Eye of the Tiger

Ryoko wouldn’t have had a problem with AJ keeping the hold on, more than trusting her not to do anything too rough with her arm. The woman didn’t have a malicious bone in her body, which, now that she thought about it, might have been more than a little of the problem - this could be a dirty sport, sometimes, and it was hard to keep yourself 100% clean. But that was a topic they could get into more later.

She threw her body forward and swung her legs about, getting into AJ’s position and mirroring her, eye to eye. It was important that they stay on the same level, even if she was the ‘teacher’.

”I think-”

Black Fang reached out and placed soft hands on AJ’s shoulders, holding her in place to keep her from rocking about. Just being a little playful, hoping it would make her friend a wee bit less nervous. Ease up. Cool down.

”Sorry, you’re like a metronome over there. But I think it’s good to focus on a body part and just kind of work that one as best you can. It’s one of the oldest tricks, but there’s a good reason for that, you know?” She waved her hand about. ”People talk like wrestling is different from other sports, and I mean, it is, but it’s not that different. A team has their playbook, they stick to that plan. A boxer goes into a match with an idea of what he needs to do, what his opponent can do, what he focuses on. A wrestler has to go in with a mindset of how she can break her opponent down. I’m not saying you never adapt, that comes with things, but that focus, that’s important.”

Black Fang had already garnered her full attention when she moved herself to sit across from her even before she spoke. Alexa's slow and steady rocking came to a stop as a hand was placed gently on her shoulder. Her posture straightened, more aware of how she was sitting and moving to correct it as she sat at full attention.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Deep down, she knew these things. The issue was the fact she always second guessed herself. Actually hearing it from someone now though meant the world to her. She never had a real teacher… yeah, the coach back home, but even then it was just the basics. No ring psychology, no tactics. Just the basics… forever. If she hadn't left would she have ever had wrestler someone by now? She wasn't sure.

"Okay, yeah. I need a plan." She shifted in place, stopping herself from fidgeting again. "Okay so, is it better to target a person's strengths or weaknesses? Or is it one of those learned things where it depends on who it is and you have to make the choice on the fly."

Ryoko was trying hard not to smile, not wanting to get too chummy with AJ - after all, the woman, her friend, had come to her for instructions, and she didn’t want to do anything that would dilute that. This was training, and if she looked at her as an equal in all of this, it could hamper her ability to properly observe was she was doing and find the problem areas.

But she couldn’t resist a little smirk, and she hoped it didn’t come off as patronizing. It was just nice to talk shop with AJ. She’d wanted to do something like this for so long, and here was the opportunity.

”That’s a good question. A really good question.” She wagged a finger her way. ”Personally - and this is just my approach - but, personally, I try to focus on their problem areas. I was trained to be well-rounded, have a good variety of skills to work with in just about all the areas. Nothing too fancy, nothing too crazy, but it lets me take advantage of my opponent’s weaknesses and excel where they fail. And you can do both at the same time, target strengths and weaknesses. Like, okay…”

Ryoko popped to her feet and held her arms out, looming over AJ. ”You’re in a big match, up against a super girl, let’s say...Death Bunny. Six feet tall, beast of a woman. She’s strong and she’s got a lot of experience. You can’t outmuscle her. But you can slow her down. Work on those legs. Kicks. Kneebars. Figure-fours. That sort of thing.” She started to hop on one foot, bouncing back and forcing, hobbling.

”So you’re slowing her down, yeah, that’s the obvious thing. But she’s a power wrestler, and a lot of her power is in those legs, too. It’s going to make it more difficult to hoist you up for those big attacks. It’s going to weaken her punches. Everything is connected, so taking out her legs pays dividends. You’re playing a long game, and it has some risks, but it can work. The truth is, most AFW wrestlers don’t think that well on the mat, don’t put that much thought into a match.”

A wide smile worked across her face when she was complimented for her question. It was clear positive reinforcement was working exceedingly well when it came from Black Fang. While as Ryoko she could often reach Alexa with the right words or actions, it seemed infinitely easier when wearing the disguise of her alter ego to break through and encourage her on a meaningful level.

She hung on every word, respectful and silent with small nods. When Black Fang reached her hands out, she took them readily and used the other woman to help her rise to her feet. She watched closely with narrowing eyes, really trying to visualize everything she was being told. It helped that she was familiar with the wrestler being referenced, had seen just how destructive Death Bunny could be. She didn't quite understand the ears and stuff but was definitely not going to question it.

