuke wasn't the only one who'd improve in the days to come.

[Kyousuke]

Kyousuke huffed a quiet chuckle at this. He knew it would be far from easy to teach him forms. But he also had knack for removing the need for them or replacing them with others. It would just be used to practice and not as much in real situations.

The ropes were finished, Kyukaku tugged on the ropes, Kyousuke started to get a little used tot he sudden movements. It was awkward and uncomfortable. But it was however a brilliant training exercise.

Kyousuke felt the rope pull him forward as his training partner went forward in a jog. It was slow, but it was getting Kyousuke into pace, which is what was needed since it was hard to judge just how fast he could go without the rope being too taught.

But the further and longer they went the more he was having trouble. The rope would slack or tighten quickly. For the moment he was settling on being able to stay upright and not trample Kyukaku by not slowing down in time.

The change of directions were a little easier. He could feel the rope slide around his waist in one direction or another. It was slight, but enough to make him feel like he had some sense of direction, despite the fact he actually had no sense of direction.

But then once again he had trouble with the exercise. The u-turns were the most difficult because while digging into the sand to turn he would slow down and be tugged forward firmly by Kyukaku's forward momentum. When this happened Kyukaku would then stop and check on him, Kyousuke would assert firmly that he was fine, and then the pace would begin again.

But having the heavier stamina from years of running would leave Kyukaku feeling winded just about the time Kyousuke was enjoying a pleasant tingle in his legs and sweat on his brow. As the pace began to slow more Kyousuke decided to pipe up slightly, still having difficulty with the turns and changes of speed, but better off than he was before hand. "You alright up there? You're slowing down."

[Kyukaku]

Huff.

Puff.

"Yeah... I'm doing just fine."

Kyukaku slurred, throwing out the words inbetween breaths. Kyousuke's warning reminded Kyu of his stamina on the lower side than alot of fighters, albeit higher than most. Rather than end it on a sluggish note, Kyukaku did another U-turn, bursting into a sprint this time. It would be a mixture of what Kyukaku thought to be the two hardest parts of the excercise, and he wondered how Kyousuke would deal with it.

Whether Kyo fell or moved with it however, Kyukaku would burn out once reaching the end of the rope once more. He'd come to a stop, placing his hands on his hips before pushing himself upright and placing them behind his head. As he took deep breaths, he looked back in Kyousuke's direction and told him it was the end of that excercise for today. As soon as Kyukaku was able to control his breathing to a lesser rate, he spoke up again.

"Bleh, asthma. Alright, now here comes the prelude to the hard parts, follow me."

Kyu left the ropes on, simply to make it easier to lead Kyousuke into the ocean. The cold water was less than pleasant to Kyukaku at first, who was warmed up from the running.

"Move out to my right--as far as you can."

Kyukaku spoke once the water was just below his shoulder level. Thankfully, the two were roughly the same size, making it alot easier to coordinate with his partner without drowning him, or himself. The rope still remained, Kyukaku telling him to move outwards to see how far he had come so far with the rope movements.

"We just worked the forceful jerking motions, based around your hips. It disrupted your center of gravity, forcing you to adapt. Now, we are almost fully submerged. There is resistance all around you. This is fluidity. Place your left foot a step ahead of your right. Extend your arms, fists open, palms down. As the waves come in, I want you to roll up on the heel of your left foot raising your arms and pulling them back to absorb the feeling. Once the arms are returned, you will push them straight out, planting your left foot down and leaning forward till you're on the toes of your right foot. The slower, the better."

Kyukaku did his best to describe the motions, keeping his eye on Kyousuke to see if he could pick it up. If there was a good deal of difficulty with the movements, Kyukaku would walk over and manually change it. Kyukaku would repeat this action with Kyo, his body seemingly rocking beneath the oceans surface as his hands circled back and out. While still a muscle builder, this would teach Kyousuke key concepts that he would need later. Kyu did his best to tell Kyo enough to understand what to do, but not spend too long on the why, as of yet.

[Kyousuke]

Kyousuke smiled faintly as he heard the exhaustion in Kyukaku's voice. But his amusement was short lived as Kyukaku decided to end the exercise the way it started, on a difficult note. There was an odd twist to the rope followed by a pressure on his left side. Which he was starting to figure out meant there was a sharp right turn, he did his best to turn with it. But found he hadn't compensated enough and was tugged back into the right angle and was forced into a sprint.

