A Wulf in Training

[dinah]

Dinah entered her dojo, a wooden floor-based garage with white walls, a long mirror stretched across the far back wall, training bags hanging down from the ceiling and a duffle bag full of weapons and training pads. She removed her shoes then bowed in the doorway before entering. She was barefoot and was wearing a white uniform called a gi. It was similar to a bathrobe only that her black belt was the sash with gold lettering on both sides. On one side her name was spelled in Japanese, on the other was the type of martial arts she would be teaching. This time, it was basic Shotokan Karate. She walked to the head of the room and stopped in front of the mirror. “You will call me sensei, and you are my kohai or junior student. Age does not matter here, for you are not a senior student until you have moved up in belt rank and have earned my respect, IF you earned it. Welcome to my training hall. Any form of fighting, any kinds of belts earned no longer matter here for you are a beginner in my dojo. Earning your belts will depend on your attitude, obedience and skills for I do not believe in handing out black belts to just anyone. We will begin with a rei, a ceremonial bow to symbolize respect between sensei and kohai.” She bowed with her hands at her side, then straightened up. “I want you to stretch out your muscles and use your flexibility in the beginning of each session, then you will warm up by doing exercise before we actually begin. When I shout ‘yame’ I expect you to stop what you are doing, ‘rei’ or bow when commanded, and ‘naote’ relax when I tell you. Is that understood?”

"Training begins after meditation, but your inner warrior should be ready the moment you walk in through those doors. Now, get down on the floor with your feet propping you up, knees bent forward and apart. Mine will be together since I am a woman." She sat on the floor doing as she had instructed. "Keep your thumb placed over your pointer finger's finger nail with all other fingers relaxed and set your hands on your knees. Relax your body but sit up straight. Close your eyes and meditate on having flowing energy that will carry you through training. You are about to shed your fears, your doubts, your humility and unleash your slumbering warrior spirit. Let him show you confidence, honor, and respect. Allow him to envelope your heart and bring courage forward. He will become as your guardian during fights and will react when needed. You must learn to control his actions by learning when to act and when to hold back. All of this will come naturally if you practice your mind daily. Now, a moment of silence as you concentrate on the warrior you wish to become. Focus on the man you want to be, what he will look like. See the strength in his eyes and the pride he shows in the way he stands. Focus."

The room was quiet as both of them mediated on how today's training will be, how they will improve, and how it will end in pride. Dinah took two minutes before she was ready. "Open your eyes, and rei." She leaned forward, over her knees with her hands stretched out and bent at the elbow, the third bow for the day. "On your feet." She said after ten seconds of silence and then stood up. "Your balance will be tested during your stretch, balance also depends on how well you place your feet and find your center of gravity. Without it, you will lose a fight. Without balance, you will lose yourself."

She lift her right foot and bent the knee. With the right hand she grasped the ankle. "Do as I do, but gently. You do not want to pull a muscle before we train." She waited for one minute, then switched to the other leg. "Feel the straining in your thigh, stretch a little further each time." After a minute of that, she placed her foot back on the ground and bent her right leg forward and folded her arms without tucking the hands under and kept the arms above her chest. "Right leg forward, bending at the knee, arms up. You will lean forward on the right knee to feel the stretch in your calves. Keep your knee in line with your hip, otherwise you will not have a proper stance. This pose is called a genie stretch where it loosens your calves." After a minute she instructs him to switch

They spent at least twenty minutes stretching then Dinah placed some spare kicking bags on the ground. The first one was by itself and it stayed near the door. The second and third one were placed on each other and near the second corner of the dojo. Dinah then placed two punching pads on the ground that doubled in length when set side-by-side. "As you run, I want you to jump over these. Gradually I will increase their height and width, expanding your leaping capability. You will keep running and jumping for the next ten minutes. Go."

She watched Victor move around the dojo, secretly studying his strengths, weaknesses and endurance. She opened a window to air out the dojo for any collection of heavy body odors that would become trapped within the four wooden walls and glanced up at her air freshener's blinking light to know that it was working. She timed his performance and wondered if he felt like a circus dog jumping through hoops for the first practice and waited for him to complain. Many of her students often spoke about how bored they were during the basic training of learning how to stand, balance, punch and kick without getting to any of the weaponry. Little did they know that the basics were the most important steps to learning anything, unless one was a natural. But naturals were very far and in between.

