Crash Course

Valley was just about to take off, when Alicia asked for a little demonstration. Surprising, sure, but not unwelcome. The last time she’d tried training someone, she wound up losing girlfriend for a while, so she wasn’t exactly eager to step back into that role. But if she could get Alicia’s ball rolling with a new move? Couldn’t hurt.

”Sure.” Valley shrugged, grabbed the ropes, and leaped over, making her way back into the ring. ”It’s easy, real easy.”

She moved over to the corner and turned, placing her back against the turnbuckle. ”Corner kick. It’s one of the moves I like to call turnaround attacks - good ways to swing things back in your favor if they’re going bad, take the momentum. You’re in a corner, someone’s running your way or coming close, thinks they’ve got you trapped…”

Valley leaned back against the turnbuckle, brought her legs out, and shot them out, all in a slow, exaggerated motion, making sure Alicia got a good veiw. She did it a couple more times on top, as well.

”Should stun just about anybody for a couple of seconds, which is great for a lady like like me. I’m in the corner, right at the turnbuckle, can do all sorts of attacks from here.” She gave the pads a few good slaps.

Absently chewing at the corner of her lip, she watched Valley demonstrate the move, taking careful note of what was being said. Useful when you’re backed into a corner and the other fighter was coming in strong. Simple, straightforward and potentially turning your opponent’s momentum against them.

Of course, being stuck in a corner was a bad plan but it probably happened. She’d seen wrestlers sent running across the ring to slam into the turnbuckles before. So she probably was going to have it happen to her too.

”Like this?” The redhead asked, taking up position and waiting until Valley was watching before she wrapped her arms around the top ropes and imitated the kick as best she could. The motion didn’t quite feel natural to her, but she could work on that. Technically, she didn’t need this – she could pull head kicks anyway and could probably use one of those to make someone pay for rushing her – but the extra force might be handy. You never quite knew, after all.

And she liked kicks. She could definitely see how getting some space was great for anyone and the blonde had proved it – she’d turned the entire thing around starting with the corner kick.

For her, she’d probably want to follow up with another kick, but knowing how to get out of the corner was certainly something she was glad to have learned.

Assuming Valley hadn’t told her that was completely wrong, she went to try the kick again, at combat speed this time.

Valley watched and nodded along as Alicia tried to the kick. She looked like, well...an MMA fighter doing a wrestling move for the first time. It was perfectly serviceable for a first attempt, if a wee bit clunky. Nothing that couldn’t be improved on with some time and patience.

”That’s about right, yeah.” Valley stepped over to the side and watched from another angle. ”Really, you’re bigger than about 95% of the roster, so I don’t see you getting put into a corner too often. But I’m a stronger believer that there’s no such thing as knowing too many moves. The more options you have, the better.”

Valley took a few steps back, heading towards the opposite corner. ”Let’s work on the timing a little bit, see if you can get it down. I’ll run at you, you try and launch it at me.” She held up her hand and paused as soon as she reached the turnbuckle. ”Just be careful not to knock my head off.”

It was a joke, but not totally a joke.

Valley took a moment to get ready, then she ran forward at about half speed, crossing the ring with steady strides. She prepared to get her hands up at the right time - just a little added insurance. With legs like Alicia’s, she couldn’t be too careful.

Putting her weight on her arms felt wrong, the idea of throwing a kick without a solid base made part of her cringe and the rest was pretty aware that she likely wasn’t pulling it off with anything like the blonde’s panache. Oh well. Practice, that’s what she needed.

So, Valley suggesting they work on timing was certainly greeted with enthusiasm.

”Promise,” came Alicia’s reply, with a wink.

It wasn’t just about knowing how to get herself out of a corner of course, it was about knowing what sort of thing she could expect coming back at her. And she also agreed with the ‘never knowing enough moves’ thing. Options were good, even if she didn’t usually need them.

And particularly options that involved boots to faces.

As Valley set herself, Alicia closed her eyes, mentally running through how long it felt like it’d taken her to get her legs up to the right height for a moment before opening them to see the blonde coming towards her. She wasn’t coming at full speed, probably a good idea, and the redhead braced herself in readiness as the distance closed.

