Welcome to the land of Kickassia! [Luke/Marlene]

[lukejasperdenmark]

"Do you have time to teach me now?" That was the first thing Luke heard the moment he flopped onto the couch in the Gryffindor Common Room. Sighing, he opened one eye, and sure enough, Marlene was staring at him with pure interest. She'd been asking him pretty much non-stop for the past three days. He was busy with training for Qudditch, his new school work, practicing magic and catching up with friends. Each time she asked, he'd told her he was busy with whatever he happened to be busy with. Now that he actually had free time she was on him like a hawk.

".......Yes." He said and stood right back up, "Change into something you don't mind getting sweaty and dirty in." he was just wearing his usual long sleeved shirt, pants and sneakers. His wooden flute hung from the chain around his neck as usual. Once she was ready (and acting like a puppy who badly needed to go out) he headed for the Portrait Hole. "This isn't going to be a one-time lesson." He told her, "You're not going to get it in your first try." he continued as he led her downstairs. "I've been training since I was six, that's a damn long time and I've still got a lot to learn. But you can at learn the basics." he added with a smile.

Out into the grounds they went and he led her to an area between the lake and the courtyard. There was plenty of space and lots of soft grass. "Here's the deal, stretch first. Pulling a muscle is painful and not a very good way to start off your first lesson." he sat on the ground, extending one leg out straight, he gripped his toes and leaned in toward his foot and out, repeating it a few times before switching legs. He then stretched out the rest of his body.

"Right." He said, "Martial arts isn't about kicking someone's ass. It's not even about strength, though that plays a pretty good role in it. It's mostly about control and balance." and he suddenly shoved Marlene in the shoulder, not hard enough to knock her over, but hard enough to make her stumble. "See?" He said with a playful smile, "First you learn how to stand properly." he demonstrated, standing sideways with his legs spread out slightly. "You need to stand sideways to present yourself as a smaller target. And keep on the balls of your feet, that way you're ready to move if you're attacked."

He nodded as he watched her, "Good. Now....attack me." He said and then smiled, "I won't hit you back, I'll just dodge and defend myself if I have to. I want to see how much you know." he then dropped into an obvious fighting stance, and though he was smiling, his eyes said he was serious about this.

[marlene]

Marlene hadn't been so excited for something since the time that Gryffindor was set to lay against Slytherin for the Quidditch cup. She had been raised her entire life seeing magic being used and getting into the habit of thinking that magic could do everything she needed to be done. Yet she couldn't help but be quite intrigued when she had spotted Luke doing some sort of...attacking, dance movement thing. She couldn't quite figure out what it was, and so she'd just gone up to him and asked. She had been so curious that she'd interrupted whatever it was he was doing and asked him what exactly it was he was trying to do.

Unfortunately for Luke, Marlene had quite liked the idea of 'martial arts' and had begged him to teach her how it was done. He had agreed to it, probably because she wouldn't leave him alone about it, yet every time she seemed to be able to learn he wasn't. Sure, she had a lot of work to do, but it was well worth putting aside for a bit if it meant learning some martial arts. Unfortunately for her, Luke didn't seem to be overly enthusiastic about that ideology. So for three days Marlene had found herself constantly poking him and asking if he could teach her then, even going as far as offering up her Quidditch practice time to learn. Thankfully he had declined then, since she wouldn't have survived James if she had missed practice for that, especially not with Luke. He seemed to dislike the guy enough because of his liking to Lily.

When Luke finally looked at her and said that he'd teach her she'd happily jumped up and ran right up to the dormitories when he suggested changing. She hurriedly shuffled through her trunk, throwing stuff all over her bed as she tried to find some proper clothes. Truth be told she didn't quite care if anything got dirty at this point, but she might as well go for something that would allow for movement. She hurried back to the common room and followed him of the portrait hole, nodding at everything he said. She wasn't exactly expecting to get things on the first try anyways, just try her best and do well enough.

When they got to the grounds Marlene followed his example and stretched the way he did. She was used to stretching for Quidditch anyhow, so it wasn't anything new or particularly painful on her muscles. What was new was the slight shove Luke gave her. "Hey, I wasn't ready!" She replied with a grin, showing him she wasn't very serious about the comment. She mimicked his stance, and transferred her weight to the balls of her feet as instructed. For once she wasn't talking much, which must have been quite a relief to Luke. An excessively talking student wasn't particularly easy to teach, and she was well aware of that.

"Attack you?" She asked in surprise. She understood that this was used for things other than hurting others, but she wasn't quite sure she could hit Luke. It wasn't that she couldn't physically do it, but rather morally. "Alright if you say so..." She tried to place herself in a better position and then tried to strike out with her right hand clenched tightly. The hit was rather tentative, almost without any power in it, and she gave a sigh of relief when he avoided it. So he hadn't meant it to make her hit him. She tried throwing one more, this time using a little more force.

[lukejasperdenmark]

"Doesn't matter. You're attacker isn't going to ask you if you're ready first and I certainly won't." Luke said with a smile.

He dodged her attack, shifting his body only enough so he fist just barely missed him. "Don't be afraid to hurt me." He said softly, and then caught her fist the second time she attacked. "A little better." He said and let go, backing up. "Alright, you're not punching with your weight and you're wasting a lot of movement. If you're ever in an extended fight, punching like that will just wear you out."

And he smiled, "And keep one arm up like this "he showed her, "In front of your face to protect it. Keep it solid and firm, you don't want to get hit there and end up bashing yourself in the face instead." He crouched again, "And if you lead with the side you write with, like say you use your right hand, use your right foot to push off, you'll punch a lot harder." He instructed "And don't just use your hands. Use your arms, your elbows, knees, feet, legs, anything!" and then he added, "But not your head. Don't head butt someone. You're just going to hurt yourself too. Unless you aim for the face." He smiled slightly.

