| PHD #314: Rhythm and Flow |
| Summary: | Andrea and Khloe have a sparring session. Madilyn's along for the wobbly ride. |
| Date: | 06 Jan 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | Previous Andrea and Khloe logs |
| Players: |
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| Athletics Area - Deck 12 - Battlestar Cerberus |
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| A large pair of mats dominates the center of this room, their centers taped-out for a small area to practice boxing or other martial arts. Around the outside are treadmills, bikes, weights, and an impressive variety of gym equipment to help tone and shape the bodies of the crew. To one side of the room is the locker room while at the rear is a hatch that leads back to the oversized swimming pool. Off to the side is a rack that holds boxing gloves, pugil sticks, and the associated pads for the sticks. |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #314 |
Khloe comes into the athletics area shortly after Andrea, a duffel slung over her shoulder; she's dressed in a mixture of off-duty greens (tanks) and sweats (bottoms). At the moment, she doesn't seem to be headed towards any work-out stations, but instead sets up shop by the boxing area, setting her duffel down on a table and beginning to rummage through. Rather self-consciously, she occasionally glances around, but notes that the place is virtually empty. She does notice the Major, and if their eyes meet, gives an acknowledging nod in her direction. She hasn't yet noticed the one person she *should* have noticed by now, and that's Hosedown.
Breathe in, breathe out. In and out. Focused breathing in time with the steps; it doesn't give Madilyn much free oxygen to say anything to either of the other two women, but a small nod is noticable. There's still another 10 minutes on her routine for the day. A hand is raised however to point Khloe in Andrea's direction, saying what needs to be said without saying a thing.
Andrea gravitates over to the rhythm bag, pulling on her gloves and starting a warm-up on the thing while she moves around on it. Her rhythm is better than it had been, but is far from perfect. Good thing she flies better than she punches.
Khloe follows Madilyn's indication, and sure enough, there's Andrea. Giving the Major another nod, this time in thanks, Khloe heads over in the redhead's direction. "Your technique sucks, Hosedown," she says by way of greeting.
Though she's already involved in her own workout, it won't stop Madilyn from observing the two pilots. There may come a day when, gods forbid, pilots may be called upon to actually utilize hand-to-hand techniques. It's a learning experience all-around!
Hosedown gives the bag one last bash as she turns to face the Captain. "Got pretty out of practice. That's why I'm trying to get back in it." She looks Khloe over. "Any tips on the rhythm bag, or should we head straight to the ring?"
Khloe reaches out to steady the bag. "Like I've said recently, I'm no boxer, but it's pretty easy to develop a simple routine. I'm told that there's a certain rhythm you have to find in order to properly tone up and create the right muscle-memory. So watch:" Poppy, her hands not taped up just yet, starts a simple one-one-two-two rhythm on the bag, creating a discernable pattern in how the bag vibrates and wobbles back and forth. "Hear this? See? You want to try and hit it in the same place every time as well as have it generate the same noise. Takes some getting used to." She stops the bag. "You try, now. I'm going to get taped up."
Andrea steps up to the bag and starts working the bag. It's still not perfect, but focusing on the sound seems to have helped, the rhythm is much improved. "Suppose thats why they call it a rhythm ba… damn it…" talking interrupts her rhythm, and so she shuts up to get back in time. Congrats, the way to get Hosedown to shut up has been discovered!
Khloe begins the process of taping up her hands, but instead of wasting tape she seems to have cloth wraps which are affixed with a much smaller length of tape. Waste not, want not. Once she's satisfied, she slips her gloves on, tugging with her teeth when she needs to. Khloe notices the fact that Andrea is concentrating, which gets her an approving, appreciating glance from her SL - not that she'd notice, it's to her back. "Right, that's it," she calls out to her.
"Try one hand…first." Thanks Madilyn, sage advice huh? The words do indeed come from the Marine CO. "Just get it going with your main hand, first. Once you know how and where to hit, then start getting your other hand involved." Looks like the little power walking session is either done, or coming to an end prematurely.
"Uh, right." Andrea lets one hand drop to her side as she starts focusing on one hand, her right. She starts humming as she does it, allowing the tune to help her focus on the rhythm. Odd choice, given the context, and Aerilonian lullabye, but it fits the beat she has going. "I like the sound of it," she says, experimentally, and grins a little when she manages to hold the rhythm.
