Day 80 of Summer 515AV
The Fighting Pits
“Alright, you know what to do,” Brandon said, rubbing his hands together as soon as the whole bunch of yasi had assembled. “Five sets, all of you,” he confirmed, having raised the number of exercises from four to five. There was a bit of groaning and grumbling coming of the small group, but that was the most complaining they ever did. When it came to the warming up that is. As usual, Brandon joined it too, counting out loud and dictating the rhythm they had to stick to. Or had to try to stick to anyway. The crunches and squats were over soon, and then only the push-ups were left, the bat having saved them until the end in his benevolent mood today.
Without too much effort, the thief swung into a handstand and began bending his arms, lowering his face, then pushing it up again. Being a showoff had not done him much good; after a couple classes, the yasi had managed to make him promise he'd do handstand push-ups instead of regular ones. They said it was because they thought it was awesome, and only too late the bat had realized they were also a lot more tiring. Well, not at first, but when he'd started increasing the sets for the warming up sessions... Not that Brandon minded; this way he'd actually get some training in himself, as opposed to doing easy exercises all the time. With a last puff, Brandon finished the warm up, and got back to his feet in an instant, allowing the yasi to catch their breath.
Compared to when he'd first started, the yasi had grown considerably; their endurance had increased, and so had their overall strength and muscularity. They were not yet fully grown though, and as a result they still couldn't endure as much as older people could, but still. “So, what will we be doing today...” the bat pondered aloud, stroking his cheeks and goatee. “Ah, I know.” He then turned to the yasi, laying scattered all over the floor of the pits. “Do you? Take a guess...mmmmmmyou.” The girl who'd been selected looked up confused, apparently not quite understanding what was asked of her. One of her peers -well, a couple of them- whispered the wonderful advice of “just say something”. “Ehm... Strangle holds?” Well, that was not something Bran had been expecting. “Not quite; someone else?” Of course, there were no volunteers. The thief just shrugged. “How about you? Do you have an idea?”
It was a boy this time, and he immediately answered. “One strike kill moves!” Brandon merely shot him a look and shook his head. “Something closer to your level, so no.” It would be faster to just tell them, the bat thought, they wouldn't come up with it anyway. “We'll be practicing your punches and kicks.”
“Seriously?”
“But we know how to already!”
“Not this again....”
“I wanted to learn something new instead-”
Whispers exploded, turning the corner of the pits into a cacophony of voices; although they were whispering, Brandon could clearly understand most of them. “SILENCE!” he ordered, crossing his arms and assuming his no-nonsense expression. “You three,” he pointed, “three sets. No Nari, how many times must I repeat that? And I am not clipped, thank you very much. Add one more set.” They looked shocked to see he'd understood something at least. “Oh yes, I've done some studying of my own. I can now understand and recognize insults. Insults will add one set to the punishment, understood?” They nodded, Brandon did have some authority at least. He sighed then, casting a sideways glance to confirm whether or not they three boys were doing the sets like correctly, then faced the rest of the group.
“Last time we held a tournament, remember that? It was about five days ago. And while there were indeed winners and losers, all of you gave a terrible performance. You got hit too often. You neglect your defense. Your footwork is non-existent. Your punches and kicks are sloppy!” he scowled. “That you mess up your defense and prefer to stand in place like a ready target I can understand. But petching up your attacks? Honestly, all I've done till now is teaching you how to punch and kick. How can you not do it right?” Brandon gestured with one hand in frustration.
“Sir, you are wrong.” came a string of bold words, and Brandon raised an eyebrow.
The Fighting Pits
“Alright, you know what to do,” Brandon said, rubbing his hands together as soon as the whole bunch of yasi had assembled. “Five sets, all of you,” he confirmed, having raised the number of exercises from four to five. There was a bit of groaning and grumbling coming of the small group, but that was the most complaining they ever did. When it came to the warming up that is. As usual, Brandon joined it too, counting out loud and dictating the rhythm they had to stick to. Or had to try to stick to anyway. The crunches and squats were over soon, and then only the push-ups were left, the bat having saved them until the end in his benevolent mood today.
Without too much effort, the thief swung into a handstand and began bending his arms, lowering his face, then pushing it up again. Being a showoff had not done him much good; after a couple classes, the yasi had managed to make him promise he'd do handstand push-ups instead of regular ones. They said it was because they thought it was awesome, and only too late the bat had realized they were also a lot more tiring. Well, not at first, but when he'd started increasing the sets for the warming up sessions... Not that Brandon minded; this way he'd actually get some training in himself, as opposed to doing easy exercises all the time. With a last puff, Brandon finished the warm up, and got back to his feet in an instant, allowing the yasi to catch their breath.
Compared to when he'd first started, the yasi had grown considerably; their endurance had increased, and so had their overall strength and muscularity. They were not yet fully grown though, and as a result they still couldn't endure as much as older people could, but still. “So, what will we be doing today...” the bat pondered aloud, stroking his cheeks and goatee. “Ah, I know.” He then turned to the yasi, laying scattered all over the floor of the pits. “Do you? Take a guess...mmmmmmyou.” The girl who'd been selected looked up confused, apparently not quite understanding what was asked of her. One of her peers -well, a couple of them- whispered the wonderful advice of “just say something”. “Ehm... Strangle holds?” Well, that was not something Bran had been expecting. “Not quite; someone else?” Of course, there were no volunteers. The thief just shrugged. “How about you? Do you have an idea?”
It was a boy this time, and he immediately answered. “One strike kill moves!” Brandon merely shot him a look and shook his head. “Something closer to your level, so no.” It would be faster to just tell them, the bat thought, they wouldn't come up with it anyway. “We'll be practicing your punches and kicks.”
“Seriously?”
“But we know how to already!”
“Not this again....”
“I wanted to learn something new instead-”
Whispers exploded, turning the corner of the pits into a cacophony of voices; although they were whispering, Brandon could clearly understand most of them. “SILENCE!” he ordered, crossing his arms and assuming his no-nonsense expression. “You three,” he pointed, “three sets. No Nari, how many times must I repeat that? And I am not clipped, thank you very much. Add one more set.” They looked shocked to see he'd understood something at least. “Oh yes, I've done some studying of my own. I can now understand and recognize insults. Insults will add one set to the punishment, understood?” They nodded, Brandon did have some authority at least. He sighed then, casting a sideways glance to confirm whether or not they three boys were doing the sets like correctly, then faced the rest of the group.
“Last time we held a tournament, remember that? It was about five days ago. And while there were indeed winners and losers, all of you gave a terrible performance. You got hit too often. You neglect your defense. Your footwork is non-existent. Your punches and kicks are sloppy!” he scowled. “That you mess up your defense and prefer to stand in place like a ready target I can understand. But petching up your attacks? Honestly, all I've done till now is teaching you how to punch and kick. How can you not do it right?” Brandon gestured with one hand in frustration.
“Sir, you are wrong.” came a string of bold words, and Brandon raised an eyebrow.
