Back to Basics (for Kaz)

Talia watched Kido's example as he kicked the punching bag with great force. Talia waited for the bag to stop waving before she stepped up to it. Roughly copying his stance, Talia threw her right leg into a kick. The bag didn't really budge at first. But the girl tried again. This time, it was clear that she used her whole body. Not only did she grunt but also she almost lost her balance. The punching bag flew back a good ways but not a much as it did when Kido did it.

Talia took a deep breath and looked at Kido. "How was that?" she asked, slightly proud of herself.

The boy watched Talia's first attempt to kick the punching bag as well as the second. His reaction to her question was a blank stare for what seemed like a half minute or so. Then he let out a sigh. Looks like it's going to take a while to get it right.

"If you do that in an actual match, you're only going to screw yourself," he'd said dryly. "Your balance is shit, and you're more likely to injure yourself than actually damaging your opponent." Kido sounded a bit strict with his criticism before he realized what he just said and paused.

"S-sorry... I didn't mean to..." He'd say as he gazed away. The boy scratched his head a bit before looking at her. "Start by doing some slow motion kicks to work on your balance," he'd say as he'd do the kick to the air slowly. "After you get used to it then you can work on the power. Probably you''ll be able to get it right after a few hundred times or so..."

Talia was taken aback by how critical Kido had been about her first kick. He was usually such a quiet man. She felt that she must have really have butchered the kick if he was that offended by it. Nevertheless, she accepted the instruction knowing it would make her a better fighter. She lifted up her leg to practice the kick in slow motion. It became apparent why this would help. It was hard to balance even the slow kick. She realized she'd have to master the balance of the kicking before using it. Only then could she use it effectively in a match. What she didn't expect was how many times that would be.

"A few hundred times?" she asked Kido in a surprised tone. She knew he was right, though. Things like this didn't come quickly. If they did, everyone would know how to do them. Talia practiced a dozen or so kicks to the air before slowing to a stop and looking back at Kido. She was breathing a little hard from having to balance in a way she wasn't use to. It would take a lot of practice until it was perfect, and she didn't want to waste anymore of Kido's time than she had to. "What else can you teach me?"

"Umm, let's see..." said Kido as he held his chin with his thumb and index finger while looking at the gym's ceilings.

While the boy was thinking, his mind started wandering away, reminding when he was learning from his former senior back in the gang days. They used to train in the back alley and he never held back with his "feedbacks". Maybe that's why Kido responded to Talia the way he did back then. The boy would inadvertently let out a rather amused sigh. Then suddenly he remembered what he supposed to do as he looked back at the girl with his usual expression.

"Ah... um... I think low kicks would be useful too," he'd say. "They're are quite handy to use as counters. Try punching me."

When she was about to throw the punch, he would slide to her side and kick her most front leg, stopping before it connected.

"You can also use the momentum to spin to their side or back, giving yourself an advantageous position," he'd add.



((Just to make it clearer =p))

Talia had gotten use to Kido's apparent carelessness on every situation. He wasn't that he didn't cared, she believed, just that he didn't care enough to show that he cared. Talia followed his instructions and reached out to punch him. It was a clear and decisive punch, but obviously she didn't have much force behind it. Kido slid to her left and throw a kick that barely tapped her left leg. She already knew his kicks could trip her right over if he tried. "Ah..." She would turn back to Kido and gesture him to try and punch her. "Let me try," she said. The girl would wait for Kido to throw a punch at her. Nimbly, she'd slide to the side and throw a kick at her teacher's leg. Unfortunately, not entirely in control of herself, it doesn't stop right before hitting him. It collides in a very minor kick, but enough for him to feel it. "Oh!...S-Sorry...how was that?"

Kido took the girl's kick without any change of expression, making it hard to tell whether it hurt or not. He would stare at Talia for a moment before letting out a sigh again. He kinda wondered what kind of comments his former senior would give if he's the one who trained her. However, it's not in the boy's nature to be rude to others, especially girls.

"If you're going to hit, then you could at least try to spin to my side too," he'd say, looking calm as always. "But it's slightly better compared to your other kick..."

"The important thing is to work on your legs' strength obviously. But here's the tricky part: you need to watch your opponent's movement as well," he'd give a short pause, as if he's hesitating with what's he about to say. "Um... I don't mean any offense, but uh... with a body like yours, if you got the timing wrong and took a heavy hit instead, then you're most likely to be screwed..."

Talia nodded to Kido, trying not to be let down by her mistakes just yet. As if accepting her shortcoming, the girl flat out responded "I know. It's happened to me before," to Kid's remark to her small size. She had been hoping to get strong and quick enough to overcome and avoid that problem. It wasn't going to be easy, but she had made the first step in seeking out help to train her. This next time, she didn't even wait for Kido to mock punch at her. She stepped to the right and air kicked at his leg. She did keep spinning after the kick to her right, but it did come off as sloppy. She definitely hadn't done moves like that before.

Still, though, she saw the great importance in it. It would clear her from danger if she did it successfully. She just wasn't sure just how strong her kick could be in situations where she knew she was about to dodge. "Was that any better?"

"Hmm...it sure is," said the boy dryly. Just a bit, though, he'd add silently in his mind.

Kido wasn't used of praising people, so he's not sure how much he should say to encourage Talia without letting the girl get it over her head. If she keep practicing it then she'd eventually get better, or so he thought. He'd look away from Talia for a bit before he gazed at her again.

"So like, those pretty much are the basic kicks," he'd say with his usual expression. "I don't think you should learn anything too complicated yet at this point... Anything else you wanted to know...?"

Talia proceeded to practice the spinning kick on the punching bag a few more times. She was getting the hang of balancing herself but it would take some time before being able to kick her hardest and pull the maneuver too. Talia then stopped to rest and looked to Kido with a smile. She felt like she was getting better, and she would definitely be able to benefit from these moves. But there was still somethings she wanted to know. "How would you counter a kick?" she asked as she turned to face him. Before he even answered, she shifted her stance towards him and visibly showed that she was about to kick. "You know...like this!" she shouted before throwing her body into a kick at Kido. She used her full force this time, and was balanced as well.

Hearing her question, Kido would look up again as he's trying to think how to explain the counter technique to the girl. He didn't really pay attention as Talia shifted to a stance before she would swung her leg at him. However, her voice gave him a hint that she's about to attack and he would instinctively side stepped just in time to evade her kick.

"Oops," he would let out before immediately stepped forward towards Talia and swung his fist at her head, stopping a few centimeters before her nose.

"Like this, I guess...?" he'd say with a blank expression.