Khloe comes back over, flexing her gloved hands, causing the well-worn and well-loved gloves to creak. Nobody's had the guts to say it, but Khloe really doesn't have ladylike hands; comes from working Viper controls and the frequent athletics training she does. Very strong hands do not lend themselves to attractiveness. "Sounds like you're getting it. And yes, the Major is right, I'd even practice one hand at a time as part of a regular routine."
"Having a song in mind certainly can't hurt, strange as it seems." Madilyn-be-darned, it seems like Andra's already gotten that figured out. The treadmill is coming to a slow stop, going through the cool-down routine, even as Madilyn takes the towel hanging on the hand grip and starts to wipe her face off. "Rhythm bags and heavy bags are two completely different beasts, after all."
Andrea steps away from the bag, gripping her own fists in their gloves as she turns to Madilyn with a small smile. "Thanks, sir. That really helped a lot." She then glances over at Khloe of the man hands and nods her chin to the ring. "Wanna warm up on the heavy bag? I'll hold it for you."
"Actually, I was just going to knock this thing around for a bit," Khloe says, tapping the rhythm bag with her gloved hand. "Today's my off day for heavy impact training." How the woman finds the time and energy to hit the athletic center almost daily is a wonder, but I suppose it comes from having a barren social life. She begins with a simple rhythm, much like what Hosedown was managing to tap out. Then she mixes it up with crosses.
Stepping down off the treadmill, Madilyn seems to be holding onto those railings a little harder than usual; those fingers sure are sinking into the rubberized coating a little deeper than someone of her weight norally should. In addition to the normally wobbly legs that result from time spent on a treadmill she looks a little unsteady on her feet, hanging onto the rail and taking a breather; this is unusual if you've ever been here with her before.
Standing back, Andrea watches as Khloe starts working the bag, and stretches her own arms and shoulders. She glances at Mads with a friendly nod. "Need all the help I can get getting back into shape, so thank you again. I should sign up for some more of those Marine training sessions, once we're stood down again." She'll always be a Viper girl, of course, but it never hurt to be interdisciplinary. Another glance at Khloe. "Low impact? We are planning on sparring, right?" Her eyes narrow. "Did you just make a joke, Poppy?"
"Based on the last performance you gave me, yes, low impact. Besides, last time, we were fighting. We'll be focusing on specific techniques today, and I won't be hitting you back." A beat. "Much." Backata-backata-backata goes the rhythm bag, and the Knights SL isn't paying much attention to whatever difficulty the Marine Major might be having. Even if she was looking in her direction, the Captain doesn't know the Major well enough to make a snap judgment.
For the record, this isn't ordinary for Madilyn, and she /did/ over-do it, just a little today. Partly her fault, and she's going to feel it later…and probably hear about it later on, too. "I just wish I could say the same, hm? Sometimes my fitness advice isn't exactly the greatest in the Twelve Colonies," Madilyn replies with a wan smile, motioning to her present situation with good-humor, dry though it may be.
"I appreciate it, Poppy, though I don't want this to be a complete waste of time for you, either." Then she laughs. "Ok, ok, and if you get in a pop now and then for some old payback, no harm no foul. So long as I don't miss flight time, right?" Rolling her neck on her shoulders, she gives Madilyn another grin. "We all do what we have to, eh?"
Nodding to Hosedown, Poppy finishes her last rep on the bag, giving it a good whack at the end. "Tags are still coming off, Lieutenant. Just so we're clear. I'm offering to help you get to something resembling fighting form, but I won't have someone outside our agreement question what exactly happened between us. If you get a busted lip or I get a black eye, I don't want any questions raised or rumors flying. Got it?" Looking over to Madilyn, Khloe straightens a little. "Major, if you have any advice, I'm sure it'll be appreciated, sir. I've nothing but respect for the Corps."
"The tags should come off. It saves a lot of paperwork time for us, and potential brig time for one of you. That's my advice, officially." That, of course, suggests there's some advice to offer that's not official. "Unofficially," Madilyn starts, "all the training in the world is great, in theory. If it's you and a reasonable number of attackers made of flesh and bone, your training will serve you well. When it's you and a Centurion…things change."
