The Noble Sport (D5, Mid-Afternoon OPEN)

[Kitsuki Kotsu]

"OK Then!" Sugita walks straight over to the Dragon. Lots of those around. "How much do you know already?"

"Beyond the minimum basics I learned from my more martial kinsmen, absolutely nothing, Kakita-san."

[Kakita Sugita]

"Ah! I'll show you how to fall in an actual demonstration quick. Alright?" Without waiting for an answer, Sugita climbs onto the closet kneww height object he can find and flips himself backward to land with a THUD! He curls the right parts to the ground and rolls with it. Unscathed. THen he kicks himself upright.

"See what parts I had hit the ground first? Those bones can take it. Don't want anything broken. Make sure to curl your limbs out. Don't get them between you and the ground. You'll break something that way too. I can toss ya slow if ya like."

[Isawa O-Washi]

Fuichi landed fairly well, using his moment to roll back up into a standing position. He narrowed his eyes slightly at the isawa. "It would seem that I am overmatched."

"Indeed...but I'll make it more fair."

So saying, he tucked one hand, his left, into the ties of his hakama. "Try it again."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Jiujutsu=20

Dutifully, the slight Crane came at the big Phoenix, exerting his sleek musculature to its limit.

Contesed JIUJUTSU/strength=17

After making contact with one hand under the Gunso's leg and the other to his broad (and, as Fuichi would later discover, extraordinarily comfortable) shoulder, he heaved up and pushed forward, sending the enormous gunso to the deck on his stomach, Fuichi's knee carefully thrust into his lower back.

[Kitsuki Kotsu]

"Ah! I'll show you how to fall in an actual demonstration quick. Alright?" Without waiting for an answer, Sugita climbs onto the closet kneww height object he can find and flips himself backward to land with a THUD! He curls the right parts to the ground and rolls with it. Unscathed. THen he kicks himself upright.

Kotsu raises an eyebrow at the Kakita's sudden display of tumbling.

"See what parts I had hit the ground first? Those bones can take it. Don't want anything broken. Make sure to curl your limbs out. Don't get them between you and the ground. You'll break something that way too. I can toss ya slow if ya like."

The Kitsuki nods at the Crane's words. He then takes a stance and readies himself for the throwing on the part of his sparring partner.

[Kakita Sugita]

"Um... Slow then." I guess. "Just come at me bro!"

[Isawa O-Washi]

O-washi, for a man who'd just hit plank, sounded remarkably pleased. "Good! You've been practicing I think, or else your brothers did a good job on you as a boy."

Twisting his face to the side, he did his best to look at his captor. "'course...there's ways out of even this which is why usually you don't keep hold..."

Without removing his hand from where he'd tucked it, thus keeping his handicap, the gunso pushed up on his other arm and, since he was off-center anyway, used it to roll sideways, hoping to pin his 'captor' beneath his rather larger frame.

(Contested roll: 17)

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Contested roll=12

With a muffled 'ooph!' Fuichi toppled and was rapidly pinned beneath the Isawa. Being young, his mind wandered, but he shook his head to regain focus. "In practice, this would be where I would hope Akodo-san was nearby."

[Isawa O-Washi]

He laughed. "Cub's sworn to aid you, has he? Well, it'd avail him little because if this were practice, I'd be even more dangerous than I am now."

Not wanting to crush the other man, O-washi climbed off of him.

"What'd you learn about larger opponents?"

[Daidoji Fuichi]

"Not much. My brothers are larger than I am, but they were more focused on stealing my underclothes than on teaching me how to scrap. Yasuki-san did her best to fill the gaps, but she is, well, shorter than I am."

[Isawa O-Washi]

Snickering at the mental image of Fuichi's plight, it took the gunso a moment to focus. "The best idea against one larger, and stronger, is to take any advantage in a grapple to break it and distance yourself. Ideally, in this case, you'd toss the fellow in the drink but pounding his face into the deck is a viable substitute."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi's jaw dropped. Pounding someone's face into the deck seemed...problematic. Not for Sanzaemon or Kosui, of course. They're bushi, expected to do such things. "I may opt for the water, Isawa-sama. I'm...the pounding seems..." He shakes his head. Songs are one thing, but real-live violence is not Fuichi's strong suit.

[Isawa O-Washi]

"If it meant that you could live to help your fellows, you'd be willing to break a nose or two. No one says you have to kill, you can elect to disable instead."

And then, of course, someone else would finish them. No need to point that out just now, though.

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi nodded. Inwardly, of course, he prayed that the ships never had to close. It seemed to him that that was when the bad stiff happened.

"Isawa-sama, how many out of your naval battles involved boarding?"

[Isawa O-Washi]

The larger man's expression grew thoughtful. "That's an interesting question. During the War of Fire and Thunder, my Clan'd do just about anything to avoid it...Yoritomo are at such an advantage on a rocking ship over the Shiba it's shocking. Besides, with my Cousins on one side and Moshi on the other, the ships usually went down in flames or capsized before there was a possibility of close combat. Against pirates and the like, however....it depended upon how well armed the ships of the pirates were. Most of the time, it came down to boarding because we needed the ship intact."

Rubbing his goatee thoughtfully, O-washi hazarded a guest. "So...twenty times? Thirty at the most..."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi nodded. "I see."

[Isawa O-Washi]

"IS there some aspect of it in particular that concerns you?"

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi inclined his head. "I don't particularly relish the thought. I believe that the power of the Air is markedly more effective at range, and that the closer the enemy gets to me the less effective I am in protecting my crewmates. This does not mean that I am incapable, it just means I am less. I loathe being useless, it wastes my time and that of my allies."

[Isawa O-Washi]

O-washi nodded thoughtfully, then smiled. "How are you at the crafting of prayers? I'm sure, with patience, you can come up with new ways to be of assistance, with the kamis help of course."

[Kitsuki Kotsu]

"Um... Slow then." I guess. "Just come at me bro!"

"As you wish, Kakita-san..."

Suddenly, the Kitsuki moves forward with a fist aimed at the Crane's torso.

(Roll: 23)