Solo A Turned Hand Part II

[Moritz Craven]

40 Fall 520

Knocking on Kyra's door once more, Moritz waited for a moment to here "enter" before opening the portal. As usual Kyra was in the main training room rather than somewhere else in her house, almost as if she knew when Moritz was coming exactly and prepared in advance for it. Of course, Moritz had to admit, he did come roughly around the same time each time he came, so perhaps she simply reposed in meditation with her legs all odd as she did while waiting for him to arrive.

His instructor Kyra did not say anything when he first walked in, keeping her eyes closed and legs all crisscrossed as she sat on the floor. Mortiz chose to follower her lead, though sitting on the ground more normally. A calm mind was the first step to training, emotions and such led to making non-logical decisions which could lead him astray. Better to stay calm and to act when he did on his training and logic and tactics rather than a sense of urgency or other such illogical things.

Sitting on the ground with his feet in front of him Moritz closed his eyes and measured his breathing. In slowly, expanding his lungs as much as they could go, and then out slowly till his lungs were empty. Then when his chest began to cry for air he slowly pulled in a breath till his chest was full again. In, and out, over and over for several chimes until he felt the calmness wash over him. Nothing else mattered, nothing else was of import. He was a solitary figure floating in a wave of calm, nothing going on but his own calm demeanor.

Not so well trained as some Moritz was unable to truly block out the world around him, and so heard when Kyra rose to her feet and began speaking. His eyes opened to peer up at her across the floor as she did.

"Alright Moritz, lets begin. We usually start with training and then move into combat. But today I think we should change things up. Lets start out with a bit of simple combat acrobatics. They help to limber you up, and can be useful in a fight if you need to dodge or otherwise move to avoid an attack. Now since your just starting out this won't likely be of use in fighting right away, but it will be a step to other things of more use. We will start with a simple cartwheel, and if you can manage that we'll try a handstand."

Kyra, done with her explanation, then proceeded to demonstrate for Moritz what he should do. Taking a step forward and turning to the side Kyra seemed to lean down and forward such such one hand met the ground, while also sort of kicking off with her feet. In one smooth motion she moved from one side to the other, one hand to the other, feet moving overhead, until she finished the motion and landed on the other side.

"This tends to be a bit easier to start with, since you are moving constantly and don't stop or rest, and you use your whole body. So now you try, go ahead."

Moritz nodded and looked out over the empty space. Taking off his shoes and setting them near a wall Moritz looked about, pausing to measure his breath and prepare himself. Then he moved to copy the motion he had seen Kyra make. He leaned down to land on one hand while also kicking up his feet in the air. This seemed to help with his balance since he was continuing the motion and his legs countered his lower body. He made it most of the way, getting his hand down and landing on it while kicking off, but as his feet went into the air he found himself overbalanced and ended up crashing to the ground to land on his stomach. He had not stuck the second hand, and had ended up teetering over on his front.

"Not bad, now keep at it, you'll get it."

WC: 687

[Moritz Craven]

Getting up from where he fell on the floor, Moritz readied himself and then launched into another move. This time before he began he pictured the movements Kyra had made and concentrated on copying those motions as close as possible with his own body. Moving forward he turned and learned down while kicking off with his feet, for a moment on one hand then the other. He wobbled somewhat as he transitioned, but this time managed to keep to his feet and roll off onto the other side were... He fell again. But, Moritz reminded himself, at a later point in the motion.

Getting up again while Kyra watched Moritz stood and prepared. Running through her motions again he spent a few moments mentally preparing himself, while also flexing his arms and legs to try to limber them further, and then moved again. A cartwheel, such a simple thing but something Mortiz was taking quite seriously.

Moving forward, lean down and aim for the ground with one hand while kicking off the feet. Feet up into the air as his body continued the forward motion. Feet above his head as for a split moment he was doing a handstand, and then continuing forward to move off one hand and onto the other. Then he was onto his feet, standing again. No fall this time.\\

"I... I did it! It took a couple tries, but I did! Now I see why its called that, a cartwheel, since your body sort of spins like a wheel if you do it right."