"Yeah, if its me an a Centurion, all the sparring in the world won't make a bit of difference. I'm not gonna try to punch a block of chrome." Andrea gives a grin at that, then hooks a glove under he necklace and tosses it to a table by the ring as she walks into the middle of it. "Run like hell, grab a weapon of some sort. And if I have to stand and a hold a line…" she shrugs. "Make peace with the Gods, and annoy it as much as possible before I get gutted? That's for a Centurion. A skinjob, who knows?"
Khloe grunts softly as she heads over towards the boxing area. "I'll be damned that if I get into hand to hand with a Centurion, I'm going to do my damndest to smudge his shiny finish before he guts me," she mutters. Sounds like she's been hanging out with Elf and Vandenberg from her language. But then again, all three of them are Canceron natives. "All right, Hosedown. We're going to take some of that rhythm and apply it to throwing punches. We'll start with one hand, then the other." Putting up her hands, flattened and palm out, she says, "Only go for the center mass of my hands."
Andrea nods, and keeping one hand up in case Khloe lets something fly, she starts sending a short flurry of punches at Khloe, always aiming for the center mass of each hand, alternating, trying to find her rhythm and watch her footwork. None of the flailing from their last fight, when Andrea was just trying to get a hit or two in before she went down.
"Good," Khloe says, as Andrea throws her punches. "Don't just throw your arm out; try to follow with your shoulder. Don't be afraid of hurting my hands, either, but also don't punch so hard you burn yourself out." The coaching continues, as Khloe slowly begins to move around the ring, forcing Andrea to move her feet as well. "Don't stand flat-footed." Much of Khloe's coaching seems to be criticism, but it's not unexpected.
"Weight…well, more specifically, mass, but also acceleration. Those are the components of force. The tighter, the denser your fist, the faster the acceleration, the more force. The more you throw your body into it, well, the more force. It's all so simple when you apply physics to it. Shame combat itself can't be so simple." As long as Madilyn's watching, she's going to comment, at the very least.
Andrea circles with her SL, adjusting her form as the critique demands, trying to focus more on the feel of how she moves than the raw mechanics of that motion. Fist moves, shoulder follows, powered by turn of hips. She's not a monster with huge arms, but a dancers body can generate some force when moving correctly and she's taken some dance in her childhood.
Not quite following along to Khloe's orders, the older woman barks out, "Follow me, gods-damnit, and don't lose your rhythm!" When Andrea fails to follow suit, Khloe begins barking out. "One, two! One, two! Move your feet!" And then, the more skilled fighter reaches out and taps Andrea beneath her jaw and ear, likely doing more to irritate the woman than cause any damage. But that certainly would have been a knockout blow if she were swinging for real. "If you don't follow the rhythm, you end up chasing it, and leave yourself open. Now concentrate."
"It's not all about the punches though. The captain's right. It's just as much about your feet as it is your contact, blocking, and countering. In a game of life or death, balance can be everything." Don't mind the fact that Madilyn's still a little wobbly on her legs and feet from the treadmill walk. A few pacing laps in small circles while watching pilots, hands-on-hips, seems to be working that off, however.
Shaking her head to clear the frustration, Andrea's eyes show a flash of anger when she is so easily love tapped, but instead starts to focus on moving more smoothly, trying to will her feet to stay in the circle as she moves around. She focuses on the beat she'd set earlier. It's like a dance, girl, a dance…
"Better!" Khloe states firmly as Andrea finds her rhythm and placement. "Much better. Alright, hold." Khloe steps back out of Andrea's arm reach. "What did you do differently? It's part physical, sure, but also part mental. Think about it."
Andrea steps back, considering. "The beat… I tried to focus on it, like I did before. It made the footwork feel more like, well, dancing, which made more sense to me. Like you were my dancing partner." She thinks harder. "Every individual body motion was part of a greater whole. A step forward was also a balance as I turned with you. Each punch was combined with a turn at the hips and push with my shoulders."
Khloe nods slightly. "All right. That's a good enough explanation. Let's try one more time." She puts her hands up, inviting Andrea to take more shots. "Just like before."