fandomhighdorms | Front Lawn, Sunday Late Afternoon

"Hey, Adam." Charlie had put on shorts and a tank for this, and kicked off her sandals as she got closer. "I should probably stretch first, hunh? Thanks for doing this."

"Hey Charlie." Adam grinned. "Yeah, just so you don't accidentally injure yourself. Better safe than sorry." He admitted, then shrugged. "Anytime, really."

Charlie sat down on the grass and stretched out her legs, touching her fingers to her toes, then smiled up at Adam. "So. Um. Where do we start? I was trying to hit Professor Deadpool with sticks a couple weeks ago, and I just sucked at it."

"Well, I didn't know if you had anything specific in mind you wanted to go over." Adam offered, with a smile. "Oh, stick fighting. Yeah, that's something I've learned a bit about in my time training."

"Cool. Only maybe we should start slower than that," Charlie admitted. "Since I sucked at it. Maybe just how to throw a punch?" She got to her feet, and stretched out her neck and shoulders. "Or kick? Something I can use to get away from people. I don't like the idea of being boxed in."

"Sounds good to me." Adam nodded. "I hardly believe that. We can go over punching and kicking, if you'd like. Yeah, it's definitely not something people really want to think about." He admitted. "Have you ever had any experience with fighting? Of any kind?" It was a routine question he asked his students back home. It was good to gauge what they might and might not have done.

Charlie could feel her face freeze for a minute, her body stiffening up, then forced herself to relax. "Not really," she said, her voice mostly normal. "Seen some fighting. Never really participated."

Adam noticed the slight pause before answering, but wasn't about to say anything. "Okay, just wanted to double check. Sometimes, people have prior experiences, but they're incorrect as far as form goes." He admitted.

"To start off, you want to make sure you arms and legs are loose so when you get into a fighting stance, like this (http://www.mysticpoints.net/gallery/albums/mmpr/season2/rangers/adam/52/adam-52-6.jpg), so you're able to easily defend yourself." Adam started off.

Charlie relaxed a little more, then nodded. "Okay. Got it." She took the mostly-correct stance, then stretched her fingers. "How did you get into this, anyway?" she asked, punching the air in front of her experimentally.

Adam smiled, noting her stance was very good. "When I was younger, I was picked on a lot, for being smaller than the other kids." He admitted. "And I was hardly ever picked for teams. So, I got into martial arts to build self-confidence. And I've been with it ever since."

Charlie flashed him a smile, and said, "Cool. That sounds like a great reason to get into it. You don't look like you'd be picked last now," she teased. "Right. How do I throw a punch?"

"Yeah, it's one of the better reasons." Adam chuckled. He smiled shyly. "No, I guess not."

Adam settled into instructor mode. "Okay, first I want to visualize a target. You're going to want to aim for its center. You want to take your back hand and pivot that shoulder towards your center." He demonstrated the move. "When you throw a punch with that hand, you want to make sure your arm is fully extended straight out towards that target." Adam instructed, demonstrating that part. "You want to make sure there's enough force behind it to make an impact, but you don't want to lose your footing." He showed her once more.

Slowly, Charlie followed his moves, pivoting, then extending her hand, without any force behind it the first time. "I keep my thumb outside, right? I know that much." She repeated the punch movement, putting as much oomph! into it as she could, but moving her feet as she punched out.

"That's right, yes." Adam smiled, nodding. "Try pivoting your hips and your waist a bit more when you execute a punch, your feet might not move as much."

Charlie nodded, then punched out again, turning her body into it more. "Oh, I get it. Like that?" Another punch with her other hand. "Who did you learn martial arts from?"

"You got it. Perfect." Adam nodded, smiling. "I studied under an instructor in my one hometown Stone Canyon. He was a friend of my father's." He explained ~~as it was never revealed in canon~~.

"There a series of throws you can use with both hands. It's a jab-jab-punch combo." Adam offered and then displayed it for her. "The two jabs can be with whatever arm you'd like. I use my stronger arm for those."