As Victor ran, she decided to improve with council. “Combat is about controlling conflict, putting the battle on your terms. You should always be acting, never reacting. I will test your patience and reflexes today, seeing how much self control you have. Do not hold back for your enemies won't." She grinned. "In my school, there is no friendship, only a willing to learn. During your breaks, there is room for friendship."

Once time had run out, Dinah looked over Victor to see how his endurance was holding up. She was unaware of the wolf he hid inside him, and the peak endurance the wolf gave him. "Very good." She stated and walked around him, looking for shaking knees or out of breath. When she found none, she stood before him. "Show me what you've got." She stood back. "Rei first, then fight." She bowed with her hands at her side, waiting for him to bow, then straightened after a couple of seconds. "Kumite!" She shouted, giving him the signal to spar. She dropped down into a front stance with her hands at the ready. Her eyes darkened as a serious look came over her expression for already she was in the zone.

[Deleted]

Victor had let himself get talked into taking Dinah's class by Alison. He had taken a few self-defense classes before so he wasn't caught off guard by the gi he had been given and he managed to eventually remember how to ties the white belt he had been given. He then stood facing the mirror looking at his reflection trying to make sure he had gotten it straight when Dinah came up and started to instruct him on what the rules for the dojo were.

As she stated the words he should keep an ear out for Victor would mutter them under his breath as he tried to sort them out in his mind. When asked if he understood he didn't say anything. Instead he simply nodded respectfully.

When he was told too he sat on his knees keeping them separate as he was instructed and meditated on what she spoke of. He tried to envision himself as a strong warrior but simply couldn't see himself as more then a teacher with an odd night life. Not that he would tell anyone about that.

He followed along with the stretches that Dinah- sensei he corrected himself. The stretches his sensei demonstrated. He had some trouble with some of them. Mostly the ones involving flexibility. He managed to work his way through the stretches and stood listening to her as she explained what he was to do with the kickbags.

He kept running through the dojo and jumping over the bags as he went. As he ran the laps around the dojo he saw Cana sitting in the corner of the dojo with her arms crossed watching Victor run around and she had a slight smirk on her face.

He had trouble jumping over some of the bags when she placed more and more in a stack. And the whole time he was resisting the instinct to run on all fours. Though at one point Victor saw his feet were going to clip the top bag and so he threw his weight forward and landed on his hands. He then tucked his feet underneath him and started to run like a normal man once again.

When the sensei spoke he kept running but paid attention to her until it was clear that the ten minutes were up. He stopped and stood where he was and stood strong if not someone sweaty. He did feel the muscles in his legs burning slightly but he didn't have any reasons to complain. Instead he simply stood quietly and listened respectfully.

When she got into the front stance Victor felt slight reluctance come over him. He never liked fighting women in any manner. He didn't simply stand there though. He got into his secondary fighting stance. Hie primary one being much more wolf looking with him being hunched over with his knees bent ready to pounce. Instead he held his fists up in front of him with his right hand closer to his chest then his left. And his right foot behind his left foot slightly. However he didn't attack instead he went on the defense and got ready to block instead of attack. He just couldn't make himself attack a woman.

[dinah]

Noting that Victor was good at listening, she felt at ease in training him but continued to keep her leader attitude with her. It was a shame he would not be much of a challenge for her for she did so love showing up men and putting them in their places. Their better-than-you attitudes were always fun to shatter once she had sent them limping away, toting what’s left of their pride. On the other hand, Victor was clearly going to be a respectful and great student, just from the few minutes that she had seen of him. She would no doubt push his buttons to test his anger and reflexes in order to see where it was she needed to step in and teach, and a lot of Victor’s obedience, teachable personality and respectful manner reminded her of Alison. Even if Victor was a kind and gentle soul, this would not stop her from molding that into an assertive warrior who could reframe from killing as a good hero should.