Kyra smiled, nodding, waiting a few moments for Moritz to calm down off the excitement of success. She wanted to make sure he was evened out before continued, since she would be giving him various tasks and slowly growing them to be more difficult.

"Right, next is a handstand. When you start out you will want to be near a wall to use it for support and guidance. But once you have the balance down you wont need it. Like this."

As before Kyra demonstrated her technique, leaning forward and landing on her hands while kicking her feet up above her. And then there she stood, palms flat on the ground and feet up in the air with hardly a quiver. Her balance was clearly highly refined, and he had no trouble maintaining the position. Still upside down Kyra spoke to Moritz as if the motion was as easy as breathing.

"This one takes more arm strength, since you are continuing to hold yourself up by your arms alone. Most people work out their legs more, and so their arms weaken or at least are weaker than their arms. Of course, you being a kelvic and walking around on all fours a lot of the time, that will likely be less of an issue for you. Anyways, prepare yourself and then try it out. Like I said, start by the wall, and then work your way to doing it without support."

WC: 500

[Moritz Craven]

Heading over to the wall Moritz considered the actions he needed to take. First he pictured what Kyra had done, but quickly realized that level of perfect balance was beyond him. Still though, just because he could not do a hand stand as well as Kyra didn't mean he couldn't do one at all.

First he began by trying to get the basic sense of it, sitting on the ground against the wall. Then he turned, putting his legs up against the wall and his torso on the ground. Finally using his hands he tried to push himself up, such that he was leaning against the wall but with his legs straight up against it. This began to work, managing to get his legs about halfway extended before he tipped over and fell. Once more Mortiz was left happy that the area had padding on the floor for training and combat practice. Much better than falling on a normal floor.

Moving back again Mortiz sat against the wall, and worked to extend his arms out from under him while this time focusing on his balance. This time he managed to push himself up the wall, resting against it, his feet up in the air and his arms holding him up.

Already he could feel the strain, as his balance was upset and he began to teeter. Moritz tried to use his legs to balance himself, keeping himself from moving too far one way or the other.It was tricky though, and Moritz soon felt a sway build in his body until he once more lost his balance.

"Moritz, focus on your entire body. Your not rowing a boat by an oar. You can't control your entire body by just using your legs, alright? Balance your entire self. Your arms, your core, that is your chest and gut and such on your torso, and also yes your legs. But not only that. Alright? Work all the muscles, and find the full balance using your entire body not just one part. It is all about balance, both literally and mentally. Understand?"

Nodding, Moritz turned back to the wall, working himself up the wall once again. As directed Moritz watched his entire body, trying to control it all at once. His legs stood up above him, leaned against the wall. He tightened his chest, stocking it solid against his legs. His arms outstretched, moving down to the ground. For a moment he swayed, but soon enough this diminished to nothing. Admittedly Moritz was still using the wall for support, not doing a free handstand. He needed to work out how to balance himself in two directions, forward and back along with side to side. For now he had side to side down, but needed to work out forward and back. Which meant step away from the wall. Moving one hand forward Moritz tried just that, moving off of the wall. And of course the reaction was immediate, as he fell once again to land as a heap on the ground.

WC: 506

[Moritz Craven]

Smiling down at Moritz, Kyra walked over to the youth piled in a heap on the ground.

"Okay, better, but you'll need to change it up if you aren't using a wall any more. Lean down to stand on your hands, and push off with your feet to get them upward above you. But don't push too hard, or you will overbalance and end up falling the other way. Balance is important, but I know you can do it if you keep at it."

Showing an example once more Kyra leaned down and seemed to almost hop onto her hands, feet suddenly in the air. Then raising one hand she moved closed to Moritz, turning to use the other and slowly walking towards Moritz. Walking except using her hands to move around.

