[Minori Gin]

the sun rises

Gin had never been a teacher in any official capacity, though he'd always liked working with training younger people. He remembered at Hikari's temple, when he first learned to use his sword. He picked it up naturally, the blade an extension of his own body. He was quick to start helping the other students catch up. Spar, teach them small lessons, give them pointers on form. In the academy, too. By his nature, he liked helping others. Supporting community was as essential to him as it was to Hikari.

So when an opportunity came to work directly with young shinobi, helping them explore his area of expertise, he signed up with as much eagerness as in everything he did. Soon, he was linked up with a student whose performance indicated she would be a decent fit for his style of combat. Fast and agile - a member of the Murahira clan.

The two were set to meet at the training grounds early in the morning. The sun had only barely dipped over the horizon when Gin made his way out to the grounds, beginning to set up for their first meeting and their first lesson. Mastering his sword techniques required a great degree of balance, and a certain grace. So he set up wood poles for balance practice - a kind of training that was often started in the academy, but could be pushed to further extremes here.

He would probably still be in the process of setting up his little training course when Hana arrived.

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[Murahira Hana]

Hana Murahira Do your best until you know better once you know better, then do better

in life, honor - in death, glory Hana had exhausted her trainers in the past and had continued doing so since graduating from the academy. It had gotten to a point that few wanted to deal with her. As the so-called "Future of Kumogakure", Hana had not only met the expectations of every instructor she had ever had but had pushed beyond them in ways that continued to surprise them. However, it came with a cost. While Hana met their expectations, she never met her own. Trying to keep up with her as she sought self-improvement was more than most were willing to handle.  However, someone else had been roped into dealing with the overzealous foxgirl. By the sound if it, it had been someone from another land, someone that Hana didn't recognize. That was okay for her, they'd be temporary like all the rest, but perhaps they'd be able to help her for a short while before moving on. Hana's morning routine was over-and-done well before the scheduled meeting time, which meant she had no trouble arriving without delay.  The spritely young lass wasn't the tallest by any means, but she stood out. Her bright white hair, vibrant blue eyes, and fierce, determined expression were enough to identify her without issue. Hana even wore her distinctive kimono, something questionably non-shinobi in design, and perhaps bolder than most girls would wear, especially for combat. However, it had its secrets, and was a valuable part of the kunoichi's arsenal.  She even carried some practice weapons. A well-worn wooden sword as a stand-in for her more lethal versions, and a batch of blunted shinobi tools like kunai for use if the occasion arose. However, even if it didn't come up with her temporary trainer, Hana was likely in it for the long haul, and would practice and train long after Minori Gin left for the day - at least, that was her plan. Hana bowed when she came close enough. "Sensei."

TITLE: Equipoise TAGS: Minori Gin WORDS: 321 Words [1/8 Posts]

[Minori Gin]

the sun rises

When his young apprentice for the day arrived, she was easy enough to spot. The ears and tail were what really did it, voluminous and stark white, standing out against the environment, though Gin noted that in the high and hazy peaks of Kaminari no Kuni's mountains she could probably blend in well. Decently tall, she was dressed somewhat dramatically, the kimono more social than what he was expecting, and contrasting against his own drab and incredibly practical clothing. Still, she came fit for practice, looking sturdy and sporting practice weapons. So long as she was ready to work, how she dressed didn't matter to him.

Gin returned the bow, though more shallow.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Murahira Hana. I'm Minori Gin. I've heard that you're a very good student. Does that mean today will be an easy day, or do I have my work cut out for me?" He joked.

Quickly, he hopped up onto the plum blossom poles he'd arranged, moving between them with practiced ease. They were just wide enough to contain the foot horizontally, but lengthwise too small to hold the whole foot, a careful measurement meant to force a student to practice careful footwork.

"We'll be doing all our training up here today. Would you climb up and try to go through a few of your regular stances to get warmed up?" Allowing her to start with something more familiar would help her start to get her footing. There were many components to balance, but an individual could get warmed up to it like anything else.