A little closer, just a little closer… She took a deep breath and braced herself. Then, at what she judged the right moment, she leant back against the turnbuckle, raised her legs up and then kicked them out. Given they were just practicing, she didn’t put any more strength into the move than necessary in case she’d got her timing wrong.

Or, thinking about it, in case she got it dead on.

It went without saying, but Valley didn’t just move half-speed across the ring. She also got her hands up in time, and braced herself, and did everything she could to make it hurt less than she knew it rightfully could. With legs like Alicia’s, there was no such thing as being too safe.

To Alicia’s credit, she managed to keep the blow from doing too much damage. But it still had enough power to knock Valley back a few steps, as her shoes hit dead on, not a single inch missed.

Valley corrected herself a moment later, planting her feet down firm and establishing a base. She shook it off a moment later, glad that she’d only taken the trial version.

”And that’s about it.” Valley whistled and ran a hand through her hair. ”You can usually find some videos online if you’re looking for more ideas.and if youneed anything demonstrated, I can pretty much do anything wrestling kick you find. Most aerial moves, too,” She thumbed at the turnbuckle. ”But you don’t want to get that crazy just yet.”

Watching Valley – not exactly a small or weak woman herself – go stumbling back after her kick hit home, Alicia decided she liked that move. Against a smaller opponent or someone running in at full speed, and with her full strength behind it… Yes, she definitely liked that move.

Once it became apparent that they weren’t repeating the experiment immediately, she unwound her arms and leant back against the turnbuckle more casually, folding her arms across her chest.

”I’ll take you up on that,” The redhead’s nod was firm, ”Especially for the kicks, I like learning new moves.”

She shot a more cautious glance at the top of the turnbuckle opposite.

”I think I’ll leave the aerial stuff to you though.”

Crazy was a good word as far as Alicia could see. While she’d done time as a gymnast at school and had been pretty good at it, that had been before she hit her growth spurt. And, while there were still moves she could pull off, there was a world of difference between what she’d been learning and the sort of training she’d need to do what Valley did.

Hey, she’d been trained to land on her feet, not go belly-flopping onto people…

Valley hopped back to the opposite turnbuckle from Alicia and jumped up, sitting on the highest pad. It was a little funny, but this whole thing brought back some deja vu - a decade or so ago, she’d been in a similar position to Alicia, starting out in wrestling and getting her feet wet. Of course, Valley had been much more obstinate about it, thinking she knew everything she needed to know because she’d watched her mother wrestle for so long.

That had led to some painful lessons, ones that she was glad Alicia would get to skip. ”There’s a lot to learn, but just keep an open mind and you’ll pick it up fast.” Valley wagged a finger her way. ”And don’t write off the top-rope stuff just yet - it’s too early for you now, but I bet you’d have a killer double foot stomp.”

Valley went through the motions with her fingers, using them illustrate. ”Your opponent’s on her back, you jump off the top rope, bring your knees to your chest, and then BOOM - both heels, right on the chest. Three-count, everytime, guaranteed.”

Now that she’d put an evil thought in Alicia’s head, Valey decided it was time to depart. ”At any rate, I’m out for now, have a little date with my girl.” She slid off the turnbuckle and hopped from the apron to the floor, once again moving to the bags. ”Call me up whenever you like, don’t be a stranger.”

As shown by the evil grin that had taken up residence on Alicia’s lips and the thoughtful glint to her eyes, Valley had most definitely given her some ideas with that particular suggestion. Enough so, in fact, that it took her a moment to switch gears from imagining how she could fit that particular move into her repertoire to realising that the other woman was heading off – suffice it to say that she was very much looking forward to learning how to do that move but not as much as she was looking forward to trying it out in a match.

Double foot stomp… She liked the sound of that.

Even if she didn’t want to go for a pin, they wouldn’t be going anywhere fast so she could set up for a kick or a headscissors for the knockout. Or, the sadistic part of her mind chimed in, a bodyscissors…

Shaking her head free of those thoughts, she waved politely to Valley as the blonde dropped out of the ring.

”Thanks for a great fight. I can’t wait for the rematch – have a great time!”

Watching the blonde leave for a moment, Alicia turned back to the ring and rested her hands pensively on her hips. Probably time for her to go as well, but maybe she’d just spend a few minutes bouncing around the ring first…