7/23/2003
11:18
PM
Logfile
from Toshie.
Ti Kwan
Leep Public Dojo
In the
entranceway is a counter were people must sign up to use the dojo, rental of
the various practicing rooms go by the hour, or use of the main gym for members
only for a modest annual fee. The stern looking and muscular man over seeing
all of this seems quite adamant about no one going past without meeting their
particular requirements. There's a clause on the sheet that says the dojo is
not responsible for any injuries incurred on the premises.
There
are several floors available, some smaller private practice rooms on the first
level, a larger set on the second floor with higher ceilings meant for weapons
practice and flips. The main gym however is in the basement and looks not only
heavily reinforced, but the walls are lined with racks and shelves filled with
practice weaponry, dummies stacked in the corners, and stacks of practice mats
in the corner.
Tasuki
is here.
Obvious
exits:
Exit
Although
he doesn't train regularly anymore, Neil still makes sure to take the time to
at least practice twice a week to keep himself limber and in shape. Once again, he therefore finds himself
strolling into the Ti Kwan Leep dojo on his off night, a sports bag slung over
one shoulder. After pausing long enough
to check in and flirt with the girl at the counter a bit, he saunters off
towards the open gym. He never bothers
with a private room, and half the time - such as tonight - he doesn't even bother
to change out of his street clothes into exercise gear.
Toshie
emerges from a changing area at the dojo, hair pulled back into a smart
ponytail, work out clothing tossed on. She pads out, barefoot, placing her
duffel bag off on a bench to the side. She continues right out onto the mat,
neatly dropping to sit upon it and begin her stretches. Reach here and there,
the bending and so on and so forth. It is when the world is upside down to her
while the girl is doing an arch that Neil passes by, and hardly given a second
glance.
Neil
idly scans the motley assortment of people scattered across the gym floor,
letting his gaze linger momentarily on the few pretty girls who happen to be
present. He doesn't openly leer,
though, just admires from a distance before claiming an empty section of mat for
himself, far enough away from the nearest other patron - a young woman with
blue-black hair - to leave him plenty of room for maneuvering. Tossing the bag aside casually, he removes
his leather jacket then settles down to slip off his hiking boots and socks
before proceeding to perform a few stretches of his own. Not many, though. He's a firm believer that practice should at least somewhat
resemble reality, and real-life attackers usually don't pause to let him warm
up first.
Toshie
pops over in a simple walkover so that she is standing once more. Hand lifts up
to yank her hair into a tighter ponytail as it loosens a little. The girl
slants a glance askance at Neil as he remains in street clothes, dark eyebrows
lifting just a tad in challenge at such. The gymnast continue to warm up
though, dropping into a few more stretches as she eases into her own work out,
easing her mind into it as well.
The
red-haired man is obviously no dancer or gymnast, but he does move with
surprising dexterity even in the constricted confines of his tight jeans. After his very limited stretching routine,
he lies down flat on his belly, performs a kip-up, and immediately segues into
a rather standard martial arts kata, practicing a series of blocks and
open-hand strikes. Rather than the
focus and determination seen in the faces of most of the other martial artists
in the large room, there's a bounce to his step and an amused grin on his face,
as if he doesn't really take his practice seriously.
Tight
jeans, eh? There is something to be said about tight jeans, but not when one is
in a dojo to work out. Maybe the girl eyes that area once, possibly twice. Legs
spread, she leans forward to press her chest flat to the mat with another
stretch. By now though, the girl is opening watching him as she continues with
her stretching, and not really being all that sneaky over her staring either.
The
standard kata doesn't last long, however, before Neil deviates from it by
adding elements. Such as a cartwheel
that takes him further from the closest person and ends in a double-fisted
lunge. With the momentum of the
cartwheel behind it, the strike likely would've been forceful enough to crack
ribs had there been a real opponent. He
then drops into the splits with even pausing, although a slight wince suggests
he might've wanted to stretch a /little/ more before trying such a
maneuver. Or perhaps the jeans just
snugged against him uncomfortably. With
a twist to the side, he brings his legs together again, once more on his stomach,
where he proceeds to perform twenty push-ups.
