11746/Practice in the Park

Practice in the Park
Date of Scene:	09 July 2020
Location:	Bushwick (Mutant Town), Brooklyn
Synopsis:	Snake and Riana become friends over a mutual love of martial arts.
Cast of Characters:	Snake Eyes, Wild Rose

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Snake Eyes has posed:
Work, meditation, exercise, martial arts practice, range time. This is Snake Eyes' life. Once he's accomplished all of that for the day, though, he's got some free time to do fun things. Like more martial arts stuff. According to the internet there's a class on Tang Soo Do, a Korean system that Snake hasn't had a great deal of experience with, at the Bushwick Inlet Park. So he hops on the subway to the nearest station to see if he can't get in on some extra training while he's still in New York. The ninja is wearing his 'average Joe' mask, a compression shirt, exercise pants, trainers and carries a gym bag with him.

The park itself has a few people in it. The main field has a soccer game going on, looks like kids versus adults. The youth have energy and enthusiasm on their side. The grown ups have size and coordination. Looks like everyone is having fun, though, especially as a preteen steals the ball from her dad and dribbles it towards the goal with lightning speed. Like, she runs at about forty miles per hour. Damn hard to stop her.

Snake looks around for where the class is to be held after checking out the soccer match for a bit, a smile on his face.

Wild Rose has posed:
     It's a simple, open-air affair, with a few of the basics to be taught and hopefully generate area interest in the art. The day for it is a beautiful one, warm and balmy without the high temperatures the area had experienced of late. A few younger students and one or two adults have gathered near some of the trees for shade, and seem to be engaged in some warm-up stretches under the watchful eye of a flame-haired woman in white gi pants, and a white t-shirt. While she's foregone the gi jacket in deference to the warm weather, she has not left off her belt--a simple black belt, with two white bars embroidered on one end.

     "Good job on the stretches," she calls out to those who have gathered. "Just like anything else, warm up properly before practice." While it may be common sense to the adults, it's the littles she has her sage-green eyes on when she speaks. "We'll begin with a couple basic stances and blocks so you can get a feel for things. If your stance is strong, it will be that much harder for an opponent to take you down."

     She begins by leading the class through a basic front stance. "Keep your forward leg bent at 90 degrees, and your feet about shoulder width apart. Just try that first, okay?" One by one, each student makes their attempt. And, one by one, the instructor moves among them, either offering encouragement when a student has done well, or correcting their stance gently when it's not quite right.

     "Let me show you what happens when you don't do this correctly." Rather than put one of the students on the spot, she herself assumes a very poor, very narrow front stance. "Now, one of you come up and push back on my shoulders and try to tip me over." A particularly perky wisp of a blonde-haired boy with two front teeth missing runs right up to her and pushes back on her shoulders, very nearly tipping her over.

     "See how easy it is to knock someone down who isn't standing well?" She shifts her stance to the correct posture, nodding to the boy. "Try it again."

     This time, no matter how hard he pushes, she will not be moved. There is a murmuring among the students, and a renewed effort towards their own posture.

     The instructor just smiles, keeping a close watch over her pupils.

Snake Eyes has posed:
When he gets closer to the affair Snake Eyes studies the instructor and her words quite carefully. Tossing his bag aside he starts to warm himself up, moving smoothly into stretches, making sure his muscles won't be damaged by anything he's about to do. Then he jogs towards rest of the class and assumes the front stance that the rest of the learners are in.

Lifting a hand he waves to the instructor. He signs something at her to see if she gets it, then taps his wrist where some folks might where a watch and shakes his head, showing a little frown that quickly turns into a look of concentration as he gets back into what he's trying to learn.

Despite being a master of other martial arts, Snake strives to be a good student, doing his best to follow the teacher's instructions. Despite being one of only a few adults present he doesn't seem bothered at all.

Wild Rose has posed:
     While Riana might not quite understand what Snake is signing, she is not blind to his gestures either, making her way over to him. "Welcome," she says, offering a bow. "Everything okay?" She casts her eyes towards his wrist, lofting one titian brow. Was the gentleman mute? Considering this idea for a moment, she offers her hand. "I'm Riana Mackenzie. Glad you could join in today."

