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Having moved into his new dorm room the night before he had spent most of the evening forcing small talk with his new room mate. It had all been filled with mostly odd subjects as both had been probing each other without wanting to give to much of themselves away. At this point he wasn't even sure how they came to the decision to do a work out together. Well he might as well make the best of it and use the chance to get some good pad training in, or maybe even a spar.
They were now nearing the end of the 4 mile jog to a small local kick boxing gym Kiet had found a year ago. The place was nothing special but the people had warmed up to him well enough. Even though he had no interest in learning their style of kick boxing he had worked it out so that they'd let him use the equipment. Once in a while a couple of the guys there would even help him out with some pad training.
Now bouncing lightly on the balls of his bare feet he looked over at Ryker, he'd shift his back pack lightly on his shoulders. "It's just around the corner at the end of that building." Now looking forward again after a moment the light would change giving them the go ahead to cross the street at the same moment. Not worried about Ryker keeping up, since he had held on this long well enough, he would continue in his jogging pace to the gym.
Reaching the door and going in he'd nod to the owner of the gym before walking over to one of the corners. It had most of the things that one would like to use in a place like this. Punching bags of all sorts, a free weight and bench set, hand pads and even a side boxing ring that isn't used most of the time. With his shoulders rotating to loosen themselves, he'd take off his back pack and remove a small white towel while setting the bag down.
As he pressed the towel to his face to remove any sweat that may have formed he had a curious thought. Setting the towel on his bag he'd turn to look at Ryker. "So, how should we start? I don't exactly know what kind of training you do. Or even what style you practice."
Ryker never had a roommate before. More than once he shared a hotel with his parents, and when he did they pissed him off so much that he ended up sleeping in the lobby. Now he had to live with another guy around his own age and he ended up finding out tons of useless things that he hoped to give him hints into the guys personality.
So when it somehow came up to working out he decided go go along with the idea, life was simpler if you knew how the people around you fought.
The only thing that bugged him so far was the four mile jog. Sure he was up for it physically, he ran frequently, even when he was a kid he would run damn near eight miles a day, but he had gotten no such exercise in Juvi, and he could feel the struggle he was running. He did it, it just wasn't nearly as easy as it used to be.
So to not waste too much energy or oxygen he didn't bother with small talk until they were inside the gym, where he could take a breather and let his heart-rate drop. Looking over to his roommate Ryker grinned an shrugged. "I've picked up shit from everywhere. Read military manuals dozens of times over. Style doesn't have much to do with it."
"Aw, military martial arts. I couldn't get myself into it, even at Knox. Well you want to just start with a spar? Then we could work our way out from there."
Kiet would smile lightly at Ryker while sitting down on a bench next to his bag. He would bend over and feel the calluses that were on the balls of his feet, jogging barefoot will do that to you. Reaching into his bag he'd take a moment to search for something. He'd pull out two bottles of water he'd brought since he wasn't sure if Ryker would bring his own.
Taking a quick drink of water then setting his bottle down he'd begin to search in the bag again. Pulling out a thin almost ribbon like rope he'd begin to tie his hair back.
"I have some fingerless gloves in here somewhere we can use."
With that he'd go back into his bag and pull out two pair, both seemed pretty worn and used. Smiling lightly to himself he'd set one pair on the bench and slide the other one on his hands.
Ryker didn't waste any time when it came to training, even after the joke he took a few minutes and then went through stretches, not sure what form of combat Knox taught. He had seen dozens of variations depending on the country. Some had a lot of techniques groups so brutal and out of the norm as Cherokee's. Some of the best knife techniques he had been taught came from a full blooded Cherokee combat instructor.
Noticing the fingerless gloves on the bench Ryker walked over to them an snatched them up, smirking at the sight of their worn state. He pulled them on and then punched his right fist into his left palm, cracking his knuckles before he went toward the ring. It was empty, everyone was doing rounds with the jump ropes and sandbags.
Ryker hopped into the ring and waited for his roommate to do the same while he tested the spring of the ring and the ropes.
Ryker seemed eager, that bother Kiet a bit. Was he roomed with a delinquent who loved to fight for the sake of fighting? Well he hoped not, he kind of liked Ryker, he was odd, especially his eyebrows. I mean were those caterpillars on his face or something?
