1258/Sword Learning Time

Sword Learning Time
Date of Scene:	04 January 2015
Location:	Void - Skyland
Synopsis:	Onikaze Kenshin and Kaminagi Setsuko meet to teach her the basics of iaijutsu.
Cast of Characters:	76, 255

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Onikaze Kenshin (76) has posed:
    Some time ago, Setsuko had asked Onikaze Kenshin for lessons with the blade. An interesting request to make of him, since he never thought himself one to teach, merely to carry on a style. But he knew her with some familiarity, and so was willing to help!

    The holidays and some personal matters had kept him from contacting her before now, but he had finally found the time. A simple courier would deliver a note to wherever Setsuko may be found through Union channels, requesting she meet him on one of the floating islands in the Skyland. Kenshin feels more comfortable out in the open air and strange landscape.

    So, with sword in hand, he calmly aways her arrival.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    It is probably even more interesting in light of the person making the request; no one who saw Setsuko use a blade for any stretch of time would call her anything less than a master swordswoman, even without her supernatural attributes. Nevertheless, the demigod has come to feel there are gaps in her style. Areas in which it falls short. While her own battle experience and ingenuity can cope with these on an individual basis, it would be much better in the long run for her to learn techniques that shore up her style's weak points directly.

    Rather than arrive on her usual hoverbike, the swordswoman has come on nothing more than the air itself. She glides down out of the sky in a smooth, curved swoop, one that brings her feet to rest on the floating island as naturally as if she'd taken a step. Her greeting is simple and down-to-business, but couched in more respectful language than even she usually favors. "Thank you for offering to teach me some of your sword techniques. I am deeply grateful for anything you impart. Kaminagi-ryu is a fine style on its own, but it simply isn't built for quick strikes."

Onikaze Kenshin (76) has posed:
    Kenshin nods his head to Setsuko and says, "I doubt I can teach you the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-Ryu without decades of time and devotion. But I can teach you the basic of what I believe you wish to learn." He says in a formal tone. He holds his sword out in a formal fashion.

    "You wish to learn battojutsu, yes? The art of the drawing strike." He adjusts his stance and explains, "Your style focuses on the waging of war, and this is why it lacks lessons in these. The art of combatative quickdraw is steeped heavily in surprise and in counter-attack. It focuses on bringing your opponent to you, rather than you pursuing them."

    "In the end, all styles focus on killing. The drawing strike wishes to simply do so before the battle even starts."

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    "I do," Setsuko confirms simply; and then falls silent, listening. It has been a very long time since she listened to another as a student; setting aside all her notions and preconceptions is a skill that she is perhaps out of practice with, but the philosophy underlying a style says much about how best to use it, and so she listens as she hasn't in a decade. It is only when he pauses that the swordswoman nods her head faintly. "I see... and I think that I understand, yes. Kaminagi-ryu is a battlefield style. Well-rounded, but not made for situations in which speed is paramount. We only have one draw technique, and compared to other styles, it's... rudimentary."

Onikaze Kenshin (76) has posed:
    Kenshin nods his head as she explains her style, "I see. Yes." He notes, listening to her carefully, "The most important point to know in battojutsu, the whole of the fight takes place in the drawing of the blade. That is why it is defensive and meant to counter an opponent or catch them off guard."

    He adjusts to show her a stance, keeping his sword held at his side with one hand while his other is on the hilt, "In the one motion of drawing, you will begin the battle." He takes his sword partway out of its sheath, "And then you will defend against the assault," He tilts the sword a bit while drawing, meant to pull it across his body in a defensive motion while still removing it from the sheath, adding a step to the side as a dodge, "And then you kill your opponent." He flicks the blade out finally in an easy and graceful slash. He did it slowly, in three separate segments. But then he shows her the actual draw and it all looks like one motion of a second.

    "Your three goals of any battle are followed in one motion. Draw, Deflect, Defeat. This is the first and most utilitarian of its style."

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Setsuko's eyes follow each movement. There's an intensity of focus there she seldom shows outside of a battle, committing to memory the stance that Kenshin takes, every movement of arm, of sword, how the stance enables it. The reasoning behind it. The slow, sectioned demonstration also makes it easier for her to decipher the quicker follow-up, mulling it over in her head.