Her mind lapsed back in time where she had been tied to a chair, punched, slapped, hair pulled back and viciously abused by a group of drug dealers she had failed to stop. They were the ones who stole her voice and scarred her for life. Her eyes narrowed at the idea for she would never allow anything like that to happen to her again. She knew Victor was nothing like the men she had survived in that night of violence, but she wasn’t going to back down and let him win either. She had a reputation of toughness to uphold and if Victor were to overstep his bounds with her, she would let him know through quick thinking and defeat.

With her eyes focused on his, she gave away no hint as to what she would do. She crouched to ground level while swinging her left leg out in an attempt to trip him. She had planned to contact the back of her heel against his left foot to make him stumble or fall forward unless he jumped before contact could happen. Her yellow locks of hair swirled around her shoulders and stopped short of covering her face upon the movement and even though she turned, it looked as if her sharp blue eyes had never stopped watching his. Her haunting blue eyes were not just focused on him, but could give off an eerie look that meant business. They were not only intimidating but seemed to pierce through Victor’s, as if she were ready to swoop in and snatch the life out of him. She might as well have been named after a jungle cat for she moved as quick as one and looked just as gorgeous, with an edge of being a predator watching it’s prey.

[Deleted]

As Victor stood where he was he found his mind wandering. He was wondering if the meditation combined with the deep breathing exercises he had learned from Dr. Ledford would possibly help him to control the Werewulf inside him. He also started wondering about what he would do if he did become the Werewulf and lost control again he did think he could take it if he caused the death of someone. Then he wondered if it would be his fault if someone did die because of the beast he had within.

He also found his mind wandering to the fact that it was only a short while after he realized that Kory was hopelessly in love with someone else and that he had no hope of winning her over. Another woman entered his life and he was slightly afraid of the possibly falling in love with her. Both he and Cana wanted it to happen but at the same time he was afraid that if he did he would only learn she was with someone else and that he wouldn't win her over.

Then he realized that he was falling to the ground after someone had kicked his foot out from underneath him. He grunted abit when he hit the ground it was more of a grunt of surprise then pain. He almost started to get up slowly but remembered what she had said about friendship only having a place during the breaks. He quickly somersaulted onto his feet and faced Dinah and now feeling more willing to fight back. He still didn't like the idea of fighting a woman but she had attacked so now in a way it was self-defense. He looked to see if he could find an opening and when he saw what he hoped was an opening he took a step forward and thrust his fist out in a punch trying to hit her in the upper portion of her side.

[dinah]

She expelled breath from her nose out of some annoyance that her student was distracted. His eyes were not focused on hers and when they were, there was a glazed over look to them. “Fighting is not a game in which you can press pause and then resume on your own terms. You must stay focused for your life depends on it. I won’t let you get away with anything in my dojo.” She said in a strict tone and continued to circle him. There were plenty of openings to attack him but she was allowing him to come forward first. She saw that he was hesitant and guessed that it was the first fight jitters and uncertainty of knowing what he can and could not do to her. It was laughable at most because no one was able to take her down unless she wanted them to.

She nodded to let Victor know that she accepted his move when he did not hesitate to get onto his feet again. She also saw that he took the fell rather well and did not complain about the wooden floors being too hard on him. If he had, he would not be able to handle falling on concrete in a real fight if wood was too much for him.

When he struck, she moved aside, grabbed his wrist and used his motion against him to send him stumbling forward. She was tempted to wrap his arm around his back and pin him against the wall or to kick him and send him through the wall, but he was new to this and she had to go easy on him. Besides, this was karate and not Jeet Kune Do. That hybrid training created by Bruce Lee was too advanced for Victor at the moment, but hopefully in time and with his willing to learn, he may some day master that as well.

She made a smug smirk as her opponent was momentarily sent off balance and waited for him to return. She ought to let him throw a punch or two just so she could test the strength behind the blows, while the punching bag will let her gain an idea about how well he can aim for the center and see if he can throw a solid punch.

“Every time that you become distracted, I will remind you that there is a time and a place for thinking. While facing me, you must be on guard at all times with your mind focused on defeating me. You are not asking me to waltz, you are fighting for your life.”