"Yeah, that makes sense. I guess I never really thought about the cascade effect. I always just saw it as a very direct one to one, but the way you put it helps a lot more… okay, so we play the long game and work them over, focusing on their weaknesses. Now how do we keep safe while doing that? Like…" Alexa raised her eyebrows, giving her teacher the heads up she was about to do something. Stepping in, she brought her leg around in a slow kick to lightly bump Black Fang's thigh with a kick.

"So if I keep going for the legs." She circled, throwing out another light kick. "What if they catch on? I can switch it up still, like…" Alexa stepped in towards Black Fang, extending one leg out to step past the other woman a d hook her leg behind Black Fang. Her arm came up to slip around the woman's chest, leaning back before throwing her weight forward to bring her teacher to the mat with a STO.

When both women were on the mat, she pushed herself up onto her knees, reaching between her legs to grip Black Fang's which was still tangled with the one she used to trip her. With a hand tug she yanked the other woman's legs through her own, grabbing her at the ankle, more or less forcing the other woman to roll onto her side as she sat her weight back on her knee, applying a very loose leg lock without twerking it at all. "But if they understand I am going for their legs, or arms, or anything, what do I do to not be predictable."

Ryoko looked on, eager, as her friend rose to work with her. This was way more her speed, teaching by doing and showing, and it seemed like this was the sort of thing that AJ responded well, too. If she - heck, if either of them were going to improve, it would be through training like this. Going through the steps, getting it down, learning through practice and experience. Judging from the way her friend was lighting up, it was quite effective.

She followed along while AJ demonstrated, taking the ‘kicks’ and overreacting to each one, trying to simulate the right reaction. She stayed focused as her friend ironed out the details, all the way until she came at her with that sleek STO takedown. From there it was good transition, holding on to her leg and getting her into a lock that would’ve been bad business in a real match.

Along with another good question.

”Yeah, that’s true. If they know you want that leg, they’ll be looking out for it.” She tapped her chin. ”Which isn’t all bad, really - the more they focus on that, the less they’re focusing on other things. There’s only so much they can protect. But even more than that…”

She fell back and got cozy, wiggling her leg, content to let AJ hold it for the moment. ”There are ways you can take them off guard. Like, what you just did, going from that STO right into the hold, that’s not a transition that everyone could see coming. You can fake them out - grab them from behind, look like your going for a suplex, but drop down and snatch them. You can even work it in with a pin, you know? Think.” She sat up, wanting to make eye contact for the moment. ”If you pin someone and they kick out, you still have them at a disadvantage. A lot of wrestlers just back off for a moment, catch their breath after an opponent kicks out. But they’re on the floor. They’re vulnerable. Why not just keep the pressure on? They kick out, you grab that leg, and BAM! Right into a submission hold, working them over. Use every opportunity.”

"That's a good point. I don't do a lot of ground game stuff after a failed pinfall… I don't know, I just thought it was a sportsmanship thing but it isn't really the same taking a cheap shot. Just another transition." AJ put a sudden emphasis on her last word, throwing her weight to the side in a sudden roll to forcefully flop Black Fang over onto her stomach. Clamoring up to her knees she would draw back the captured leg, moving it into a single leg boston crab with a small laugh.

"How's that?" She called back over her shoulder with a wide grin playing across her face.

---

The brunette hit the mat on her back, legs hanging in the air for a moment before they hit the mat. She could feel where the dropkick hit her dead on, making her chest ache. In truth, she was pretty sore over all from the training training sessions they had been having for just over a week now.

She lifted her head as her legs were lifted up off the mat, watching her teacher entangle their limbs with level of finesse she couldn't help by admire. There was a small feeling of dread as she recalled what the hold was though… bad memories flooding back to her once Black Fang had dropped back to lock in the figure 4 leg lock. For training purposes they normally went pretty light, but she couldn't help by feel the panic of being locked up by this move in particular.

Half jokingly, she tapped the mat repeatedly the moment a bit of pressure was applied, though she did so in an over the top manner that drove home the point it was pretend. "Ugh, you got me." She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, dramatically lamenting her downfall like a classic Shakespearean actor.

The past week or so had been exhausting. Living the double life could be a chore sometimes, but most of the time she didn’t have to interact with AJ as the Black Fang - this week, however, she’d had to weave between both of her personas, and keep what she was doing with each in check. She had to remember not to mention things that happened when she AJ was with her as Black Fang and when she was with her as herself. Just the slightest slip could cause the whole thing to crumble, and keeping that facade going was a tireless challenge.