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[Murahira Hana]

Hana Murahira Do your best until you know better once you know better, then do better

in life, honor - in death, glory Gears turned in Hana's head as the strange man started to speak. These were questions easily answered by some of her peers, but for Hana? Was she really a good student? The training would probably be easier than whatever she'd normally do on her own, or so she figured, but did that mean it'd be easy for him? No one had ever stuck around in the past, at least not for long. He probably wouldn't, either. Did that mean he had his work cut out for him? Hana was unsure, so she gave the best answer she could. "Yes."  Probably not the answer that he was hoping for. Hana watched as he climbed up onto the pillars and paused for a moment. Climbing atop such a thing and maintaining mobility without issue was one of her clan's specialties, or at least, a specialty of the Subakage-ryu. However, it wasn't one she had mastered yet, so it was a good opportunity to finish up.  She climbed up without issue and stood atop one of the pillars and looked around to get her bearings and memorize their placement. Hana wasn't certain what he meant by forms, so she just turned to face him. "I think I am ready." When you really only trained, there was no warmup. Hana was always ready to go.

TITLE: Equipoise TAGS: Minori Gin WORDS: 221 Words [2/8 Posts]

[Minori Gin]

the sun rises

Yes! Now there was a novel answer. It wasn't exactly a yes or no question. Instead of inquiring what it meant, he decided to try to observe her meaning through the rest of their lesson. Maybe she meant that she would pick things up easily, but that she'd still be putting him to work just as much as he'd be doing the same?

Either way, the response seemed to please him, because his smile didn't falter.

Hana climbed onto the pillars and stood, readying herself, but didn't move through any stances. Maybe that wasn't something she'd practiced with her previous bukijutsu instructors? To him, sword combat was something that began in a very structured place, so the idea was foreign to him. If she was sure she was ready, he'd begin.

"Good. Today we're going to focus on your physicality and balance. So apply chakra only as necessary, and focus more on technique." He couldn't use any regardless, so that wouldn't be a concern on his end.

"Every good lesson on kenjutsu begins with the style's draw," he stated. So he would demonstrate. Placing his hand on his saya, he stepped out to the side, turning his hips away to allow himself to draw his blade. Right at the end of the draw, he performed a flick with the blade, stepping forward to enact a slash on an imaginary opponent. Then, at the last second, another flick of his arm twisted the blade away, striking at a new angle. All the while, he kept his balance on the poles without looking down.

"This is the trick draw of the silken steel style. This feint is the beginnings of the careful muscle control needed to explore this style. See if you can replicate this motion."

He would walk through the steps again, slower this time now that he wasn't being so flashy, to give her a shot. Draw the sword as normal, but at the end, arc the blade for a slash, feint, and bring the strike in on the opposite side.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Torikkudorō [Trick Draw]
RANK: D
PHYSICAL TAX: Negligible
PREREQUISITES: (Style Prereqs)
CLASSIFICATION: Kenjutsu [Style: Dancing Silken Steel]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: None
DESCRIPTION: The user grips the handle of a sheathed sword and moves to draw it out in an offensive sweep. However, just as the blade approaches the target, the user twists their wrist upward to swing the blade directly skyward, avoiding striking the target and swinging it over and down to the target's other side. The user then tilts their wrist forward and swings horizontally with even more speed, the idea here to land a blow on the opposite side to this technique's original fakeout. When done correctly, this flourish appears effortless and can render enough force to slice flesh and muscle with ease.

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[Murahira Hana]

Hana Murahira Do your best until you know better once you know better, then do better

in life, honor - in death, glory Hana waited patiently.  Every instructor was different in their own way. Hana had gone through plenty. She had no idea who this guy was or what he was like, so she'd have to find out or just ignore it like every other time and just do her own thing. Yeah, that was more likely to be the case. When he began his demonstration, Hana observed closely. Visual cues were memorized, form was analyzed, and the sounds of his movements were thoroughly digested for her benefit. It was a clean maneuver. It'd be effective against the right opponents, or someone caught off guard, but it may not have been sufficient against a master swordsman in pitched combat.  Hana was no stranger to quick draw techniques, or techniques based upon the draw of the blade. The Subakage-ryu integrated numerous techniques of that nature. This didn't seem too different, so learning from it wouldn't be difficult. However, using a wooden blade wouldn't be ideal... Hana prepared herself. She adjusted the information she had absorbed for her own use. She adjusted for their size and form differences. She tweaked it for the wooden blade. She even planned ahead for the differences in footing by memorizing the placement of the posts and the distances between them, even down to the varied angles that they stood at.  Once she was ready, Hana copied the technique. An untrained or unskilled observer might not be able to tell the difference between what Hana did and what Minori had done just before, but she knew.  Hana paused and looked at her sword for a moment. She had been slightly slower in her execution, and there had been the tiniest delay before the feint. The angle had been off by nearly three degrees, and her left foot slid two milimeters too far on the post when she planted her foot.  She sighed. "Not good enough..." So, Hana prepared to go again.