She let him return to the center of the dojo and threw a punch at him with her right hand while keeping her left close to her body in case she needed to block. Her right foot was bent at the knee, ready to move forward in case he would block her right hand, distract her left hand, allowing her to use her right foot if necessary. She kept her weight down the middle in case he tried to move her foot out from under her. This would not work since she could shift her weight on her back leg to keep herself from falling at the last second.

[Deleted]

As Victor got back to his feet ad listened to Dinah speak he remained respectful and when she finished speaking he gave a nod and muttered "Yes sensei" Under his breath not out of an attempt to be rude or secretive but because he was trying to make himself focus at the moment.

When his punch did work he grunted slightly in surprise. A part of him hadn't expected it to work but another part of him figured it was the best shot he had at the moment. He put his hand up and caught himself before he hit the wall. As Victor returned to the center of the dojo he let a chuckle escape from his lips as he got back into his fighting stance. "Believe me if we were waltzing I be doing much worse." He said in an amused tone. He wasn't trying to be funny he was simply stating a fact. And it was a fact that he personally found amusing. He didn't expect her to laugh at it either.

When she threw the punch at him he reacted by instinct he leaned back and put a hand on the ground to stabilize himself. Then he quickly dropped the rest of the way to the ground and spun quickly kicking at her feet trying to knock her down. He then rolled back onto his feet and blinked slightly in surprise at what he just did. He didn't know he was able to move like that.

[dinah]

Having a reputation as a good teacher also meant that one had to have a serious expression for the most part, in order to be taken seriously. She pretended to ignore his comment about waltzing for she wanted him to find his natural fighting zone, the one that focused on survival and instinct rather than humor or politeness. She did find his comment funny and she was tempted to smile, but for now she would let the comment pass.

She leaped up to avoid his foot and immediately stretched out her foot to kick him in the side of the face, a light tap surely, but to her surprise he had moved away to avoid any close contact. She kept a fearless face although he looked as surprised as she felt. Was he unaware of his own movements or was he surprised she had gone after him? She would have to test this theory some more. “There is no talking through sparring other than what I have to say. This is a sacred moment between two warriors who are testing their strengths and weaknesses against each other.” She moved in forward as she spoke, using hand-to-hand combat with her fingers straight and pointing like the blade of a knife. She was able to strike at him and block with her spear-like hands, moving swiftly to force him to block or be struck by her quick attacks. She aimed for the chest with the side of her palm, the side of his torso using the same attack. When he became distracted by the fluidity of her hands she changed tactics and faced him sideways, placing her fingers upon his chest and collapsed her hand while stepping forward, making her palm slam into him like a hammer with little force being used. This movement shot Victor back by six feet and she was going easy on him. “Even the littlest of force can become deadly. That is why you must observe my fighting techniques and learn to work around them or with them to your own advantage. You cannot win by strength and speed alone.”

She remained in a readied stance, not advancing to help him up for in a real fight a clever opponent would not assist their enemy. Why would you help anyone who planned to kill you unless they were in immediate danger and killing was against your morale code? She hoped Victor knew this and if not, she would teach him.

“Don’t hold back with me. I can handle whatever you can throw at me.” She replied as self-confident as an eagle eying a rabbit.

Already her mind was calculating her next move, how far it would take to jump, how close she could get in order to use her knee or elbow to strike, how much pressure she could use without breaking any bones or splitting open any exposed guts. She would leave him with bruises tonight but that was to be expected. Push him through the rough parts of training to see how much he is willing to learn then ease up when actually teaching. He would need a more gentle sparring partner than her for she could make any man feel bitter if she stole all of their confidence and pride. She wanted to get him mad enough to fight back before she would allow him to strike her and pretend it was a lucky shot, for then it would boost his confidence. But for now, she wanted to push his patience.

“Come at me.” She shifted her back leg and widened her fingers, ready to grab at any second. She knew she was letting him see her moves before they happened for she wanted him to learn body language of one’s opponent.