With his left arm. Then twenty
more with his right. At least he has
the grace to be sweating a bit at this point.
Toshie's
golden-irised eyes continue to follow the man for another moment, wincing along
with him as he does the splits. And in those jeans? So wrong. As he goes into
his pushups though, the girl finally drags her attention away from him to pay a
little bit more attention to her own self and her own actions with a mental
rebuke. Sliding neatly to her feet, the girl begins to start into a form as
well, sliding through the movements with a seriousness as opposed to the
other's apparent amusement. No making anything up, everything is exactly where
it should be, as it should be, and with no more panache then need be.
Once
the push-ups are completed, he rises to his knees and drags his gym bag
closer. Upon opening it, he removes a
worn, battered wooden tonfa that has certainly seen better days. The man then stands again and begins another
kata, this time with the tonfa whirling and spinning through a series of
strikes, blocks and sweeps. The
movements are so fast that the weapon audibly whistles through the air, many of
the maneuvers little more than a blur.
As before, the traditional kata lasts but a few moments before Neil
begins adlibbing again, responding to a circle of imaginary attackers by
interspersing kicks and freehand strikes with tonfa moves. This routine continues on for quite some
time, actually drawing glances from a few of the other people in the gym. Not only is it rather untraditional, but it
also showcases the man's extraordinary reflexes.
Toshie
eventually finishes up, sliding quietly to a halt. Lips purse to blow a stray
lock of blue-tipped hair that had managed to free itself from her tie away from
her cheek with a negligent puff. She moves back to continue her nearly
ritualistic movements, slipping from one form to the next and now not paying a
wit of attention to the other man. Everyone else can gape all they wish. She
already did her gawking and is now quite done with it.
The
downside of such energetic, improvised routines? They leave the artist rather worn out afterwards. When he's satisfied with the tonfa workout,
Neil tosses the weapon onto the bag then just stands there for a moment,
breathing a bit heavily as he brushes the back of one hand across his forehead
to wipe away a few beads of sweat. Now
is the point when he settles back down and begins to do some serious
stretching, either as a cool-down from his workout or a warm-up for more
practice. Now he once again has leisre
to look around, automatically discounting the people in the room who are merely
stretching, performing an aerobic workout or practicing meditative Tai
Chi. Which leaves only a few other
people to observe. One of which happens
to be nearby, female, and cute. Better
than Wednesday night tv certainly.
Hopefully
he doesn't mean Tosh, cause if she ever heard she was being compared to
television, she might just let a little pigeon give him a bit of a dive-bomb
present as he leaves out the door. Good thing she can't read minds. She
finishes with her second kata though, and then slides into position for yet a
third flawless one... only to feel as if another's eyes are upon her. The teenager
turns her head just a little to eye Neil with an openly assessing glance once
again, dark eyebrows lifted in question. "Yes?"
"Just
admiring," he replies candidly.
After a moment, he adds, "Your technique." Mmhm, right. "Competitive style or practical application?" The man gives up stretching altogether,
instead settling into a cross-legged position.
Again, a hand is brushed across his forehead, this time shoving aside a
few sweat-soaked locks of his bright hair.
"Please continue."
Toshie
doesn't often talk while going through her forms. In fact, she really tries not
to. Instead, she hesitates a little longer, so while watching him push aside
his hair, she nearly mimics but only to tuck that one bit behind her ear yet
again. "Practical, mostly." Mostly. She hesitates a moment longer,
seems to fidget, and then adds, "You are good." Seemingly satisfied
at her responses, she resumes.
Neil's
laughter is perhaps a bit louder than he intended, since he cuts it off
abruptly. "You can't tell anything
from practice," he comments to the young woman, who may or may not even be
paying any further attention to him.