Then digging his heels into the ground to slow himself and then finally stop as he felt no pressure at all, meaning he was about to plow into Kyukaku. Kyousuke only managed to stop a few inches shy of the heavily breathing lead, and stepped forward and to the side, taking deep controlled breaths of his own. His legs were only just starting to feel heavier, demanding more oxygen, but would recover soon because there was nothing preventing them from receiving it while taking a short break.

"Your opening act was hard to follow."

Kyousuke was not yet bored of his puns and purposefully foolish jokes. It was seemingly starting to gradually take the place of his crass behavior. At least it seemed that way at the moment. His interactions, thanks to being blind, were far more limited than they were before. Especially after his departure from Genaht.

The walk into the cold water wasn't a long one. The cold water tingled up his legs, chilling him, but soon it was just a dull numb feeling. Hopefully the sun would shine a litter harder or they would need to get out before they wanted. Purple lips never suited martial artists. Stepping over to his left, turned, and looked back in the direction he knew was the beach. But stepped forward half a foot when he felt a wave raise up to his chin.

Kyousuke, following the instructions given to him, would take the stance described without much more than a small waver when a particularly strong wave rolled over his shoulders, and raised his arms naturally into place. "You don't need to worry about my form. I practice with my half sister like this frequently. This is good for a start and while alone, but later I would like to show you a different form of the same practice."

He felt no tension in the rope while he performed the exercise with ease. It was slightly amusing to be doing this form of exercise again after the two years of almost pure American Boxing training. Although once a week he would practice a similar exercise, the one he had mentioned, with Mai at her grandfather's apartment. But it left him with a question. "Did you come up with this on your own?"

[Kyukaku]

"Great. The more you can relate, the quicker you'll pick it all up."

Kyukaku would have them continue this until he believed it fluid enough, then instruct Kyo to switch sides. The change would be fluid, the step forward and the arm motions as one. He'd change it up again, changing actions twice, with each side. It was quiet for some time, the sound of the ocean with easing motions of Tai Chi doing well to soothe Kyu's own mind. Kyousuke spoke up, a smile coming to Kyukaku's face as he opened his eyes.

"Heh, yes and no. The forms I know a little about. My father started martial arts in Aikido, and I've picked up Tai Chi from here and there. The...stranger excercises we do, however... mostly. I've learned key concepts like balance and intuition, and pop culture helps. The Karate Kid spent time working on balance in the ocean. The rope...that's my own insanity."

As he'd speak, Kyukaku would continue the motions. Speaking also helped, making the movements develop more into automated muscle reactions, rather than depending on constant thought and attention.

"Why don't you show me your form?"

[Kyousuke]

Kyousuke shook his head in mild amusement. It was a good exercise, but it was still funny that Kyukaku had come up with it by himself. Kyousuke was asked to show his training partner a form. He thought for a few moments, wondering what stance would be the most effective for balance, and decided that he'd pick one that was useful in actual combat as well. Although to a martial artist that seemed to be more Japanese than Chinese, unlike himself, it would seem a bit awkward.

"To take advantage of your sight, and warm my numb legs, I'll show you on the sand."

Kyousuke, assuming his training partner would follow, began his way up to the beach, and finally stood in sun warmed sand. "Place your non-dominant side forward." Kyousuke shifted so his left-side shoulder and hip faced Kyukaku, would wait a moment for Kyukaku to follow suit before he would continue, giving a little extra time because for most fighters going into this stance was hard for not having your lead as your back.

Kyousuke shifted his feet a shoulder length apart, his lead foot turned so his toes were pointed toward Kyukaku. "Notice the placement of the lead foot." Kyousuke firmly pat his muscled thigh to gain attention. "Then bend your knees, lower your center of gravity." He bent his knees slightly, this would rely on muscle to keep balance until it became more natural, and kept his rear leg bent slightly more. "Your rear leg should be bent more so that it supports your weight."