Snake Eyes has posed:
As Riana bows to him Snake Eyes snaps to attention and returns it just as deeply. When asked if everything is okay he nods his head, then moves to pull a phone from his pocket. He'll shake hands firmly, but not do the squeeze the crap out of someone's mitt type thing, striving to be both friendly and polite. With his other hand he swipes on his phone to cause it say in a robotic tone, "I am Snake. Nice to meet you." There's a large grin given to the instructor then. It appears as though he is happy to be present.

Wild Rose has posed:
     For her own part, Riana's grip is fairly strong, yet there is a quality of restraint about it--perhaps as if she is holding back her own strength. "Likewise. Just some of the basics today. Who knows, maybe one or two of these kids might show some promise." As she turns to look over the rest of the class, one is left to wonder if this group would have more enthusiasm than any real promise of talent for martial arts. A flick of her eyebrows, a slight upturn of the corners of her mouth, and a light huff of breath gives just a hint of Riana's thoughts on the matter.

     Well, everyone had to start somewhere!

     Bowing once more, she gives Snake a thumbs-up, and trots back to her place at the head of the class. "Okay, good job so far with the front stance. You might also hear it called 'chun gul jaseh' which is just Korean for 'front stance'. Next up, we'll go through a few basic blocks, starting with the low block." Despite the lack of seeming ability shown so far, it's plain Riana loves teaching, as she demonstrates a low block for the class, with her blocking arm over her bent knee, and her other arm tucked up and bent by her side, fist rotated upwards as if prepared for a punch. The students follow suit, with varying degrees of success. But one common point they all have is that light in their eyes as it hits them that maybe--just maybe--they really /can/ do this.

Snake Eyes has posed:
Snake chuckles silently at the nice woman's comments, giving the kids a glance himself, then returns her bow and her thumbs up.

As the other students do the front block Snake joins in, enjoying the lessons so far. They may be basic, but he continues putting the most effort he can into what he's doing. Seeing the kids light up the ninja sighs, smiling faintly.

Wild Rose has posed:
     When Riana sees the students' eyes light up, her own smile widens considerably. Perhaps all this lot needed was a bit of time--and plenty of practice. As she glances over towards Snake to see how he is doing, she notes how much more easy, how much more practiced his stance seems already by comparison. Could it be he had prior training in another art? It might be interesting to compare notes at some point, she thought to herself. But that was for another day.

     For now, it was time to ramp things up a bit, and get these students stringing things together. "Okay, next move's going to be a simple punch. I want you to step forward with your rear foot to put yourself in a front stance again. Now watch how my hands move through this." As she herself steps forward, she draws her blocking hand back, tucking it in close to her side and turning her fist upwards. Her right arm comes straight out, with her hand turning about into the pose for a simple punch. This is all done in slow motion a couple times, to give each student a chance to see for themselves. "Alright, now you try it."

     As she watches over the class, a secret little smile turns her lips upwards. What could she be up to?

Snake Eyes has posed:
Happily, Snake goes through the punch, trying his best to mirror the instructor's form as he strikes out, a look of focus and determination on his face. The Silent Master knows that everything builds off of fundamentals. He can slice ping pong balls in half in mid air with a sword now, or shoot skeet with a handgun, but he started off once learning to punch just like this, many years ago. Practicing fundamentals makes him happy and keeps him strong.

Catching the teacher's little smile, Snake's face takes on a curious sort of look, but he doesn't let it distract him for very long. Best to focus on moving his body properly.

Wild Rose has posed:
     Students can often do more than they realize. It was one thing that Riana was determined this class would leave here knowing, that they were capable of more than they thought. "Good, looks like most of you got it. This next one might take a little bit of coordination, especially for some of you younger ones here. But you can and will be able to do it, I promise you that." Her smile widens, one eyebrow quirking faintly as she looks out over each in turn.

     "Next part is to turn about in the opposite direction, and repeat the block and the punch." To demonstrate, she does just that, executing the first block with her right hand, and the punch, and then glancing over her right shoulder before twisting about to land the next low block and punch. The first is at full speed, and the second repetition is in slow motion. "Just like that, all together now." Each move she calls out, she executes right along with her students, not moving on to the next one till all have managed with varying degrees of success.