"I've seen some of the most beautiful movements come from people
who wouldn't last two seconds in a street-fight. And I've also seen a guy with no technique at all mop the
pavement with a cocky blackbelt.
Without an actual opponent, there's no real way to tell how good someone
is." The words are serious, but
the tone is light, even flippant.
"Judging by practice along, you seem to be pretty good,
too." That could be taken as a
compliment or an insult, considering her previous comments.
Toshie
starts to a halt once more, especially as she is fairly sure she is being
laughed at. The girl peers down at him for a moment, for a very, very long
moment. "I have not had reason to use my skills in a... street fight, as
you say." No, but she did knock Gouka out once and did give Kieran quite
the chop that other time. But... There is a definite frown of annoyance drawing
at her lips, "You are mocking me."
"I
don't mock," Neil asserts.
Ironically, now that he's gotten his breath back, his midwestern accent
starts to shine through; he can't drop the accent on purpose (much to his
chagrin), but it seems to fade on its own when he's breathing heavily. Probably because it forces him to talk more
slowly. "I just got a really bad
habit of bein' honest. And usually
speaking before m'brain tells me to shut up before I make an ass of
myself." Such as right now. "I'm sorry if ya thought I was bein'
mean on purpose."
Toshie
lifts her chin just a tad as she peers down at the man. "Honest?" Her
lips purse for a moment as if in thought, and then the girl finally does
actually nod her head. "I do not have that much experience with combat. I
would certainly like to... but other than the traditional sparring here in a
place such as this? No." Her head shakes from side to side. "It would
be more useful to me," she admits with a faint frown.
Neil
chuckles again, this time much more quietly than before. "Y'don't look for that kinda trouble,
it looks for you. Stick with practice
and sparring; it helps, even if it isn't th' real thing. Looking for a real fight, or asking for one,
just t'see how good you are or how much better you need to be is a sure way to get
hurt." Uncrossing his legs, he
slowly stands up. "Name's Neil, by
th' way. If y'want some plain sparring,
I'd be willing to offer you a target to hit, but no real fighting,
alright? I don't want to hurt you, an'
I get more'n enough bruises as it is without looking fer more."
7/24/2003
12:36
PM
Logfile
from Toshie.
Toshie
shakes her head from side to side, "I am not the one who looks for
trouble." No, that is left to all of the others. "No, for...
defensive purposes, or need. The need has arose before, and while I tend to
catch the other person off guard, I may meet up someone who is prepared."
They just don't expect it from the dimpled girl. She seems to consider for a
moment and then adds. "Toshie. Nice to meet you, Neil."
Neil
offers a traditional Japanese bow to the young woman; further evidence that
he's received at least some formal martial arts training despite his rather
atypical techniques. "Good to meet
you as well... Toshie? Odd
name." Well, it is! "Almost ev'ryone who lives in this city
comes across a problem now an' again that can be solved through a bit of
violence, but I gotta admit I'm glad you aren't one uv those people who put
yourself in harm's way on purpose. As
it is, even just a little training serves most people pretty well, since the
av'rage mugger don't know anything other'n how t' point a knife at someone, and
you look like ya know far more than just a little. But you sh'd at least try t'spar a bit more if you don' do it too
often."
"Not
so odd as Neil," Tosh counters right on back, her chin lifting just a
little. "For you are the first Neil that I have ever met." Fingers
tuck that little bit of hair back for about the third time as she considers
him, bowing right on back. "Not unless it is necessary would I do
that." She patches up enough of those who get into 'harm's way' as it is
without her doing the same. "I have been practicing the martial arts for
ten years now, but no... not so much sparring. That was always
unnecessary."
Neil is
duly impressed. "Ten years? Hell that's th' same amount of time as
me. 'Course, I didn't even get started
'til I was prolly about how old you are now, maybe even a bit older. A lot of my training's been a bit too
hands-on though, if y'know what I mean, so my form's far from perfect, but I
ain't half bad." He strolls a bit
closer. "And Neil's not that
uncommon. Leastwise, not in the
midwest."
