Back to Basics (Open)

[hisfathersstaff]

Step. Arms go in, push out slowly. Feel the magic thrum through your arms, from the tips of your fingers down to the pads of your toes

Comments

[queenofcalamity]

"You need to slow your pace."

[hisfathersstaff]

Pushing his glasses up on his nose, Negi looked at his mother who stood there and rubbed his head. "As in slower? Mother I was in stance for an hour."

Though he had a inkling of what she was getting at. Asuna did it to him all the time, telling him to slow down and stop putting things on his head.

[queenofcalamity]

Arika stepped out onto the field, looking very much like she belonged in the scenario regarding her appearance. "If you go slow, you fall into the steps more naturally, thus understanding the basic fully. But if you go too fast, you miss the most important steps, and your forms fall apart before they even come to a complete end."

[hisfathersstaff]

"True," admitted Negi. She had a sharp eye at least for stance and form. "I'm not used to the Snake movements. When I first learned from Master Ku, I was taught all counters and from there, it developed into a highly aggressive style."

[queenofcalamity]

"You go with the highly aggressive styles without starting off slow, you will stumble and trip over your own feet." She shook her head, looking down at him. "Think of it as a conversation. You must first know what you want to say before you say it, or else you let your mouth run and you look like a fool."

[hisfathersstaff]

"Yeah I know," said Negi. "When I had to learn though we started small till the bet at least."

He rubbed his cheek in memory. "Master bet that I couldn't land a blow on Chachamaru-san and Makie goaded her into giving us time. So Master Ku taught me all she could teach me out of a highly aggressive counter attack set of Kung Fu styles to make up for the time crunch. I managed to win, but only because of Makie-san who I owe a lot to."

[queenofcalamity]

"You should be able to perform the move without help, though, if you want to practice it correctly." She moved forward and reached down to clamp her hands around his arms. She moved them. "You must try again, but take it slowly, one step at a time."

She retracted her hand and backed away.

[hisfathersstaff]

Negi nodded as he restarted the slow kata, taking it one step at a time and ensuring he had more of a firmer hold onto the motions. Each step felt more sure every time he moved his hands and swung it around, exhaling as he did so.

[queenofcalamity]

"Do you feel the difference?"

[hisfathersstaff]

"Yes I do," replied Negi, moving his arms gently around, feeling his magic surge with each motion and ebb away like a river. Magic spun around his fingertips as he seemed to dance with each motion, breathing in time with the gentle motions.