Shen - Reason and Resolve!

[20:19] <~Deedles> The day after Jian taught Chiyoko to sense the flow of her own chi there was a knock on the door to Shen's room.
[20:22] <Shen> "What?" Shens voice from behind the door barks out in a rather unceremonious fashion. He was still feeling the effects of his injuries from the fight with Tsuwan and had a hard time sleeping because of it. "What do you want?"
[20:23] <~Deedles> "Uhm..." Came the voice of Chiyoko in return, sounding a bit uncertain "Jian told me you could help me, but I can come back later..." she called through the door.
[20:28] <Shen> There was silence for a few moments before the door slid open a tiny way. Shen peeked through the gap with a single eye as he quickly scans the girl, but just as quickly opens the door fully. "No need." he says as he tightens the belt around his waist. He was wearing a loose tunic, his chest was visible but covered with a series of bandages. "I guess it's time that I got off my ass and did my part."
[20:30] <~Deedles> Chiyoko looked at his chest, her eyes narrowing sadly at the sight of his bandages before her gaze shifted to his face. "You sure? You healing alright?" she inquired, obviously quite concerned for the young man who saved her life.
[20:33] <Shen> Shen chuckled at her, waving off the concern. "Jian has already taught you the basics of Chi. One of the benefits of a trained body and mind is accelerated healing. I'll be fine." As he said that he walked out of his room, shutting the door behind him. "Let's go to the yard."
[20:35] <~Deedles> She nodded as she followed him "I see..." she studied him again, but curiousity had replaced her concern this time though. "What are you going to teach me?" she wondered.
[20:37] <Shen> "That depends on what you already know." He replied as they made their way down the stairs. "Do you know anything about Kung Fu?" he asked as he turned his gaze sideards towards her.
[20:39] <~Deedles> Chiyoko shook her head "Just some of the basic stuff Tsuwan taught me, before he..." she averted her sky blue eyes "That's all."
[20:43] <Shen> "Before he tried to kill you?" Shen finished rhetorically for her. His eyes weren't cold, in fact they were quite warm - at least for Shen. He remained quiet for a while as he watched her. "The wound you hold in your heart is just as real as those on my chest. He spoke confidently as he patted his bandages. "With time, that stuff heals. Kung Fu can help that process too. I will try to teach you these foundations."
[20:46] <~Deedles> She flinched slightly as he finished the sentence for her, but her gaze returned to him as he spoke, her lips curling into a faint smile. "I will do my best to learn." she promised him, quietly. "I'm really grateful for your help...All of it."
[20:51] <Shen> "There's only so much I can teach you and I'm not exactly a master myself." he grinned kind of sheepishly. "But I can understand your desire, so it's only right that we do our best to help you." as he finished the sentence they arrived in the inns yard.
[20:53] <~Deedles> "You're far better than me though, so I'm certain there's plenty of things you could teach me, had we the time." Chiyoko insisted, lifting a hand to scratch the back of her head slightly. "Right now I just want to be pointed in the right direction, as long as I just know the way I will train and get strong."
[20:59] <Shen> "You will train." Shen agreed as he took a few steps ahead of her then turned around to face the girl. "But strength does not come just through training. That's only building a vessel to hold that strength, which helps in a fight, but has no purpose if there's no reason to fight." he averted her gaze and gave himself a mental pat on the back, obviously impressed with himself. Once, he was told the same thing a long time ago.
[21:00] <Shen> "Why do you wish to learn from us. Chiyoko?"
[21:05] <~Deedles> Judging by her expression she was listening intently as he spoke, an impressed look on her face at his deep words. She blinked at his question though, taking half a step forward. "So that I can protect everyone. Our town isn't the only one that has had problems with creature attacking, so while Tsuwan might be gone a new beast might come... I can't stand idle anymore."
[21:05] <~Deedles> her hands clenched into fists as she looked away, her eyes glistening faintly "My mother... she was one of the first to die in the attacks. I was smaller then, and weak, I don't want to be weak anymore!"
[21:11] <Shen> "It's important that you never forget that reason, let it change, or get warped in the persuit of becoming stronger." he pointed at her, right between her eyes. "Tsuwan outmatched me, completely and utterly. The reason why I was able to fight with him was because I too have my reasons to fight whereas he didn't." he dropped his hand, slamming his fist into an open palm. "Once you have your resolve..." he grinned at her, his eyes lit with energy
[21:11] <Shen> "You can fight."
[21:21] <~Deedles> "My reason and resolve?" Chiyoko stared at him for a bit, going quiet with thought as her gaze flickered to the side before resettling on him. "What's your reason to fight?" she asked him softly, maybe hoping she could find some guidance in it.
[21:30] <Shen> "I also fight to protect those I care about. My home." he spoke with a half smile. "Where I come from, it is the responsibility of my family." however, he wasn't so sure anymore. Learning about his clans past recently had made him uncertain if that was all he was supposed to fight for now, but he kept that to himself.