Snake Eyes has posed:
As each move is called out Snake performs them, his body moving surely from position to position. Occasionally, once he feels he's in a good spot, he'll look at the other students to see how they're doing, smiling at the kids when he sees them more or less succeeding. For a guy who normally trains the most elite soldiers in the world, it's refreshing and wonderful to see youngsters stepping into the world of martial arts for the first time.

His expression grows thoughtful as he performs the motions along with the others. When he gets the chance to he studies Riana, watching the way that she moves, possibly appraising her.

Wild Rose has posed:
     "Good," Riana calls out. "Next one's not as bad. You'll do a quarter turn to the left with a low block, just like I showed you, followed by three punches in a row as you advance. Like this." She executes the moves first in quick succession, then in slow motion as before. On the third punch, a very strong "Hyah!" escapes her in an outrush of sound and breath. This makes some of the kids giggle, each trying the yell themselves. Knowing well enough the boundless energy of the young, Riana allows this to continue for a few moments, her green eyes sparkling with delight at the growing enthusiasm of the class.

     "Okay, enough. With me, now. Go!" Once more, she goes through the moves she called out, step by step, leaving a bit of a space of time between each so some of the slower students can keep up.

     When those final yells die down, however, Riana's smile widens, and she springs her little secret upon the class. "Whether you realize it or not, I've just been teaching you the first basic form of Tang Soo Do, or 'ki cho hyung il bu'. See? You can do more than you thought."

     Sneaky!

Snake Eyes has posed:
As his body moves along with the instructions, Snake starts smiling again. Feeling good as he trains in this new system. Each of his movements is as close to that of the instructor as he can manage to pull off. When it's time to yell he instead exhales sharply, focusing his energy as he does so.

When it's announced that the class has just been learning their first form the ninja grins and nods his head approvingly as he looks over the other folks being instructed. This lady is a good instructor, in his estimation.

Wild Rose has posed:
     Once more from the top, Riana leads the class through the first steps of ki cho hyung il bu, step by step, stringing all the motions together into one cohesive whole. There are varying degrees of skill among the students, but all seem to comprehend what she is showing them, and indeed, even enjoy it. "Good job. Next class will be next week, weather allowing. I'd like you all to work on your stances, your blocks, punches, and stringing them together for the first basic form. I'll plan on covering the rest of it next class."

     With a deep bow, the class is dismissed. So many students were younger, with shorter attention spans, that she seemed in tune with this fact and let them go perhaps a touch early.

     When the others have gone, she turns to Snake and smiles. "You're pretty good," she remarks. "If I had to guess, you've had considerable training, maybe in another discipline?"

Snake Eyes has posed:
As the kids fun off Snake allows himself a silent chuckle, rocking back on his heels for a moment as he sticks his hands in his pockets. When Riana approaches his grin returns and he bows to her when she makes a comment about him being good. Then, in answer to her question, he nods his head up and down a few times and fishes for his phone. After he touches the screen a bunch it finally says, "Black belt equivalent or higher in a couple." A dozen, but he doesn't need to brag that much. "Grew up in household where we trained in multiple systems. Karate was first for me. Really wanted to see TSD in person. Thank you."

Wild Rose has posed:
     Riana nods once, listening. Her brows arch at the mention of multiple systems. "Just a couple? I wasn't brought up in a household like that. Pretty normal family, mostly. The chance to learn tang soo do came at a pretty dark time in my life, when I really needed a better focus the most." She sighs softly, looking back over her shoulder to where most of the kids have dispersed, or are somehow tapping into new reserves of energy for an impromptu game of soccer. "If I can give that to even one of these kids, then I'll be happy."

Snake Eyes has posed:
"Very strange household," Snake admits, grinning when his phone spits out the words. "It is good that you found something to help you. Very good of you to offer it to kids. Helps them form lifelong good habits. Discipline, determination, spirit, courage." His fingers are fast on the touch screen, "This is good thing to give people. You have studio? I want to learn from you, but schedule sucks. Not always in city."