TITLE: Equipoise TAGS: Minori Gin WORDS: 321 Words [3/8 Posts]

[Minori Gin]

the sun rises

Watching Hana try to replicate the technique, Gin understood immediately what others had meant about her being a good student. She was observant, and that word deserved all the emphasis it could get. She absorbed all the information that she could even with only two demonstrations, and when she replicated it she did it much more cleanly than another student would. She had the general motion down, understood the center of balance needed. Still, there were a few small things off, which she managed to pick up on herself.

The execution hadn't been quite as quick, the movement just barely not fluid enough. And while it might seem like a minor difference, in a real battle, that could be the difference between a feint landing or not.

"That was a very impressive first try," he praised. "You were very close. Precise foot placement is obviously important, but if you feel that you've misstepped slightly, you can counterbalance your body in the other direction to make up for the mistake and achieve the same outcome." Swordplay was in the end making many split second micro-calculations, trying to achieve a perfect end result.

"You might do better if you have something to aim for," Gin said, finding a center post to stand on. "Strike at me with the feint this time." With a wooden sword, and the armor on his torso and sides, he wasn't too worried about taking some blows.

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[Murahira Hana]

Hana Murahira Do your best until you know better once you know better, then do better

in life, honor - in death, glory "It takes more than just one attempt to master any technique, which is why I train as much as I do," Hana admitted.  She hopped back across a series of three posts, practically gliding through the air as she worked on another technique, her school's Pure Flying Step. It is a technique designed specifically for such sorts of situations, where the footing is uneven or even hard to find at all, but it takes a high degree of control and a lot of practice to make it work well. Hana wasn't entirely confident she could work on two techniques at once, but it wouldn't hurt to try.  Gin, in an attempt to be helpful, offered himself as a target, which made only a bit of a difference to Hana. She was capable enough of creating an imaginary target, but such things didn't provide the physical feedback a real person would.  "Alright. I shall try and strike you, so make sure you defend yourself appropriate," Hana commented. There may be a skill difference between the two but if she hit him properly it'd still hurt, so it'd be important for Minori to stop from taking a blow to the head or something! Once he appeared ready, Hana went into motion.  As before, she used her Pure Flying Step to approach. She glided from post-to-post, and each contact was incredibly brief and deceptively light. But she moved quickly.  And then she struck. As before, the technique was rather precise, but as he knew the technique, and knew she was going to use it, Minori should have no issue keeping himself safe.

TITLE: Equipoise TAGS: Minori Gin WORDS: 269 Words [4/8 Posts]

[Minori Gin]

the sun rises

The Murahira's footwork really was impressive. He wasn't sure what she was doing, but she was treading very lightly, moving with quickness and precision. Part of him wondered if it was an application of the tree walking technique or something similar, but he couldn't be certain since he'd never learned nor had any use for such techniques himself. If it was something so minor, he doubted it was splitting her focus overly much. He would contemplate if using such a thing was taking away from other elements of the practice, but maybe practicing with all the tools at her disposal had a certain benefit as well.

With her quick and smooth movements, Hana struck out again, the margin of error even smaller this time, incredibly precise in her technique. Luckily for Gin, this was also where his skills shined. Given that he knew what she was going for and he excelled at dodging, he was able to twist his body just-so and avoid the strike by a few inches. It would have hit him if he hadn't moved, though. That was the important part.

"Very good. You've got striking precision. I can tell how often you train. Since you're an advanced student, let's take it up a little. We're going to try to flow that attack right into another one," Gin decided.

Hopping over to another of the wooden poles, Gin drew his sword, performing the feint before moving right into another series of swings. Just watching them visually might seem like they were completely random and uncoordinated, but a keen eye would see the way that the attacks flowed into one another, almost creating a flower of steel in the air. The flurry of strikes again came from the wrist - isolated control of the lower arm was incredibly important.