[21:30] <Shen> "It's not something you can just suddenly understand, but you will over time. The power within you, your Chi, your essence, reacts to your beliefs and convictions. So they must be strong if you hope to be."
[21:34] <~Deedles> She clapsed her hands in front of her as she listened, nodding once. "Before... I thought I was too weak to do anything, but when Tsuwan came and fought the beasts, he was so strong. I wanted to be that strong. I wanted to not feel like I was too weak anymore, so I admired him, but now..." she bit her lower lip as she pondered upon how to express her thoughts.
[21:34] <~Deedles> "After seeing you fight, I realized I don't want to just be strong, more importantly, I don't want to be afraid anymore. I want to find the courage to fight for what I think is right."
[21:40] <Shen> "What we all think is right or wrong can be different." he stated after listening to her intently. "That's why we all follow our own path, to determine our way and find ourselves. The fact that you see a path before you and wish to walk it already, tells me that you are not weak." he folded his arms and chuckled as he looked her up and down. "Even if your body might tell me otherwise."
[21:42] <~Deedles> Chiyoko blushed as that, even looking a bit demure as she looked the other way "I used to be kept busy helping my dad with the Inn, and while it's a lot of work and some heavy lifting it's not the best training."
[21:48] <Shen> "There's no such thing, training is training." he pointed out as he walked up to the nearby tree with the swing attached to it. "You can train by doing practically anything aslong as you look at it in the right light." He spoke as he struck several of the branches in half, leaving the trunk of the tree with a disfigured look. "Kung Fu is not just about fighting and inner power, but striving to achieve mastery in all things."
[21:50] <~Deedles> She stared in wonder at his display "So I should try to keep in mind how everything I do helps me strive to where I wish to reach." she replied, though her tone made it sound a bit like a question.
[21:54] <Shen> He nods back at her as he turns. "If you carry something heavy, hold onto it for longer. Run while carrying it. Hold it above your head." he shrugs with a smile. "Just like this tree." he says this as he combos a set of complicated and rehearsed strikes to the extended limbs of the tree. It was no dummy like he had back at home, but it would do.
[21:55] <Shen> "Is it a tree, or is it a thousand enemies coming at you all at once." he kicked the lower trunk of the tree expecting the planks to twist around but instead stubbing his toe like a complete idiot.
[21:56] <~Deedles> Chiyoko listened intently, but lifted a hand to her mouth as she giggled at the end. "You got quite an imagination." she commented, a broad smile visible as she lowered her hand.
[21:58] <Shen> He winced as he hobbled on his foot. "Ow. Just as planned, just as planned." he turned to hide his pain, but recovred after a few moments with a sigh. "Creativity definitely helps." he grinned and beckoned her over towards teh tree.
[22:01] <~Deedles> She looked a bit amused at first "Of course it was." she humoured with him with a playful smile before he spoke again. She moved over, eyeing him inquisitively as she did.
[22:02] <Shen> "Fall into stance." he said as he straightened his posture, turning fully towards her. "As if the tree where an enemy."
[22:04] <~Deedles> "Oh, okay..." Chiyoko looked down at herself as she placed her left foot a bit behind her right one and lifted her hands, keeping them open palmed like Tsuwan had adviced her once.
[22:06] <Shen> "The stance is the most important factor in combat, both offensively and defensively. It is how you control your lower body and how you set your center."
[22:07] <~Deedles> "How do you know which one is best for you?" She wondered while glancing at him, her eyes full of questions, but she was trying to pace herself.
[22:12] <Shen> "There is no best, necesarily." he said after thinking over it for a moment. "You train yourself to use these stances and they become a part of you." he slid his foot into hers, pushing the legs apart slightly and twisting both ankles so they became parallel. "Bend your knees." he said finally.
[22:13] <~Deedles> Chiyoko did as he asked, looking down at her stance "This feels steadier..." she thought outloud before her gaze moved to him.
[22:18] <Shen> Shen nodded and smiled. "This is Ma Bu. The horse stance. Some consider it the very first stance." he fell into it as well, much lower and steadier. "When I was young it was the first thing I was taught." he held his arms out with his back straight, palms flat as if he was pushing against a wall. "Once you are able to hold this stance solid for an hour, you can learn to use other stances."
[22:21] <~Deedles> "An hour...?!" Chiyoko stared at him, her own stance wobbling faintly, which is a bit of a pathetic sight when compared to Shen's calm and steady form right beside her. She looked him over as she thought about that, come to think of it it didn't seem as impossible as she felt, he looked like he could stand like that for the rest of time without faultering.
[22:26] <Shen> "An hour." he replied with an amused look. He had said the exact same thing once. "If you practice every day, you may be able to achieve it in your lifetime." he fell out of stance and straightened up. "Depending how much you train, of course." he walked around her, fixing her angles slightly, making sure her back, arms and thighs were straight.
[22:26] <Shen> "From this stance you can fall into any other stance, think of it as the door to an inn that is full of stances."