Toshie
nods her head in affirmation as she watches the man come a little bit closer.
"Yes, awhile. But, admittedly, this past year I had not practiced at all,
and only started once more a pair of months ago. I was sidetracked." Yes,
she admits that with an almost embarrassed grin. A faint smile shows once more,
"Hands on? You act as though you actually do fight?... Do you?"
"When
I have to," he admits. "I
head up th' security for a night club currently, so that gives me cause t'hafta
lay my hands on people now'n again.
Before that, though, I did a little stint in the milit'ry. The lovely US government made sure I had
plenty of opportunities to hone m'skills." This is all spoken casually, not with pride nor regret. "My own practice tend to be as sporadic
as yers is, so don't feel bad. Life
happens."
Toshie's
eyes round as he listens to his explanation. "Ooooooh." And there is
definitely a touch of an impressed sound to her voice. "Well, yes, I
imagine that you have had plenty of experience then." She shifts her
weight from one foot to the other for a moment there, and then adds, leaning
toward him just a little, "No. For me, just in the dojo and that is
all."
Neil
looks the young woman up and down again, the gaze somehow appreciative and
critical at the same time.
"Y'know, if yer any good, I c'd use another assistant." And judging by the fluidity of her practice,
he's guessing she is indeed more than just 'pretty good', if she can apply what
she knows to real situations.
"'Specially one that the customers'd never suspect of being a
bouncer. Big burly men tend t'make the
clientele nervous, but with yer looks, they'd prolly guess you're an off-duty
dancer. And it might give you a chance
t' put some of your training into real use."
Neil
looks the young woman up and down again, the gaze somehow appreciative and
critical at the same time.
"Y'know, if yer any good, I c'd use another assistant." And judging by the fluidity of her practice,
he's guessing she is indeed more than just 'pretty good', if she can apply what
she knows to real situations.
"'Specially one that the customers'd never suspect of being a
bouncer. Big burly men tend t'make the
clientele nervous, but with yer looks, they'd prolly guess you're an off-duty
dancer. And it might give you a chance
t' put some of your training into real use."
Toshie
blinks at Neil for a long moment, and then blinks again. "What?"
Okay, she definitely was caught off guard there. Fingers come over to fiddle
with the hemline of her shirt as she regards Neil, "And assistant?
Bouncer?" The last thing she ever expected to get was a job offer.
"At this night club that you work at?" Tickle her surprised.
"I... I mean... You are joking, right?"
"Why
would I be joking? Most nightclubs hire
off-duty or retired cops, or outta work boxers, to serve as security. But this place tries for a better
atmosphere, y'know? While I'm not
scrawny, I know I also don't exactly look like yer typical doorman, and there's
already a female bouncer at the club.
So it's not like I'd be doing anything unusual by hirin' a girl. It's just a thought, though. If you're not interested, just say th'
word." After a slight pause, Neil
then adds, "Of if you think y'd prefer being on stage, if y'dance as
smoothly as you practice, I should be able to get ya an audition. I'm sure men'd pay money to watch you take
some clothes off." Tact. No matter how much his friends try, they
still haven't taught him tact.
Toshie's
eyes nearly pop right out of her head. "Ehhh?" She can just hear the
news services getting a hold of that information. Star gymnast stripping in
some night club. There goes the Olympic career. Her mouth opens to tell him in
no uncertain terms No, but she hesitates, and it shows. Maybe? Maybe? Then
comes the vigorous head-shaking, and an almost embarrassed smile over actually
thinking about it. "No, no thank you." Yes, the girl is actually
blushing some. But she licks her lips, eyeing Neil sidelong, "A bouncer
though?"