"Follow your first strike with a flurry of strikes to overwhelm the opponent."

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: U~Irōbarāju [Willow Barrage]
RANK: D
PHYSICAL TAX: Mild
PREREQUISITES: (Style Prereqs)
CLASSIFICATION: Kenjutsu [Style: Dancing Silken Steel]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: None
DESCRIPTION: Perhaps one of the more eye-catching low-ranked techniques of this style, this barrage is a flurry of sword sweeps upward, downward, diagonal, and everything in between in seemingly unpredictable patterns. The user must use great strenth and precision to aim their strikes just so, so that they gracefully flow into one another--an upward sweep toward an enemy's head, a downward sweep aimed to a shoulder, a twirl of the wrist for a stunning blunt-edge strike to the side, etc. etc. The exact movements in the sword's barrage is up to the user, though the focus lies most in speed and flawless execution. Most often, this technique is used to push back an opponent with its wide, arcing swings, though it may also be used at face value to inflict a series of less serious cuts or lacerations to various parts of the body.

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[Murahira Hana]

Hana Murahira Do your best until you know better once you know better, then do better

in life, honor - in death, glory Hana's work ethic and practice schedule left little time for anything else other than improving, so it rarely surprised anyone familiar with her that she'd have some natural talent when it came to learning new techniques, but for people like Minori who had never met her before, it could feel a bit remarkable. Unfortunately, it had a side effect of leaving her with no time for anything else, so it was just train, train, train. But something equally remarkable, even for Hana, was how easily he dodged her strike. She had fully expected a parry, not such a graceful movement.  Hana did her best to try and log what he had done into her mind for later analysis, but the likelihood of her replicating his movements, much less actual techniques, with perfect accuracy was quite low, especially in an actual combat scenario. "Hmm..." Hana watched, curiously, as Minori performed a series of strikes. "You wield your sword in a very different manner from what I do." So much of the movement came from the wrists, which was quite the opposite from her typical sword style that utilized a greater range of arm and body movements. Replicating a technique like that would be far enough outside of her skill set that even Hana was unsure she could do it. "I shall try." Where she had excelled before, and had nearly mimicked the technique, Hana did not perform quite as effectively in the second round. She was familiar with quick draw techniques, and even the addition of the feint wasn't too different, but the way his strikes flowed from the wrist was too foreign, and her equipment not designed for it. It wasn't that she failed to make the motions, but it took far too long to be effective. Her sword may have been too heavy or unwieldy for such movements, or she was just so unused to it. Either way, it was a massive step down from her first showing. The Murahira looked quite agitated by it, too.

TITLE: Equipoise TAGS: Minori Gin WORDS: 337 Words [5/8 Posts]

[Minori Gin]

the sun rises

After her showing with the previous technique, he was almost surprised to see her falter here, though he did his level best not to show it. This was the kind of performance expected from a shinobi learning a technique for the first time, especially a genin - even if the genin in question seemed to be a quite hyper-competent one. Even savants needed practice, even savants couldn't have every area completely under their belt without blinking.

She seemed a bit frustrated about that fact, though. Gin wasn't the most emotionally perceptive man out there, but Hana's agitation was too plain for him to miss.

"Our sword styles are quite different," he agreed, trying to keep it casual. "I also exclusively use sword techniques, which I'm sure isn't the case for most shinobi." Those who had access to chakra tended to learn at least a little of everything. Gin had never had the need for it nor the access to it himself.

"What I found very helpful to adapting to different sword techniques was practicing ...isolations," he explained. "Being able to move any one part of your body while holding the rest static. Every sword technique you'll ever learn focuses on a slightly different group of muscles, so training yourself in that way helps you be adaptable. Makes you better at dodging, too."

How to better explain how to practice it, though?

"Think of it as... the same principal you use when drawing your sword, but applied to other areas. You hold your hand steady in place and move the rest of your body around it, stepping your hips back to unsheathe the sword from the saya. Or you can hold the rest of your body steady and only move your wrist. It definitely takes a lot of practice, though. I didn't get any good at it until I was a Chuunin."

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