[22:28] <~Deedles> "And Inn full of stances..." She echoed, trying to envision it as she tried to keep her stance steady for as long as possible, but her legs were getting so tired!
[22:31] <Shen> "Good Kung Fu comes from hard work. There are no shortcuts." he chuckled and scratched his chin. "Trust me, I looked."
[22:32] <~Deedles> Chiyoko seemed surprised at that as she gazed up at him "You did?" she obviously hadn't seen that coming.
[22:46] <Shen> Shen held her gaze for a moment in silence and nodded, but didn't answer. "Whenever something becomes too easy, you will not improve. The body only grows stronger when it is pushed to its limits."
[22:49] <~Deedles> She nodded again, looking at him still "I understand." she tells him solemnly "I'll work real hard. I want to be the best I can be, to protect those I care for."
[22:52] <Shen> "Good." he said finally and happily. "Then there's just one thing left to teach you."
[22:53] <~Deedles> "W-what's that?" Chiyoko stuttered slightly as she could feel her legs getting real unsteady by now, trying to dig her heels into the ground to will herself to stay in the stance.
[22:55] <Shen> He struck the trees trunk with an open palm. "How to use this." he paused for a few moments then smiled. "You can fall out of stance for now, Chiyoko."
[22:59] <~Deedles> The second he said that her legs buckled beneath her, the girl falling onto her ass with a yelp. Her cheeks flushed while one of her hands rubbed her rear. "Use what?" She wondered, only glancing at him as she looked embarrassed.
[23:04] <Shen> He laughed, though he knew he hadn't lasted for as long on his first attempt. He had just complained about wanting to learn flashy combat techniques. "The Muk Yan Jong." he pointed at the tree. "Or the tree in this case." he moved to the side slightly and motioned towards the tree.
[23:04] <Shen> "It is a foe, for the purposes of training." he pointed at the branches. "These are hands coming in from different angles." then he pointed at a much lower branch. "Or a foot trying to sweep your legs."
[23:07] <~Deedles> Her rubbing came to a stop as he spoke, her eyes moving between the branches he pointed out before she slowly got back onto her feet, her legs still feeling a bit wobbly. "What do I do with it?" she wondered as she took a step forward to join him by the tree.
[23:09] <Shen> "Whatever you feel is right." he chimed fairly simply, watching amused as she studied the tree. "You will find yourself wanting to train your hands, your strikes, blocks and parries, but with no person to spar with. While doing so you not only cultivate your fighting ability, but your inner power also."
[23:12] <~Deedles> "So it's my imaginary opponent..." Chiyoko mused with an intrigued look. She tried to mimick the strike Shen had made on the tree earlier, wincing as she waved her hand "...Ow..." she murmurred, but she still tried to do it again. She concluded that the second time hurt just as much as the first time.
[23:16] <Shen> "You will come to think of it as a friend in time." he chuckled. "Your hands will hurt at first, but you must persist if you wish to get anywhere. It is important to train the muscles in your hands, fingers, and wrists."
[23:18] <~Deedles> She nodded, hitting the tree again, her eyes twitch faintly, hinting at the fact that it hurt, but she kept up a brave face. "I won't be happy until I can hit it without it hurting." she stated, frowning down at her hand before she looked to Shen, a smile suddenly spreading across her face. "And once I've reached that point I bet I'll have another goal to reach too!"
[23:18] <~Deedles> she lifted her hands, closing them into fists as she looked determined. "All of it will be steps on the way to my big goal."
[23:22] <Shen> "I'm glad to see you are so determined." he leant against the tree as he watched. "After we leave, you must keep a routine: Wake before the sun rises, run around the village for an hour, hold the horse stance for an hour or until you collapse, whichever comes first. Then finally train on the tree for an hour." This was the same routine his father had given to him, something he still did to this day. "It will be hard at first, but a routine will
[23:23] <Shen> keep you sharp."
[23:25] <~Deedles> "It sounds tough, I can't imagine being able to get through all of that for a long time, but I will." Chiyoko told him, her smile widening "I'll do it everyday! Without fail." she promised him. "When I meet you three again I want to be stronger, I want to be able to show how I've improved. I'll work my hardest til that day."
[23:27] <Shen> Shen grins back at her. "Then when we next meet we'll have a spar and see if you've been skipping on your training or not."
[23:28] <~Deedles> "Then I will make it my mission to beat you!" Chiyoko proclaimed as she grinned right back at him, placing her hands on her hips.
[23:31] <Shen> "Hah! Maybe in a thousand years." he jested as he pushed himself off the tree then began walking back towards the inn. "If you fancy your chances, you better get to it!"
[23:33] <~Deedles> Chiyoko smiled "I will, and you should get some more rest!" she told him, though her smile softened before he had time to go, the girl placing her hands on her thighs as she bowed to him. "And thank you again." she added sincerely.
[23:34] <Shen> Shen smiled as he walked back into the inn, but said nothing.