[Deleted]

After she spoke saying that during sparring sessions he should remain silent he almost spoke in response saying that he understood but he caught himself and closed his mouth and gave a nod keeping his eyes on her. When she started striking at him he started to block her attacks. He did rather well at this managing to block most of her smaller attacks but not all of them. When she struck him in the chest he staggered back a few feet until he tripped over his feet and fell to the ground.

Victor nodded as he stood up and took in the lesson she had just given him. He was more then willing to take a few falls here if it meant he was less likely to take a fall that would turn out to be fatal. He got ready and tried to find an opening in her defense and when he couldn't find one that would be easy to exploit he started to look for one that would be harder to find and more unexpected.

He saw her shift slightly and assumed that meant she was going to attack so he decided to make his move now seeing as he had only been blocking when she attacked so far. He slid his left foot forward and spun on the ball of his left foot and brought his right foot up to kick but then switched and brought up he hand out to try and land a blow with a back fist. When he finished this move he brought his foot down on the ground with a heavy thud he hadn't meant to but he decided to work with it and dropped into a horse stance and the threw a side kick towards her mid torso.

[dinah]

He had not charged at her, which was what she wanted, but it was easy to avoid his foot and fist by stepping to the side and out of reach of them. She took the kick to the side and staggered away on purpose while saying, "Good." Without losing her temper. "When you land, you should fall to the Earth as gentle as a leaf. If you place most of the force on your foot you'll end up breaking your toes."

The hardwood floors made it easy for her to slide across, especially since they had a wax coat covering on them. It was enough to keep someone from slipping while barefoot, but clothes could easily slide across without any problem. And with enough momentum, a body could move across.

She ran toward him, dropping down on the ground and slid toward him with her foot extended and aimed at his sternum at the last second. She had enough distance between them to use her other foot if he blocked the first.

"Have you come out of curiosity or is there something you wish to tell me?" Dinah asked while keeping an eye on Victor but she was not talking to him, for there came a squeak from the floorboards near the door and she knew who it was who stood there without having to turn around. It was not that her cousin had a recognizable scent she could smell at the moment, but the only individual who would dare to enter a dojo during Dinah's training sessions.

[Deleted]

When Victor kick landed he had a feeling she had let him get a hit in. But it didn't matter he wasn't going to push the subject. It a least told him that he could at least hit her and not feel that twinge he gets when hitting a woman. That and he could land a blow on her even if she was letting him.

When she spoke about gently setting his foot down instead of slamming it into the ground like he had he gave a nod as he remembered he wasn't supposed to speak. He kept an eye on her getting ready to defend against another attack or maybe finding an opening he could exploit to get the upper hand.

Just then he noticed a scent enter the area. It was a scent he had smelt before he looked around to see who had entered and then noticed movement in the corner of his eye. He looked back and saw Dinah sliding across the floor. Victor hadn't expected that and simply did the first thing that came to mind. He dove to the side and put his hands on the ground to stop himself from sliding. Then he realized who had entered the dojo with them. He almost got up to say hi but then remembered that he needed to stay on guard as he was still sparring. So he quickly got up to his feet looked to find Dinah feeling somewhat more confident that he wasn't about to get hit from behind one he found her. He quickly put his guard back up when he saw her getting back on her feet.

[Deleted]

Alison had remained outside of the dojo’s entrance doorway for she knew better than to enter without any shoes or socks on. She was curious to see who it was training with her cousin since Dinah had been busy in familiarizing herself with the city of Gotham and running a flower shop. It’s as if the girl did not run out of energy and craved having things to do. One might say she was running from her past by keeping so busy but eventually the past would catch up to her, wouldn’t it? Another would say that Dinah was just missing a huge chunk in her life and by settling down it would calm her, however she had been married and that did anything but calm her. Whatever the reason was, Alison did not mind.

She smiled when she saw Victor and knew that he had taken her advice to train with Dinah, and what better trainer than her cousin? She did hope that Dinah was going easy on Victor out of fear of breaking the poor man or scaring him away from women all together.

“Bud is on the phone claiming we did not pay our rent for the flower shop. I let him know that we did but you know how it goes.” She held onto the side of the wall siding to peek around the corner and hold her up while she leaned in the doorway. “I fought him the best that I could but if anything I amused him by practicing being tougher than I sounded.”