But, you know what? Ryoko could honestly say she’d never had a more fun week in her entire life. She always enjoyed her time with AJ, and this was kind of like getting a double dose beyond her daily limit. On top of that, it seemed to be working in the way she wanted it to - making her friend happy again. AJ was smiling. She was energetic. She was the glowing ball of sunshine that Ryoko had grown to welcome as a part of her life. She still remembered after that match with Spider, when all she could do was hurl ineffective support at her friend, but that seemed so long ago, now.

But now they were on the mats. They were working things out. Laughing. Having a great time. AJ couldn’t even imagine how heartening it all was.

”Yeah, I think you’ve learned your lesson. AJ-chan.” She gave the hold a little wiggle, teasing her friend, before she abruptly let the hold go and released her. Playful as they were, she couldn’t help but have a little concern when saw AJ reacting to the dropkick like that. ”You okay, over there? Didn’t nail you too hard with that kick, did I?”

It was always important to keep communication with AJ - the woman had great drive, but she sometimes worried her friend might push her body too hard, one day.

Alexa lay on the mat, arms and legs spread wide as Black Can't untangled their legs from one another. She let out a soft sigh, slightly disappointed by not trying make it obvious with how lighthearted the mood was in the ring. She liked their training sessions, the highlights of her day, but she found herself faced with a certain realization that if this had been a real match she would have just lost, again. She knew that wasn't the focus of these exercises, but a little voice in the back of her mind kept reminding her.

"Huh?" The brunette lifted her head just enough to peer up at her rising teacher, taking a moment to play back what she was just asked. Her head dropped back to the mat with a soft thunk as she breathed deeply, testing just how sore she really was. A bit of strain, a little sting lingering from the dropkick itself. She would live.

"Just my pride. You pretty much just submitted me with a drop kick. I think that's gotta be a first." While she was trying to joke about it at her own house expense, there was an undeniable bitterness later in her tone at the truth of the matter. With a groan, she slowly sat herself up, reaching out to lightly massage her knees.

”Hey - do not underestimate the mighty dropkick.” She wagged a finger AJ’s way. ”Easy to do, but quick, always does a lot of damage, hurts even if they block it, a good way to send them out of the ring, and it looks cool and can be done off the turnbuckle - what more can you really ask out of a wrestling move.”

She folded her arms and nodded, looking sage, as if she’d just thought this up all on her own - but she hadn’t. It was something her teacher had taught her. In fact, a lot of this was just her regurgitating her own training, but then, maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.

When she saw AJ massaging her leg, she scooted over beside and reached out, offering to do it for her. ”Here, let me.” If she wasn’t stopped, she’d rub AJ’s leg, helping her relieve the tension. She wasn’t an official masseuse by any stretch of the imagination, but she’d picked up a thing or two in her time. And speaking of picking up on things…

”Hey,” She looked up and down again, a little sheepish, hoping she wasn’t about to step into a minefield. ”You know, you are improving. It might not always seem that way from your end, but…”

"I… yeah. I guess that makes sense." Alexa mumbled softly to herself, eyes glancing off to the side. She understood the use of a dropkick and knew the importance of basics in general but was still hungry for things that were more flashy and exciting. "You're right" She conceded softly.

"Hm?" The brunette glanced over at Black Fang as she saddled up beside her, head tilting slightly as she put two and two together. A faint rosy hue colored her cheeks at the brief but awkward silence of Black Fang waiting for permission to help. Alexa gave a small box, easing back to set her palms on the mat behind her and allow her mentor to do what she wanted.

She watched the other girl work quietly, struck by the odd sensation of seeing her mentor doing something so seemingly mundane to help her. It felt strange given the pedestal she placed the other woman on. After a long while she found herself looking upwards at the ceiling. Whatever Black Fang was doing it certainly was nicer than what she had been doing by just rubbing it her knee.

"I have a good teacher." She breathed out without really thinking, finding herself smiling up at the rafters. It was good to remember just how fortunate she was to have someone as experienced Black Fang in her corner. It was easy to take things for granted when they became routine so she liked to remind herself. While these lessons hadn't yet proven useful to her in a real match yet, mostly because she hadn't wrestled officially for awhile, she was staking her livelihood on these changing her career for the better