(Untitled)

[falconryu]

It is morning, and Ryu is out by the lake. He already exercised, he already meditated, he already swam in the cold waters.

Now, relaxed and at ease, he is warming up again with slow stretches and the sun.

Tai Chi will follow. He would not mind company, or an audience.

Comments

[ostro_goth]

Teja is carrying his axe over his shoulder, and is followed by his sparring droid, which is carrying a rather large sword.

[falconryu]

Ryu stretches up, fully, offers a nod to the man wit the axe, and starts the first sequence, slow and precise moves.

[ostro_goth]

Teja wonders whether this is exercise, or some sort of dance.

The sparring droid, behind him, stops and does nothing.

[falconryu]

More like an exercise. See, there is footwork, the kind one would be more likely to use in combat, but each movement is deliberatedly slow, aimed at precision, not speed. Step. Turn. Sweep.

A combat sequence in slow motion.

[ostro_goth]

Teja watches, fascinated. It is like combat as a dance, or an exercise of combat, maybe?

[falconryu]

Ahm that answer is subjective, and depends on the eye of the beholder, really.

But if one does watch closely, there: there is the movement of the arms, rolling, catching an imaginary arm that thre a punch, and... well, breaking it?

Ryu's routines are not the kind usually shown in Tai Chi.

[ostro_goth]

"What is that which you are doing?" Teja finally ventures to ask.

[falconryu]

Ryu finishes the sequence, before turning to Teja. "Good morning. It is called Tai Chi, a form of meditation and exercise for balance and precision."

[ostro_goth]

"What is it that you exercise for when you do this?" Teja asks.

[falconryu]

"Good posture, flexibility, balance and precision of movement... it can be used as self-defense as well." Many uses, but Ryu is not so quickly mention the huge amounts of posterior he can kick too.

[ostro_goth]

"It would be good basic training for one that would learn to fight," Teja says.

[falconryu]

Ryu smiles and nods. "Oh, it is; good for self-defense or straight-out combat, there are armed drills as well, breathing exercises, and general physical conditioning. Tai Chi is a 'soft' martial art, centered in balance and the development of one's own potential."

[ostro_goth]

"I would try that," Teja says, "but I suspect it may not be something that one can do while wearing armour."

[falconryu]

"Well, usually no, but there are other arts made for use while in armor." Oh yes, one could think China, Japan and surrounding lands were really dedicated at creating more and more forms of armed and unarmed combat.

[ostro_goth]

"Just as I train swinging my axe," Teja nods. "But this would be different -- one does it slowly, artfully, as if dancing."

Sometimes, what Teja does with his axe looks like a strange armed dance as well, but he would never admit to that. Goths did sword-dances, of course, but Teja would never stoop to something like that.

[falconryu]

"Yes, the first idea is to make move right, before you move fast. It was part of my training, while I was growing up." Teja should see the 108 plum blossoms exercise; that one is a dance.