Wild Rose has posed:
     Riana shakes her head. "I wish I did have a studio," she replies, her tone a bit rueful. "I'm just about keeping myself afloat for the moment, though. I know there's the Chikara Dojo not too far from here, but I'm pretty sure they teach a different discipline. If you see any places nearby that might work in your travels, would you be willing to let me know?"

Snake Eyes has posed:
Snake frowns when Riana tells him that she doesn't have her own studio. He thinks on things for a few seconds, then sucks some air in through his teeth and frowns again, shaking his head. In answer to her question he nods a couple of times and offers a thumbs up. Can't hurt to keep an eye out for a good spot for her. When he starts on his phone again his fingers fly just as fast as before, "I would like to help you. Don't have a lot of money, money tied up in expensive swords and things, but I want to pay for instruction. Can meet when I'm around and you are not busy, if okay with you."

Wild Rose has posed:
     Riana's first instinct is to decline the money, her brows furrowing. But, something stops her. Snake was only trying to help, after all. Finally, after a few long moments of silence, she nods. "Alright. I'll earmark what comes of that for studio funds. Thank you." In his expression, she saw the same light, the same enjoyment as she had witnessed in the other students who had shown up to her demonstration today. At least he would be a joy to teach--and who knows, perhaps she might learn a thing or two along the way.

Snake Eyes has posed:
When the woman agrees to take his money Snake grins at her, thumbs up once more, then back to the phone, "I am excited. I can teach things to you sometimes. You want to learn ground fighting?" Because most fights end up going to the ground. At least when 'normal' people are brawling. "Or..." And the phone has a hard time sounding out the word so Snake just shows what's on the screen: 'kenjutsu'.

Wild Rose has posed:
     Riana grins, the same look that had been on the faces of those in the class now on her own, at the prospect of learning a new discipline. "Normal, I am not." She purses her lips, thinking how far she ought to trust Snake. She'd just met him, after all, and taken him on as a student. Weighing matters in her mind, she continues after several very long moments. "I'll be honest with you up front. I'm a mutant. Is that going to be okay?"

Snake Eyes has posed:
Snake nods his head at the question, then smiles at her. His phone comes up to say, "Mutants are cool." Grinning, he keeps pounding away at the touch screen until the device speaks once more, "Have friend who flies." Because that is really cool. "You face bigot people? I hate them. Want to fight them all the time."

Wild Rose has posed:
     Riana shakes her head. "I don't usually face them, because I can hide what I am. Unless I say or do something to give myself away, people simply don't know." She sighs, running her fingers through her hair. "I kept it from my own family for years because I didn't want them catching heat for having a kid who was a mutant. Finally got up the guts to tell my dad and my sister, and the only thing they were hurt about was that I never told them sooner."

Snake Eyes has posed:
When Riana tells her little story Snake Eyes does his best to make the face people make when they say "awwww" over something cute. You know, the one where their eyes get just a bit weepy looking. He's not doing it to make fun, either, it seems pretty genuine. He even comments on it via his phone, "Good people." Then he goes on to type, "I will tell no one about you. Top secret." He's got secrets of his own, after all. "Usually when I train I wear mask. One of systems I study likes them. Is that okay?"

Wild Rose has posed:
     Riana nods, and smiles. "More than okay." Nearby is a small gym bag, which she picks up and slings over her shoulder. From a side pocket, she withdraws her own phone, glancing up at Snake. "Let me give you my number so we can keep in touch about classes and such." If accepted, she taps out her number on her phone and turns it towards Snake so he can copy down the information.

     Just about then, tinkling little notes of a familiar tune calls to littles and elders alike like the Pied Piper. Oh, yes. It's...

     ...the ice cream truck! Riana laughs, and grins wide. "I think the kids have the right idea. I should be getting home, but maybe an ice cream on the way...?"

Snake Eyes has posed:
Snake is more than happy to take his new instructor's phone number. "I will text you," his phone speaks after a little swiping and typing. "Thank you. Wonderful to meet you." He bows to her rather formally, coming up with a smile.

As she says she should be getting home he nods and lifts a hand in a wave, then gives her two thumbs up. It's clear that he's had quite a good time.