Neil
nods. "If yer actually any good," he clarifies. "I'd have to spar with ya a bit to see
if you'd have what it takes to handle an unruly customer. Most of the guys and girls who come t'this
place aren't the troublemakin' sort anyway, so the job's mostly pretty boring,
but every now and then, some jackass drinks a bit too much and decides he wants
more'n just a lapdance, or a punk kid tries to force his way in without paying
the cover or flashing ID." He also
explains, "The boss'd have to inteview you, too. Background check, yadda yadda, but nothing outta the ordinary. And if y'change yourmind about dancing,
y'can always discuss that with the bosslady later."
Toshie
has been thinking lately that he has been mooching off of her guardians quite a
bit. And this would be better than getting some job asking 'Do you want fries
with that?' She shrugs her shoulders at the interview process and background,
dismissing it. "That is fine. I... I could use the experience." Her
eyes drop as she considers the possibilities of this. "Would this be
part-time? I have a demanding schedule at times?"
"Part-time's
what I was figuring. If yer taking
classes or something like that, this shouldn't conflict at all. The club's only open at night, and I only
need another person for 'bout three night a week, if y'can pull a full
shift. Five nights if you'd only be
able t'do partial shifts." Neil
then belatedly asks a question he should've posed in the beginning. "You are at least eighteen,
right?"
"I...
How about a trial run? I have Worlds next month, and Coach will be demanding
most of my attention until then. They are necessary," Tosh replies,
tapping a finger to her chin in thought. "Maybe a couple of hours for
those three nights a week, just to see if I would work well there, or if it
would work for me as well?" As for the last question, Tosh lies without a
second thought. "Yes. Just that."
7/24/2003
09:15
PM
Logfile
from Toshie.
Neil
looks at least slightly puzzled.
"Worlds? What's
that?" The realm of athletics is
definitely not his area of expertise.
"A trial run's fine by me, though, if the bosslady's okay with
it. You see how well ya mesh with us,
and we see if yer worth the time an' effort of hiring as a long-term
employee. Just t'warn you in
advance... Ms. Breslin runs a tight
ship. If y'ever think of trying to make
a quick buck by meetin' any of th' clients after hours, forget about it. She don't take that sorta crap from her
dancers, and she sure as hell isn't gonna take it from her security
staff." It's not that Neil's
accusing the girl of anything, he just though he'd offer that piece of
information -- and his delivery is as poor as usual.
Toshie
nods her head slowly to him, "But you seem to think that I might be able
to fit in well there though? Otherwise you would not have asked me,
right?" The girl blinks at his later words, looking confused for a moment,
and then as realization hits, she scowls. Oh, how she scowls. Any other woman
would probably have slapped the guy, but this is Tosh, and she isn't exactly
the most violent sort. "No. That would not be something that I would do,
but thank you for letting me know about that."
"Yer
quick on your feet, at least from this chat you've shown that you got a good
head on your shoulders, and y've got the right attitude." A smirk snakes its way across Neil's
face. "I've got terminal
foot-in-mouth disease, as m'girlfriend likes to tell me, but y'haven't once
yelled at me or anything like that. It
suggests that y'd handle problem clients well, without getting all upset at 'em
and over-reacting." Almost as an
afterthought he adds, "And you got a sweet bod, which always helps when
the place yer looking to work at is an exotic dance club. And no need to thank me; I just wanna make
sure you don't have the wrong idea about the place. If it was a trashy club, I'd definitely not let my girlfriend
work there."
Toshie
might not have yelled at him, but there was a couple of moments when she was
surely tempted to walk away. She blinks at him for a moment and then speaks,
"So, would you like to try once to see if I might be acceptable in
handling someone who could be a problem? Now? Or when I go to have my... interview?"
"Sparring
first. If ya can't handle yourself in a
real fight as well as you practice, then it's not even worth bothering th' boss
for an interview. What good'd security be
if they can't provide security?"
With that, Neil automatically settles into a defensive Aikido
stance. "So, Tosh, bring it on if
you're interested. If not, I'll let ya
go back to your practice. And don't
worry 'bout taking it easy on me; I wanna see what you can do, so holding back
sorta defeats the purpose of this."