Moving away from this thought process he grabbed a his towel and walked to the ring. Making his way up on to the ring he'd set his towel in one of the corners before slipping through the rope. Taking a moment in his corners he stretched out his arms. His legs had been stretched before the run.
With his feet taking stance they'd rest on the balls while the left took the lead. Taking a step toward the center of the ring he'd extend out his left arm. His fist waiting to be tapped by Ryker's so they could start the match off right.
Ryker was eager, sure, he hadn't had a solid fight in a while. A sparing match wasn't the best thing to replace it, he would rather replace it with a punching bag that he could just pound outright. But it was worthwhile training.
"Good luck," He offered as he stepped into the center of the ring and went with the traditional glove tap before a match would start.
To be sure he had the chance to get a feel for his opponent, as the style discussion had only gone one way, he shifted into a standard warriors stance, with his arms up and his left foot slightly forward, prepared for the fight.
With the tap he stepped back bringing both of his hands up in guard. He measured his opponent, the height difference was against his favor. Hopefully he could minimize that gap later, but for now it was time to just feel out his opponent. He would start circling in toward Ryker wanting to avoid getting to far into Ryker's striking distance.
For the first move he went with something both simple and effective. Leaning back slightly on his right foot he'd lift the left a small distance off the ground. With a quick movement he'd send a low kick at his opponent. The shin of his left leg aimed just below the knee of Ryker's forward leg.
Ryker was vaguely familiar with the stance Kiet was taking,, but as it was a stance adopted by several different martial arts and the only real difference was how much he was relying on the balls of his feet there wasn't an immediate recognition.
Just the same a low kick was something that came from multiple martial arts, even his own style incorporated them. But he saw it too late, his reaction was just that split second too slow and he couldn't do much more than take the blow and grunt.
Stepping back on the defensive, looking to find enough distance that the full mobility would return by the time he needed it. The leg already felt stiff from the blow, as it struck straight into his calf muscle just bellow his kneecap. Leaning his weight onto his rear foot Ryker kept his guard up, prepared for more.
The low kick was one of Kiet's favorite moves and one he conditioned his body for the most. Bringing his leg back down he'd quickly shift is weight back to being moved onto both feet. His first instinct was to charge in with a second low kick. Though instead he gave himself a moment to measure the situation.
After his thought process came up with a few methods of attack he decided to go with one that was more of a gamble. Starting to slowly circle in again he'd focus on watching for an attack. Though once he came into the striking distance of his own leg his methods shifted quickly. He'd take a long step forward with his leading left leg.
Once his left leg was set he'd shift his wait and pull his right leg up and forward with the rotation of his hips. The goal was to either plant his knee in his opponent's stomach, or to get a slight better understanding of his opponent by how he would dodge, block or counter this movement.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2009 22:17:54 GMT -6 by kiet »
The circling began again, and Ryker took the opportunity to simply shift his lead foot, pivoting on his good leg as he watched one of the most effective techniques be used against him. Circling an opponent gave you openings, and it made the opponent feel pressured, and Ryker was no exception. He wished he could have matched the movements, but he was waiting for the soreness to ebb out of his leg.
Ryker had enough distance between himself and his sparring partner that when the second attack came he could easily tell what the strike was and where it was going, although that didn't ensure his success it gave him a much better chance compared to the surprise of the last shot.
The long step forward was the give away, and Ryker matched it by leaning forward onto his bad leg, wincing, but brought his hands together while lowering his guard, locked his fingers, and shoved his hands down into the rising knee. At the same time Ryker was aiming to slam his forehead into his roommates face, a vicious move for a spar, but Ryker never learned how to hold back.
Kiet's rising knee was stopped by the low guard, it would seem a failed attempt but it did teach him a lot about his opponent. The head attack was unexpected, and in a way it disheartened him a little. This was an attack no one would use in an official match. The only thing that kept his resolve up was that no one wants to look like a weakling to their room mate. Especially since all the hard ship and bullying that could bring.
