Meanwhile in the garden, Marissa turned to Master Mitsu as she had something to ask her. "Master, how do the flowers have to do with martial arts?"
@SAF "It is a quiet space to relax and savor the wonder and beauty of nature--especially after a long day of training." Master Mitsu explained. "Many of the flowers planted here have special meanings for martial artists."
"I see..." Marissa nodded in understanding. "But wait, aren't we supposed to train right now?" the girl seriously felt like an idiot for getting both herself and Master Mitsu sidetracked somehow.
@SAF Master Mitsu smiled. "Let's go back to the archery range. You can always come to the garden when you need a break." @Ignem After eying a training dummy at the other end of the room, Master Karashi made a running start, then jumped, kicking the training dummy as he elegantly arced through the air and gracefully landed like a Meowth at the other end of the room. "There--that is the full power of the Howling Moon Kick.
@SAF Back on the archery range, Master Mitsu took down her own bow. "Now then--first I will walk you through what good form looks like and what a proper shot should look like."
Cobalt awed on how awesome the move looked. "Will I be able to do that?" he said. He can jump pretty high since he does freerunning butnot so sure about the kick.
@SAF "Above all, a bow is a weapon first." Master Mitsu cautioned. "So be very careful to follow any rules a practice range may have, always wear safety gear, and always remember to use good form when you shoot." @Ignem Master Karashi nodded. "Eventually, the move will look like this, but let's start with an easier form of the jump kick."
"Oh I can do that!" he said excitedly. He took a running start towards the dummy. At the right moment he jumped up and struck the dummy with a flying kick. Jump was pretty high not as high as Master Karashi for sure.
@Ignem Master Karashi applauded Cobalt's kick. "Nicely done--can you attempt a higher jump from farther back? This will determine where we will begin training from."
"Yeah, I can try, " he said. Usually in freerunning more momentum you have the more higher you can jump. He went a bit more backwards than the place he started to run. Before jumping up and striking dummy with another flying kick.
@Ignem Master Karashi smiled at Colbalt's attempt. "Very good...let's continue attempting the basic jump kick from farther back. The point where you miss will be our first goal."
"Yes, ma'am," Marissa nodded as she took a mental note about the warning. She'll need it for her next lessons, after all.
@SAF "Now--here's the proper stance while standing..." Master Mitsu demonstrated the pose. "You want to stand shoulder-width apart completely sideways to the target, with your toes at a 90 angle to your target."
Marissa tried her best to mimic Master Mitsu's stance. A little bit harder than using a slingshot, yes, but still...
@SAF Master Mitsu observed Marissa's stance. It looked decent for a first attempt, but Marissa's feet were too close together. "You're close--your feet need to spread out a tiny bit."
Cobalt nodded and went back even further before getting a running start, jumping and striking the dummy with a flying kick. He again repeated the process going further back each time before he missed the dummy going over it.