Jiro's Training - Set One [T]

It was mid-morning, which meant that a certain Nara had just recently gotten out of bed and drug himself to the training facility. As it happened, Jiro didn't have any missions scheduled for today. And while that could have meant he had the day off, his conscience couldn't quite allow him to spend the whole day doing nothing. Maybe just half the day. In any case, he was here now, so he might as well put the work in.

Once inside, Jiro begins stretching his body, lifting his arms over his head and touching his toes, before straddling his legs and stretching out his inner thighs with a slight groan. He was stiff. That was his own fault for not doing these stretches enough, but he had to be limber to properly execute his kicks. Once he was good and stretched, Jiro took off at an easy jog around the facility, letting his muscles warm up before gradually increasing his pace to a full run, measuring his breaths and getting his heart pumping strongly. Sweat started to bead at his hairline, but he was only getting started.

When he started to feel fatigue in his legs, Jiro stopped off, letting his breath ease as he made his way to a stack of weighted grappling dummies, grabbing one up and hoisting it over his shoulder. He'd be practicing his throws today, so he needed something that resembled a human body to work with. He carried the dummy into a good, open space, and got to work. Starting with the dummy beside him, he first practiced grabbing and rotating it over his hip, slamming it onto the ground. He drilled this over and over again, feeling his lower back muscles work, adjusting his movements and using his legs to lift, getting used to the weight distribution and using it to fuel his momentum. When he felt that he had a solid grasp on the hip throw, he moved the dummy behind him and started working on throwing it over his shoulder. He followed the same basic principles, adjusting his body so that he could easily manipulate the dummy's weight and use it to his advantage, slamming it forcefully into the ground each time.

'I think I've got the hang of it,' he thought, satisfied with his progress. He'd still have to test it in actual combat, but he felt confident that he could perform it in action if he needed to. He wasn't going to give himself a break though, not yet. Next he wanted to work on his leg sweep. Hoisting the training dummy back up onto his shoulder, he returned it to the pile before taking himself over to a set of heavy logs, put there for the express purpose of honing strike power. Many of them were concave in spots from repetitive use. He picked out one that was sturdy along the bottom, standing in front of of it and centering his weight. Then he dropped down, letting out a strong yell as he spun and swung his leg heel first into the base of the log, feeling the force of the impact judder through his body.

Jiro then repeated the technique, falling into a rhythm, his hearty yells filling the air in between the solid thunks of his kicks against the wood. This was when it was time to push through the pain. His limbs wouldn't get any tougher if he pulled out when it started to get rough. He could feel the bruising settling deeper in his leg with every kick, but he wouldn't stop. This kind of pain was a rite of passage for all taijutsu specialists. His body would eventually get used to the high impact, and he'd be that much stronger for it.

After a while, Jiro paused and stood up, panting heavily. Sweat was running down his face freely now, and he mopped it up a bit with the bandages on his arm. That was enough practice... now it was time to test his real strength. He moved over to a smaller wooden pole, about ten inches in diameter. 'If I can't break this with my kick, I'll do two hundred squats,' he told himself, dropping into his stance and taking a deep breath. When he felt like he was ready, he released a mighty yell, dropping into a spin and slamming his heel into the base of the pole, just like he had on the bigger logs. The wood cracked and splintered, causing the pole to go a bit lopsided. But it didn't fall. Cursing, Jiro stood up and just stared at it a minute.

'... What a pain,' he thought, grumbling a sigh and lifting his hands behind his head, squaring his feet and starting to count off the squats. He didn't know why he put himself in these situations. The kick might not have been as powerful as he wanted, but it would be serviceable in a fight. He'd just have to get stronger. For now, he dutifully counted the squats, and by the time he had finished them, his legs felt near enough ready to fall off. More than enough work for one day. Sighing, Jiro stopped off at the water fountain for a long drink before heading off to go lay on a lawn somewhere.

[Exit]
______________________________
WC: 886
WC Claims: +5 Strength, +3 Speed; Training at 25% facility discount. 375 WC for Tsuri-goshi (D), 375 WC for Leaf Gale (D)