Right now he was really glad his guard was up, the head butt would catch on his left forearm. The strength of his opponent would cause his arm to push back against his chest and the side of his head. He knew he was lucky, but the pain in his shoulder begged to disagree. Making an other ditch effort to try and get a strike in to separate them he decided to be resourceful.
With his body turning counter-clockwise from the blow his right arm would turn. The other boy's guard being down and his head most likely about to recoil would give him a close and clean shot to attack. The right arm would go across in a horizontal elbow, the aim to slash or hit the forehead or eyebrow. With luck it would either give a momentary stun or rip the area to cause a little blood. His next move would be to try and back away from his opponent to get ready for the next exchange.
If there was one thing that Ryker did really well, that was the traditional dog fight, where anything that works is the right thing to do. When he went for the unconventional headbutt he reversed the pressure onto his opponent and closed distance.
After smacking into Kiet's forearm he pressed his forehead forward with the intent of sliding past the guard and hitting the chest. And at the same time he used his left hand to hook under the knee he stopped moments earlier, and the right to grab Kiet by the shorts.
Ryker yelled into the air triumphantly just as he lifted and drove Kiet into the ground. "HELL YEAH!"
Kiet's back screamed in pain, who'd expect this delinquent idiot room mate to do a head butt then follow up with a body slam. Though he wanted to give up with every fiber of his body he just couldn't bring himself to. Not without at least one more good hit. The head had gotten to his chest, and his left arm would wrap around the back of the head and neck to make sure Ryker would have to fight to get away.
He knew he couldn't take many more hits so he had to make the next few moments count. With his right arm extending out as much as it could while keeping the elbow bent he would try to punch his opponent right behind the ear. In a sort of mild frenzy he'd continue to follow this motion repeatedly until he felt a reaction from Ryker.
Ryker's yell was completely in character, but he had no doubt that the fight could continue. He just had a surge of joy, happy with the fight, and had no problem with doing such a dangerous move against someone else simply because the danger never crossed his mind.
And once he had drove Kiet into the ground he quickly shifted himself into the position of the traditional ground-and-pound, or tried. When the other fighter wrapped the back of his neck he had a hard time trying to get away. He was tugging up and away, but avoided doing more damage until a fist struck him.
Instinctively he lashed out, jabbing his fist just under the arms, pushing himself back with his legs, not wanting to stay in the position to pound his roomates face because even he knew that crushing the face of a guy that had access to you while you slept wasn't bright.
First his back and now his ribs, this was painful and disappointing. Squirming naturally from the pain he knew this fight was over. Now he would just need to catch his breath in order to say that. The first attempt came out in what could only be heard as a cough and wheeze. The second attempt would only prove slightly better with one raspy word being audible.
"Match."
At this point he really hoped Ryker got the idea because an other shot or two and he'd likely pass out. How would he manage to save face from that one?
Unfortunately for Kiet, who decided to attack to give off the appearance that he wasn't weak and just unlucky, he had received two unnecessary blows in his ribs before Ryker managed to jerk himself upright and step away, shortly after the match was declared.
Feeling eyes on him from every corner of the ring Ryker glanced around the gym, feeling hatred being focused on him. They were muttering about a grappler being allowed in a kick boxing ring, and he could guess just by their looks that they didn't agree with his tactics.
Of course he couldn't give a shit, he stepped up to the ropes and sprang himself up, standing on the second of three ropes, with his knees leaning against the top. "You got a problem with the way I fight, assholes?!" He shouted, slamming his right wrist under his elbow as he showed off his muscle, middle finger raised to flip them off twice with one movement.
Kiet rolled over onto his hands and knees. There was a good amount of hacking with lots of spit hitting the mat. At about this time Ryker was yelling at the gym, if he wasn't a delinquent he had no idea who was. As he finally started to catch his breath he pressed on his ribs to make sure he didn't get anything broken.
There would be bruises, big fuck off they hurt like hell just having clothes on them bruises. After the mental check and making sure he could breath and talk without sputtering he'd bring himself to his feet. Even though he got his ass beat he couldn't help but like Ryker just a bit. It may have just been his imagination trying to reason with him over this guy he'd be living with.
"Pay them no attention. Hell they threw a hell of a fit the first time I came here." He paused to take a deep breath. "I knocked out one guy with my elbow then nearly broke an other guy's leg with repeated low kicks."