"Walking on your hands is a bit more complex, but it starts out the same way as a hand stand. You find balance, and then balance on one hand at a time. Once you can do that with each arm, then you add motion and keep your balance while moving on the ground. Think of it in steps, and I believe it will go easier. First you did the cartwheel for general balance. Then you did a handstand while using the wall for support, which helped with your vertical sway from side to side. Now you need to work on your arm strength, and you horizontal sway front and back since the wall is no longer serving that function. And once you work that out you can try it one handed, till you can do each arm in turn by itself. Finally you add momentum and can walk. You are at the unaided hand stand phase, get that down and then you can progress further. So go ahead, try it out."

Moritz nodded again, taking a deep breath before he began. Then he moved forward, leaning down to put his hands on the ground. As his hands touched he pushed off with his feet in an attempt to get them above his head. This lasted for but a moment before his legs continued moving and sent him off balance to land on the ground again.

"Remember what I said Moritz, balance, balance is key. If you overcompensate you won't keep your legs up, and will fall over. Now try again. But this time keep the force of your legs in check. Not too hard or you will fall over. Not too soft or you will just end up on all fours and have your feet fall back down. Now try again."

Pulling in another breath Moritz repeated the motion, this time not pushing so hard. Unfortunately he did just what Kyra had warned off, not pushing hard enough and landing back on his hands and feet. Pushing again, this time a bit harder, Moritz focused on balance and precision. Not too hard, not too soft. This time he managed for a bit longer, standing on his hands with his feet in the air. He kept at this for a moment, before a sway began to build up. Within a few more moments his sway built until he once more crashed to the ground.

"Alright Moritz, lets stop there for now. Take a short break. Also I wanted to ask, you mentioned getting a dog before, how did that go?"

From his spot on the ground Moritz looked up at Kyra, taking a moment to recapture his breath before speaking.

"Yes, after I got the money I went by the pet store, and purchased a dog. It is a Spicecoat, her name is Naymon."

Smiling at Moritz Kyra shook her head, clearly finding something funny.

"Let me guess, she is cinnamon colored. I see where you got the name. Its a good name, very... You. Let me see, Spicecoats, I think I've seen those before. The are used by hunters and trackers aren't they?"

Sitting up Mortiz nodded, confirming what Kyra had said.

"Yes, that is what the person at the store said. They are good for hunting and tracking, and are also good for cold temperatures. Nymon is very furry and soft."

"Hmmm... Have you thought about learning a bit about that? Hunting and tracking? I know a place in Lhavit, The hunters guild, over on Sartu. I bet if you went by, you could get a lesson from someone in tracking and things. It would be good as well to expand your knowledge, maybe they could show you some ranged weapons. But you should probably start by learning some tracking. It would be a good bonding experience for you and Naymon, and give you something else you could do together."

Mortiz nodded once more, agreeing with his instructors words.

"Yes, thank you for the advice, I will have to look into it. That could be... Interesting..."

While Moritz did not lie outright, he was somewhat conflicted about the concept. He knew his dog needed to eat meat, but he was also a vegan and did not want anyone or anything alive to die. But he also wanted to expand his skills. Along with that, the thought of hunting was of interest, since it could mean making sure that any animals killed for meat were done so ethically. His feelings on the topic were mixed, seeing logical reasons for and against. Perhaps seeing this on his face and wanting to get his mind back to other things, Kyra pulled Moritz back to his feet.

"Right, so lets go again. I bet if you keep at it you'll manage to do a handstand for more than a second. Technically you did one, but you'll need to improve a lot before you expand further on that technique."

WC: 957

[Oralie]

grade award!

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Moritz

Skills

• Meditation: 1
• Acrobatics: 3
• Observation: 2
• Planning: 1
• Bodybuilding: 1
• Endurance: 1

Lores

• Acrobatics: How to do a cartwheel
• Acrobatics: Engage all your muscles to balance
• Acrobatics: How to do a wall-supported handstand

...

Please PM me if you have any questions or concerns and don't forget to edit your grade request!