She watched Victor as he and Dinah moved about the dojo in looking for an opening. She could see the concentration on both of their faces and was pretty certain Dinah’s temper would flare up at any given moment, for she hated being used, in the sense of relationships and in dealing with landlords. Alison braced herself for shouting and waited for Dinah to reply.

[dinah]

“Yame.” Dinah said in order to stop the sparring, although the edge in her tone made it sound as though she had just sworn in Japanese. She bowed in front of Victor while saying the command to bow and waited for him to return the action.

“Get in your gi and take over for me. I’ll talk to Bud and remind him who it is that runs his shop later. For now, I’d like to test your other skills.” She had first spoke to Alison then turned a dark grin toward Victor. She was imagining Bud the landlord sweating on the other end of the phone and swallowing harshly as she chewed into him, for no one has the guts to trick the Black Canary. Nobody.

“Go over the basics with him, check his stance and use the bag when you return.” Dinah directed and moved over to the corner of the room where she picked up a bag and looked over her shoulder at Victor. “Come hold this up while I attach the chains to through the hook.”

Once they got the bag up, she moved in behind Victor saying, “This bag represents your opponent. You will not strike it right away. When I shout ‘kamite’ I want you to drop down into a front stance with your right foot forward and your left foot back. Your hands will be open with the right hand forward and the left close to your body, hands open like this.” She opened her hands from fists into a spear-like shape and went into the perfect posture from years of practice. She was perfectly well balanced and comfortable with her stance. It would have to take more than a tornado to knock her off her feet. She straightened up and then shouted, “Kamite!”

From out of the corner of her eye she watched Alison disappear around the corner and sensed that she was not pleased with her orders, but she would have to question this later if it meant being uncomfortable around Victor. She did not think he was the type to do anything to her cousin, but her cousin was not one to shy away from orders either.

[Deleted]

Victor halted his movements when Dinah let out the order to. He stopped and copied her bow and decided to not try and butt in to find out what was going on. After all the tone Dinah.... Or the sensei had just used didn't ring of invitation.

Victor went ahead and stood by where he was keeping silent as she spoke to her cousin. He didn't want to intrude on any of what was going on. Though since Alison was involved he found himself wanting to help somehow. But he was somewhat afraid of angering Dinah.

When she called for him to lift the bag so she could set it up he moved over to help. He bent down and wrapped his arms around it and lifted it with a grunt and held it in the air until she hooked it up. He once again thought about asking what was going on but stopped himself again.

Victor clasped his hands behind his back and listened to her speak about the bag being his opponent. When he was told to drop into the front stance he stepped out into the stance with his hands still clasped and then he moved them out to where was indicated. He then opened his hands and squinted slightly. He wasn't used to keeping his hands opened like this. He was used to keeping his hands in a fist when it came to fighting. He wasn't sure if she'd be ok with him talking but he felt he should ask either way. "Like this?" He asked as he got into the stance and held his hands up.

[dinah]

"The feet need to be as wide apart as your shoulders." She moved Victor's leg back by tapping his foot into place, then adjusted his stance. She then pushed back on his left shoulder to see if he was well-balanced aside from looks. When he did not stumble back, she said. "Stand up again, normally. Relax." When he followed orders, she pushed on the same shoulder, sending him off balance. "Now back into your previous stance." She pushed his shoulder again when he was in a better position. "Do you feel the difference?"

She stepped aside and came down into a front stance with her left hand on her hip with the palm turned up and her right hand also making a fist while facing the bag. "I'm going to show you the difference between force and deadly force." She stated as she extended her fist forward, locking the elbow. "Watch the bag when my left hand punches it, hear the density of the hit."

She drew back her right hand and extended the left all too quick to see. She repeated this action for Victor slowly. Her right arm was drawn in while the left extended. The right fist turned up and was placed on her right hip while the left hand turned to face down with a straight fist as it contacted the bag. "Your body is all one weapon, even the slightest mistake can throw you off, that is why balance and quick thinking is so important. And in a fight, anyone can ball their fists and throw a punch, but precision and power must be thrown into it in order to really do some damage. It is never about how strong you are, even though that does play a factor, it is about how much force you are applying in your strikes."