Taking an other deep breath he'd run a hand over his tied back hair. My back hurts. It hurts a lot, this guy is brutal.
"Well at least I know what we should start our training with now. We'll use that bench press over there. You first, I'll be your spotter."
Kiet didn't want to admit it, but he needed that relatively easy break to rest his back before he could do much more. Climbing through the ropes he'd grab his towel. Next he'd move down from the ring he went to the bench. He grabbed both of his gloves then threw them in the bag.
With a long deep inhale then exhale he'd run the towel over his brow then take a big drink from his water. Then grabbing the unopened water he'd toss it to Ryker before moving over to the bench press.
« Last Edit: May 28, 2009 11:36:00 GMT -6 by kiet »
Ryker calmed down when he heard his sparring partner, and room mate, tell him that they were just moody. Well he guessed that was enough of an explanation for him. Knowing that he would have to get close to the guy made him realize that he would need to be accepting of his opinions. Especially in a place he didn't know.
So he sprang off the ropes and landed with a pretty heavy thud, followed by him jerking his neck from side to side, loudly cracking his neck. It felt wonderful, endorphins, adrenaline, and the sense of his neck loosening up. It was all wonderfully familiar and pleasant.
"Really? Then I was right about your fighting style. You guys are tough bastards." He rubbed his neck, suddenly unhappy with his win. "You would've done better if I didn't get close, that's usually the big weakness." Shrugging it off Ryker burst into a sprint and leaped over the ropes, and landing heavily on the floor.
Still energetic he went to the weights, only grabbing the water out of the air to place it at the side of the bench press, and took no time at all to snap on the right amount of weight, turned around, and dropped his back onto the bench press. "I don't do weights usually, more pull ups and stuff, but it shouldn't be too much different." Which is what he said before pressing the weight up, and started his reps.
« Last Edit: May 28, 2009 22:17:56 GMT -6 by kiet »
"I'm not that tough, it's a strong art. I lost because I went with a gamble, something I normally don't like to do." He scratched his head lightly before taking an other sip of water. "I was also limited with my reactions because I train to fight under different rules than the real world. Don't get me wrong though, you're definitely good."
Good, that seemed like an understatement at the moment. Or at least that's what his still aching back told him. With that he set down his drink and walked over to the weight to watch the bar. It was strange to watch someone who hadn't used them much before take to them so quickly.
"It looks like they were built for you. You know, I was planning on buying some stuff for our room. I might have enough money from my dad left over to get us someone's throw away weights and a punch bag. What'dya think?"
"Well, it's not a bad gamble for a spar, I just hope you don't try something like that in a real fight. I wouldn't want to mop you up like Donald Duck because you like to roll dice." Ryker's voice was strained be cause every breath came out while he was holding the weights over his head or easing it down, working his muscles pretty well.
Oddly for someone like Ryker, who liked to be loud and pretty verbal with his emotions and thoughts, he decided to ignore that he had been called good. Of course both of them knew he won the fight, he just wasn't quite cocky enough to say that he would win a fight with Kiet again quite as easily.
"Hey if you have the cash for it hell yeah, it would be a good way to work out in the morning, right?" Smirking he docked the bars and sat forward, sighing. "That is assuming you're not a late riser.
Donald Duck, this fellow had an odd way of putting things. It took a moment but after taking a second to think of old cartoons he got the idea. He didn't feel the need to really respond, he didn't expect to get into many fights he he could avoid it. As Ryker lifted he made a mental note of the amount of weight being lifted.
He better not drop that bar cause I might not get it back up. It was well over what he'd lift in a moment. Though he lifted less weight with more reps to avoid becoming bulky anyway. Though he still gave the appearance that he felt he could help, no need to scare Ryker into dropping the 180 pounds on his neck.
"Yeah, I already bought a couple things cheaper than I was expecting. I'm sure I got enough to get some hand me down equipment." No need to tell him that he'd already been shopping around for the equipment. "I went to a military academy for 2 years. I'm surprised I sleep at all anymore."