Kyousuke looked oddly natural int his stance, as he was once more in one of his elements, and smiled faintly as he bounced slowly on the balls of his feet, making his loose clothing bounce with him. "Try to keep your lead leg as loose as possible and shift your balance with the back foot as much as you can, performing the same arm motions as before. keeping to the balls of your feet."

Kyousuke weaved his hands in front of him, crossing them one over another, and then pulled them both back so his right forearm was resting across his chest, and the left was going behind him. But kept his center of balance, while bouncing, still on the balls of his feet. He then pushed his wrists down, and outward, and prepared to repeat the motion. "My bouncing is merely an example of balance, it's obviously not useful to me any longer because I can't dodge with my feet any longer, but it trains your ability to balance in an awkward position that keeps your mobility high."

Kyousuke began to drawn his wrists back, reversing so his left forearm was across his chest, his right elbow was tucked behind his side, and pushed forward again. "My hand motions are what I spoke of earlier. It's called pushing hands. You match yourself against your training partner, and try to maintain balance while attempting to place your partner off balance. It's why I wasn't having trouble with the waves. It feels quite natural to me."

[Kyukaku]

Kyukaku nodded, quickly adding in an "alright," shrotly after. The air was even colder now that they were wet, but it wouldn't do very well for Kyukaku to curse his own ideas. Kyu began to mirror Kyousuke, probably a good deal quicker than the blind man would expect. He was primarily a fighter of Japanese doctrines, but he had studied a handful of others, and understood several more.

Kyukaku repositioned his legs, realizing he was doing it wrong after a quick glance. He felt more comfortable afterwards, bringing his arms up now in order to get their movements down. It didn't take too much longer than a few glances before he had it down well enough. As soon as he felt he had it down well enough, he would match up with Kyousuke, attempting to throw him off balance.

The first time Kyukaku tried he was knocked off balance in a matter of seconds. He reestablished himself, moving back into position to continue. The second time he lasted loner, but was still knocked off balance a few moments later. When the third time came around, Kyukaku was able to match Kyousuke's balance completely. He still wasn't able to knock Kyo over, but he hadn't been knocked over either.

"So, is Mai your cousin you were talking about?"

[Kyousuke]

Kyousuke, having trained in this way as long as he could remember, assuredly had the advantage. Hopefully this would prove to be a firm basis for his gradual switch into a style that relied more on being pummeled than doing the pummeling.

But for the moment he was gradually shifting up in gears, and although Kyukaku was learning quickly, Kyousuke could feel slight resistances that he was not profiting from. "Time to change your mindset back into three dimensions."

The pattern they were in was left to right, in and out. But when Kyukaku would move move to the right Kyousuke pushed out and up, with enough force to make Kyukaku sway back. Depending on how Kyukaku reacted to this he would either continue seamlessly or allow his partner to reset.

"No. I'll have you meet my cousin if the chance arises, her name is Yumiko. Mai is my half sister. She moved here just two months ago." He took a small pause and thoughtfully continued. "I had not met her before hand."

[Kyukaku]

Once Kyukaku had been able to mimick the move, Kyousuke was ready to change it up. It was difficult, but Kyukaku would have it no other way. He was forced to adapt as Kyo pushed out and up, Kyukaku moving the opposite way to absorb the force before moving back forward and doing the same Kyo had done once his push reached its peak.

"Ah, I see." Kyukaku nodded, realizing he had made the wrong assumptions.

"I think I know how to help your cousin, but I'm not going too much into detail for now. I don't want to speak for others."

(OOC: Short, again. )

[Kyousuke]

Kyousuke was a little surprised that Kyukaku picked up the change of movement so quickly. Loosening the tension in his arms Kyousuke lowered his knees to absorb the push and smoothly rolled his arms down with it. Without pause he pushed his knees up in tune with the movements of his arms in which he applied tension, and returned the movement.

It was a little more than he would normally do when training with those around his own skill level. But he underestimated how quickly Kyukaku was catching onto this style of training. Perhaps he had experience in more than just Japanese martial arts after all. While the exercise continued Kyousuke allowed smile void of brightness of any kind wrinkle his features just slightly.

"If we are like minded I'm afraid that won't work. My half-sisters guardian, growing tired, and cannot afford another in his home. I will likely end up taking care of Mai as well. I'm the only of my family in Japan and she cannot return."