She now turned her body sideways with her hands shaped like spear tips with the left close to her body and the right out and bent at the elbow. "Come forward so you can watch my movements." She instructed. "I've bended my left elbow to hold my forearm out in front of my chest to protect my heart with the fingers open and close together with the palm facing down. My right arm is also raised and I am going to place the right hand over my left ear, crossing over my sternum with my left wrist and right elbow in line with each other without actually touching them. My right hand is close to my ear but not touching. When I go to strike..." She moved slowly for him to see. "...The left hand draws back to my side while the right slides down at the bag at an angle, mimicking an ax stroke. Now listen to the difference and watch the bag's reaction."

She thrust out her hand and created a dent in the side of the bag. It swung to the right and then back at her in which she caught it before it could knock into her. "Both hits can be deadly when used properly and carried out flawlessly, but never judge the positioning of one's hands to be weaker when they are not balled up. In fact, you can tell what kind of martial arts your opponents are going to use on you, just by how they stand and how they hold their fists." She stood up and tossed her hair back over her shoulder. "The first thing that you are going to learn and keep with you is that martial arts is about self defense and not about revenge. Once you master this art, you become a living weapon and as your sensai, I become responsible for your actions, and that is why you do not go out picking fights to get better when you can practice in here, with your better. You do not become a bully, you do not pick on the bullies with your practiced knowledge, for that is not your place. Do you understand?" She drew close to him and looked him squarely in the eyes. "If you abuse what I teach you, I will come after you to set things straight." She said seriously.

[Deleted]

Alison returned wearing her white gi and 2nd degree black belt that was all black other than the gold lettering that said "Shotokan Karate" on one end of the belt while the other end said her name in Japanese. She removed her shoes at the entrance and bowed before coming inside. She had just caught Dinah threatening to box Victor's ears if he abused the gift of martial arts and smirked to herself from remembering the same speech Dinah had given her. She was a little nervous the first time Dinah had said that but after a while the feeling went away when pride set in and a feeling of accomplishment was replaced. No doubt Victor would feel the same in time, if he stuck with the training.

Alison's hair was pulled back into a pony tail although her bangs where set into place with bobby pins since they were too short to join the rest of her hair in the tail. She began to stretch in the background while Dinah instructed Victor and then joined them when they were ready for her. She had already walked home from the flower shop, which was as good a warm up as any in her opinion. And with the blood already flowing and the muscles ready to work, she looked over Victor's stance briefly and tapped his foot to the left a little, then the right. She remembered many times that Dinah would position her feet until she got it right, and would do the same for Victor.

She slowly raised her eyes to his, hoping he did not judge her for being in higher belt rank than him, for many guys ran in the opposite direction from her once they found out she knew martial arts. She could not help but smile a close-lipped smile at him, half apologizing for not telling him and also out of shyness.

"I will take over for now, Sensei Lance." Alison watched as Dinah moved off to the side and turned her attention onto Victor. "Your stance will improve in time as will your confidence, and that is what we will work on first." She spoke with some leadership in her tone and tried to look serious, but it was clear that she was second-guessing the situation for she did not want him to be intimidated by her when the man should be the protector and not the other way around. "We will continue with the shuto uke, sword hand block. Your left foot should be facing me while the right is turned toward the bag. Your right hand is pretending to cover your right ear while the left is under your left elbow, palm down." She adjusted his hand and kept her eyes on what she was moving to avoid blushing. She mimicked Dinah's actions by moving his hands to demonstrate what he would do, and stopped when his hand struck the bag. "By moving the arms at the same time, it gives you a stronger striking force." She explained. "It is like expanding a bow and then releasing the arrow. Your strike is an arrow and your body is the bow, returning everything into place. The faster your movements become, the harder the strike is upon recoil. Let's hit the bag for now."

Alison stood at the side of the bag, keeping Victor in view and keeping her fingers out of harm's way. "When I give the command, I want you to strike the bag with the side of your hand, aim just below the knuckle of the pinky. Ready? Hyoi!" She grunted the command, hoping he would strike.