Once Ryker seemed through he walked to one side of the bar and removed 35 pounds. He then proceeded to do so to the other side. 110 was even slightly more than he really felt ready to lift. Once Ryker had gotten up from the bench he'd lay down and start doing reps. They would be quicker and more frequent than Ryker's to make up for the lessened weight.
« Last Edit: May 28, 2009 22:40:40 GMT -6 by kiet »
Ryker found that his arms were feeling the strain a bit more than he'd expected when he decided to finish his reps, pushing harder up on the weights until he could drop them into place and sit up, sighing heavily. "Really? Now that I don't hear the trumpets in the morning I have a hard time waking up."
He shrugged and got off the bench, stepping around behind it while he shook out his rubbery arms. He was sure he could lift the weight, probably more easily because Kiet pulled off 70 pounds. "So what things did you pick up already?" He asked as the reps began.
"I still hear them, stupid trumpets always waking you at the point where you're finally feeling good."
As he brought the bar down he felt a sudden urge. A tickle of the most malevolent kind, he had to sneeze. The bar being at it's lowest point he knew it'd be best to put it to rest before he let the sneeze out. Cringing his face a little he'd try to move the bar up as quickly as possible.
As it found it's rightful place on the bench he felt a little triumphant as he started to sit up slowly to brace himself. Though the sneeze would force it's way out a little to soon causing him to rise faster. The result being his head smacking into the bar with a light thud.
"Son of a..." He trailed off on this though pattern though the remainder of his cursing would be inaudible.
Ducking under the bar he'd hold his head while trying to remember what Ryker had asked him. What were we talking about? Reaching for his towel he would clean off his face, then turning it to the other side his hands. Remembering the question now he'd look over to Ryker.
"I've bought a laptop, coffee maker, extra pillow and a few movies. Might be some other stuff but no need to trail off. Let's move over to one of the heavy bags." As he said this last line his head would tilt toward a free one.
Ryker nodded knowingly, he too thought he heard them every once in a while, but it usually was just a trick of the mind. Sometimes he thought he could hear it coming from Knox, but he doubted it was possible for them to carry that far. Shrugging it off he suddenly became aware of something odd, the expression on his roommates face looked like he was scrunched up and ready to snarl.
So he went forward, ready to grab the bar as he figured he grew weak. But instead he got it to the rest and then suddenly sneezed, smashing his skull on the metal bar. Ryker burst out with laughter in an instant, holding his stomach as he staggered back.
It took a while for him to recover, and by the time he did he was walking toward one of the heavy bags, although he was more interested in leaning on it as he caught his breath instead of actually hitting it. "Oh lord, classic." He huffed out one heavy breath and then felt recovered. Sighing he shifted back and smacked the bag. "Go ahead and start up, I'll hold the bag."
Well it seemed his room mate had a sense of humor, too bad he learned this at his own expense. He'd poke his forehead lightly. I better not bruise from that, damn sneeze. Looking up he'd follow Ryker then nod at the invitation.
He'd used these bags many times, though not so often with as much frustration as now. It would add onto his mind and he'd not be holding back anything from his strikes. Walking over he'd get to the rim of his effective range. With a slight rotations of his shoulders he'd take a light stance, his arms very loose.
He'd place a firm kick with his shins onto the bag Ryker was holding. Though his frame didn't seem one for strong hits his motion would give this one a little extra push. His entire body would rotate with the blow all centered around his hips. Add in the speed of the kick and his shins would make a nice firm thud before coming back down to the ground.
Without even the slightest pause from his foot setting he'd take a step toward the bag. His hips would shift again putting his efforts into a strong horizontal movement of his left elbow. The blow was normally intended to be light and scrape. However at the moment he was focused on getting some good condition in, so it would hit solid.
Seeming to not miss a beat as his left arm retracting his right leg would pivot as his body turned on the left. His knee moving in a sort of mix between a slash and a thrust. Once he was satisfied with the strike and feeling a little aggravation pass he'd take a minor step back. Now he'd begin to throw his punches.
The combination of mostly jabs and straights would free him up a little to talk. "What kind of stuff are you bringing with you? Also why we're talking about this stuff. Did you go to Knox or an other military school, and what brings you to Fremont?"
« Last Edit: Jun 3, 2009 19:07:15 GMT -6 by kiet »