Backing up, he said "Now we're going to play shadow. Just do what I do okay?" and he began to punch and kick, slowing each movement down to a crawl so she could see the form. "This is where a person's grace and follow through are tested." He told her and then gently corrected her on one of her stances. "Once you get the form down, you can speed it all up. I'm only showing you this because it's easier to remember this way. At least it was for me."

Once he was certain she had the form down he smiled, "Now I'm going to attack you. Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I just want to see how you dodge things." And he advanced on her, attacking swiftly, but gently. Each hit was firm, but not hard enough to bruise or knock her off her feet. "You're doing great!" He said, "But you're wasting energy, just try adjusting your stance every so slightly, you don't need to dodge me completely, just enough to avoid getting hit. Keep your guard up!" After about five minutes, he backed up and smiled "Not bad." He said.

"Now.....run at me full blast and attack and I'll show you something that's a sure fire way to throw off any attack." and as she did so, he suddenly flung out his arms and bent down. He grabbed the girl by the arm and the ankle, using her own momentum to flip her over his shoulder and plopped her onto the ground. He laughed, smiling down into her face.

"You can use that on anyone, there's an easier way to do it, but that way would end up hurting you so I chose this way." He offered her a hand up, laughing slightly at her expression.

[marlene]

"Well they wouldn't be much of an attacker if they did wait until I was ready." The blonde mumbled softly. She had to admit, Luke had a point there. His comment about her not punching with her weight and moving around excessively puzzled her for a moment. "You do realize I've never really done this before...right? I was taught to deal with stuff using magic." She didn't mean it to mean that he probably expected too much of her or was an idiot for thinknig she might know something. She merely wanted to point out the fact that she had never done anything without using her wand or just her magic in general. It felt weird, but there was a small sense of pride with it. She could possibly accomplish something without resorting to external forces like magic.

She brought up her arm the way he did, and moved slightly, shifting her weight to her right foot, the side she tended to write with. She made no rash movements, just little hops on the spot trying to get the feel for it. She grinned slightly at his 'use anything' comment. That she could do. Having been a slightly spoiled child she'd (ashamedly) thrown her fair share of tantrums and had resorted to the use of almost everything she could to hit things or people. "Use everything. I can do that." Was what she stuck to replying though. No need to go deep into her past.

She went along with his instructions, mirror him down to the slightest detail, or at least the slightest detail she could manage. It wasn't overly difficult, Quidditch had helped her gain some coordination, and although she wasn't the most graceful person around, she sure wasn't the clumsiest. Although she had expected it, his next comment caught her off guard. He would try and attack her. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, but the small fear was still there that he could accidentally hurt her.

She moved back sharply with his every hit, moving as far as she could. He corrected her then, telling her she should save her energy and not move as much. Easier said than done. It was a reflex she had to move away quickly, one she would need to learn to control. The thought was overruled by giddiness at his comment that she wasn't so bad. Maybe there was hope after all.

She nodded at his instructions once again, a little more confident than before. She tried to remember all that he said, but before she even got close to hitting him he grabbed her and flipped her onto the ground. A shriek of surprise escape her, a rare occasion if any, and soon she found herself looking up into Luke's smiling face. She gave a small pout at his comment. Would probably have been nice to have a heads up on that one. She accepted his hand though, and lifted herself off the ground. "Now what coach?" She said with a small grin.

[ooc; sorry it took so long!]

[lukejasperdenmark]

"I know. I'm just giving you important pointers for you to remember later. I don't expect you to know these things." Luke said with a smile, she was kind of....sweet, how quickly she took to it and how fast she was to defend herself against his words. She was also a swift learner and very attentive. In short, a good student. "Good. You're doing great." He said, "Staying on your toes like that is perfect for if someone attacks you." She really was learning fast.

He smiled at her, "Great! Dirt works too, some people say it's a unfair move, but when you're defending yourself against an attacker, it could save your life." He told her, "Just make sure that when you throw it, the wind isn't blowing in the wrong direction or your attack will just backfire."

He was surprised as the girl shrieked and Luke had to admit (though never out loud) that it was kind of..... adorable. He laughed and lifted her to her feet easily. "Now we run." He said, "I know you're a good runner, but there could be a time when you have no choice but to run away from a fight. If you can run faster than anyone else or longer, then you'll do better. There's also a pretty good reason for running." He said with a smile, "If you're attacked by more than one person, the faster runners will naturally pull out ahead of the rest. Then you turn, take that person down and keep running."

He started off a a jog, "Follow me." He said, speaking to her as he moved, "I'll also teach you how to roll, just in case you have to dodge spells as you run. Never go in a straight line. Zigzag if you can, and never fall into a pattern." He picked up speed, going into a full on run, then he threw himself into a roll, popping back up on his feet only to run again. He kept up a random rhythm of ducking dodging, weaving and rolling as he ran. Because he'd spent so many years doing daily runs, he was accustomed to running fast for long distances and he was barely even breathing hard some time later.

He stopped though after a while and bent down, "If you run at least four times a week, for at least a half hour or more each time, even if you just slow down to a light jog to catch your breath, you'll be able to run farther and faster each time." He pointed out, "Now.... our next step is going to rest." And he sat down, "That's it for today, unless you want to learn more. Strength training is just as important as learning to fight. If you're not strong enough to withstand attacks or meet out strong ones of your own, you won't last long no matter how much you know." He said and leaned back on his palms.

"You did well Marlene, really well. Better than I expected for a new comer to fighting." He complimented her with a smile. "If you keep at it, you'll become one hell of a foe.'