"Jab, jab, punch," Charlie said, doing it very slowly again, trying to make it feel natural. "I don't know if I can actually hit someone... I mean, I guess I can, if they're menacing me, but I'm worried I'm going to panic and not be able to do anything at all." She bit her lip. "Or, um. Try to use telekinesis on them. Which might not work out so well."

"Okay, I can show you some defensive moves if you'd like." Adam offered. "Yeah, I know a few people who have that fear." He wanted her to know she wasn't the only one with that fear. It was common and not silly. "Telekinesis, I've never known anyone with that power." He admitted. "But that seems like it would come in handy in some situations, but you're right. I'm not so sure it would turn out favorably. But in situations where you're in danger, you have to stay calm and use everything you know to get out safely."

"I'm not really comfortable with it," Charlie said, a little uneasy with admitting this still. "I've only been practicing a couple weeks again, after years of not using it. Which is why knowing something like martial arts would be a good idea, I think. So I don't freak out." She took a breath. "And yes, please. Defensive moves."

"Martial arts is always a good thing to know." Adam agreed. "All right. There are a few throws you can use should someone try to grab you." He explained, demonstrating and talking through a judo throw (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Judo01cropped.jpg). "In a real fight, throwing your attacker to the ground can shock and injure them, and the impact can potentially knock them unconscious. It all depends on the surface. If you'd like, I can walk you through the throw as you try it on me."

"Okay," Charlie said, nervous. "If it's not going to hurt you. I mean, we're on grass, it shouldn't, but..."

"Don't worry, I'll be okay." Adam reassured her. "I know how to fall. That's another thing I can teach you, too. If you'd like?"

"Sure, show me," Charlie said, taking a step closer, trying to smile, still nervous, but trusting Adam to help.

"Okay." Adam nodded, hoping this too could help Charlie with her Mercenary workshop. "Knowing how to fall properly can help you avoid injury during an encounter or even training." He began. "What you want to do is get a good sense of balance first. The way I learned, was to crouch a bit low to the ground and fall backwards slowly, slapping the ground as I touched down. It's a bit silly, but it helps to condition you when taking a full on hit and falling from your full height."

Charlie grinned. "Slap the ground? Really?" She bent her legs, and tried to fall back, then grabbed Adam's arm. "Okay, just, fall? Just let go?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Adam smiled, knowing it was a bit foolish. "I used to do for confidence. It made me feel good, knowing I'd made the fall without injury."

He smiled, knowing her worry. "I'll be right here to steady you. You can try and bend as close to the ground as possible, so you don't have far to fall." He knew it would be better to do on mats. "We could always practice this in the gym on the mats, if you would feel more comfortable there?"

"No." She swallowed, shaking her head, then smiling. "I can do it, just-- spot me? So I don't land too hard or hit my head?" Charlie closed her eyes a second, took a breath, blew it out, then said, "Okay. Ready."

She bent her knees, then started to fall backward, one arm out like he'd shown her, hoping this wasn't going to hurt too much.

"I'm right here, I'll make sure you're okay." Adam nodded, completely serious. He wasn't going to let anything happen to Charlie. "Okay, you'll be fine."

He was behind her ready to catch her if it looks like she was going to hurt herself. But, her fall seemed perfectly fine.

Charlie fell, and felt the impact on the grass jar her entire body, slapping her arm out to catch part of the force; and it hurt, but not as much as she'd thought it would. Gulping for air, she smiled up at Adam, thrilled. "It worked! I did it! Kind of. Ow."

"I knew you could," Adam grinned. He offered a hand to help her up. "You okay?" He really hoped she hadn't gotten hurt, he'd feel terrible.

"Yeah, just a little sore. But it worked!" Charlie marveled. "Cooool. Can you spot me again? I want to try that a couple more times."

"Sure, I can do that." Adam smiled happily. "Just let me know when you want to try something else."

"Awesome."

They spent the rest of the afternoon practicing various self-defense moves, and laughing when Charlie screwed them up, cheering when she got them right. Then went off to find lemonade and somewhere cool to relax.

Front Lawn, Sunday Late Afternoon

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