    And then she shifts one foot, allowing herself to fall into the same stance her teacher displayed. It's a nearly perfect mirror, with imperfections so small it would take either a master's eyes or superhuman senses to spot the differences. Zanjintou rests on her hip in exactly the right place, and in one smooth and fluid motion, she grabs, draws and slices, completing the technique as shown to her. It might take a purely human student months to reach that level of mastery; if nothing else, giving her the basic technique she needs won't be a huge undertaking.

Onikaze Kenshin (76) has posed:
    "Excellent," Kenshin says, "You have several minor inefficiencies of motion, but you can practice to work those out. No storm is ever perfect," He notes to her after watching the recreation of his move. He seems approving as he re-sheaths his blade.

    "This is the fundamental principle of battojutsu, the core maneuver. All else from here is of form and response. You may cede ground and strike horizontally. Or you may step forward and slash upwards." He watches her, stepping easily in the grass, "It may sound simple, but remember that battojutsu is the act of response. You must, in the instant that threat is identified, determine your own response. If you determine incorrectly, you will have consequences."

    "The complexity of battojutsu is its simplicity, and that is why it is so hard to learn late in art. From one trunk stem the many branches of response. Many choices, and you must decide which is correct."

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Again Setsuko nods, returning her blade to its sheath and considering. It is almost reflex to attempt to frame what Kenshin says in context with her own experience and philosophies; but she's old enough to see the trap in that. Even that one simple technique is different than her own style's single equivalent. More refined. Entirely different in meaning and function. But in the very core of swordsmanship itself, there is one principle at work she finds sensible indeed.

    "Rather than practice a thousand skills, practice one skill a thousand times." Standing straight, Setsuko rests her hand on Zanjintou's sheath. "It's no wonder battojutsu is such an enduring art. A strong foundation like that..." Once again, she nods. "I think I'm ready to continue."

Onikaze Kenshin (76) has posed:
    "Something like that. A more accurate statement would be 'from a single tree grow many switches with which to strike an opponent'. No branch is the tree," He then twirls his sword in his off-hand while sheathed and takes a dashing up backwards, drawing the blade in a basic maneuver that swings it upwards before he pivots in his place and hop-dashes again, sheathing it a moment later as he skids along the grass, only to turn and draw it in a second strike, "From there, you would be taught to push drawing into your normal sword styles, but that is something I cannot teach, as all of my personal maneuvers use my own learned style. It is also risky because it involves sheathing your sword in combat."

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Again, those blue eyes follow the swordsman through his movements with a sharpness no ordinary mortal could match. Each strike, the way it grows from that one basic movement, she takes it all in, memorizing, and this time her head shakes faintly. "I don't think I would ask that even if you could. I've trained my entire life in Kaminagi-ryu. Even my physical build is geared towards it. I can learn the core of Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu, but I don't think I'd ever be suited towards it as you are. Better that I incorporate the basics, and find places for them in my own style, I think." There's a faint smile on her face, some half-recalled amusement leaping to the fore. "Father always said that he'd like to modernize our family style some day. The way my world is now, I suspect it might not have been so different from this."

Onikaze Kenshin (76) has posed:
    "An interesting statement," Kenshin says, standing upright again as he holds his blade at his side, "For in my world, it is considered the oldest of the acknowledged sword arts, dating back over five hundred and fifty years. To hear it is being used for modernization is very humorous to me," He smiles in return to her, "I appreciate your compliment, however." He bows to her in a formal fashion, "I have little else I believe I can impart. All growth will come from you fostering this seed of knowledge. And when you pass it on to a successor some day, the Kaminagi-ryu will be all the more refined for it."

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    "Kaminagi-ryu is the style of a warlike clan," Setsuko explains. "When I say 'modernize', I meant more... altering it to suit the times, I suppose." The bow is returned, deep and formal; however brief it might have been, Kenshin has served as a teacher for her, both in combat technique and in philosophy. "And I thank you for giving me the knowledge and tools I need to refine my style. I don't know what my future will bring for my family's school of kenjutsu, but I'm certain that your lesson will help it, and me, to endure."

Onikaze Kenshin (76) has posed:
    Kenshin nods his head to her, "A style is like the sword it uses. It will only cut a path to the future so long as it is kept sharp. I am happy to have helped you, in any way, to have persisted your style further to the future." Kenshin gives her a nod of his head and then lets his sword vanish from his hand, his hands coming to fold behind his back, "But it is the wielder of the style that will most determine how deep it may cut, and you are a mighty warrior, Kaminagi Setsuko. I wish you all the best."