Toshie
nods her head in acceptance. Having witnessed the man's earlier exertions upon
the floor mat, there is definitely a wariness in her eyes. "Then sparring
it is." Another bob of her head along with a bow, and the slight girl
approaches a little closer. She side steps to the side, moving as if to round
on the man's side, although she expects him to turn with her. "Bring it
on?" An eyebrow quirks in challenge. "Do all of you people say that
when you want to get into something of a fight? That sounds almost ridiculous.
Bring it on." A sniff, and then she darts towards him, looking as though
she is about to aim a blow towards the left side of his abdomen.
He does
remain in the defensive stance, right foot placed slightly ahead of the left
and both arms held at the ready, but Neil makes no overy move to block or dodge
the possible attack. He is watching
Toshie's movements carefully, however, gauging her speed, balance and
precision, but he's leaving himself wide open as a result. "It sounds better'n 'Let's get down an'
boogie', don't it?"
Toshie
actually breaks out into a grin, almost sly although those dimples tend to make
it look more girlish than that. "Isn't that what they say when someone
wishes to dance? Or other things?" She is so seriously tempted to roll her
eyes, but doesn't because that would be just opening herself up for getting
trounced. Figuring that this guy is more than likely stronger than her at
least, she is simply going to have to hope that she can end this quickly. She
darts in suddenly, making a grab for his wrist with the intent to try to twist
it away.
Neil
permits the girl's hand to wrap around his wrist, but before she can use it to
her advantage, he locks his own hand on her wrist in return, pivoting to the
side to draw her past him. "I hate
t'dance, and if I asked ya to boogie in any other way, I'd get thrown through a
wall. My girlfriend's the female
bouncer I was tellin' ya about b'fore."
And it wouldn't be the first time the redhead was used as a demolition
ball, that's for certain.
Toshie
moves past him with the momentum as he moves away, but a foot snakes out to try
to catch around his ankle as he does so. "Oh, I love to dance. And I am
good at it," replies without a touch of ego. No, she simply knows that
this is the truth. Nah, she'll leave the ego to all of the rest of her
companions.
Without
letting go of Toshie's arm, Neil tries to avoid the foot but is only marginally
successful. He stumbles back a bit,
opting to let go of the girl rather than have both of them tumble to the
ground. He doesn't avoid his own fall,
however, instead opting to turn it into a controlled tumbled ending with the
man on his feet a couple yards away, already slipping back into the defensive
stance. "So far yer as good as I
expected," he notes with a grin and a gleam in his eyes. "Y'sure you don't wanna try out as one
of th' dancers on stage? You like to
dance, y'move well, and if I wasn't taken I'd love to pin ya to the mat... 'Course, I need a bouncer more'n the club
needs another dancer, so ferget I said that." Let the match continue.
Toshie
moves forward another pace as he lets go, turning about quickly to face him
once more. As he is tumbling away though, she is already lunging forward for
another attack, not giving him much of a moment after he does get into that
stance. "But I do not need experience dancing, I need experience doing
/this/." Heck, she would even do it for free for the experience, but
obviously that isn't getting mentioned. A punch is aimed at his chest and then
a sweeping kick along the floor at his feet.
A
forearm sweep adequately protects Neil fro the chest strike, leaving him free
to agilely leap over the sweep, timing the jump just right to land on the
girl's leg rather than avoid it entirely... except she's a bit too quick. One eyebrow rises as he whistles in
appreciation. "Damn, girl, yer
almost as swift as I am." Well,
duh, she /is/ a highly-skilled gymnast.
"But whatcha gonna do about..." As soon as his feet are hitting the mat again, he 'stumbles'
forward to place himself within Toshie's guard - but placing her within his own
guard as well. One hand comes up in an
eagle-claw strike, aimed right for her decidedly feminine chest while the other
slips down, reaching for the waistband of her clothing. He's studying her survival skills and
reaction, not just her technique, hence the unorthodox moves. There's no other motivation. Nope.
Not at all.