(open) miyagi-do gathering for new & existing students!

[miyagimagic]

Who: You, you, and you!
What: For members of Miyagi-do, those interested in Miyagi-do, and whoever else might end up there! (Visiting a friend, etc)
When: Some time first half of month.
Where: At Miyagi-do Dojo in Crenshaw!

MIYAGI-DO: A NEW DAY (AN APRIL LOG)

Miyagi-do has seen some unexpected activity in the last few weeks, but has also--fortunately--seen a return to normality. An upgrade, even, where the damage sustained after a student's accidental explosion caught parts of the dojo in the ensuing chaos now gone after hard work hired, with thanks to the builders and those who helped with funds.

Even the sensei of the dojo has recovered from his own injuries, welcoming students--old and potentials--to classes. Along with a few touch-ups to the dojo, there are other changes, new and old, that should be addressed:

1. A (SEMI-)NEW SENSEI

He's been around for a month now, but here's your formal introduction to Miyagi-do's second sensei, Sensei Toguchi. Sensei LaRusso would have introduced him as a...not old, but dear friend from back home who has also learned from the school of Miyagi-do back in Okinawa. Skilled in the use of sais, you may find Sensei Toguchi a different kind of sensei from Daniel LaRusso. But we'll let you see that for yourself.

2. YOUR VERY OWN SNACK PROVIDER

Truthfully, this is a figure who's been around the dojo since the start, doing exactly what he does now...but Daniel LaRusso would not be himself if he didn't take some time to introduce Hakkai to the class as the person who makes their snacks and refreshments. Because Hakkai deserves his thanks, and you cannot escape a dad man like Daniel.

3. ICE BRACELETS: A NEW FORM OF PROTECTION

Miyagi-do has always worked to help individuals with what it is they want out of the dojo. Sometimes, this can just mean having somewhere to meditate and to find comfort in your own body than to focus on the fighting aspect. But Miyagi-do always leans towards protection, and learning how to respond and to engage with danger. It works to help individuals learn how they can use their own powers in ways that they prefer.

And in his announcement for the start of April's lessons, Sensei LaRusso has a bracelet to share to those who want one, after he's explained what they are. They're ice-powered bracelets--not super powerful, but with proper training they can be used as a means of defence. Spread ice over the ground, freeze certain limbs to surfaces, or even use it to shroud an enemy's face just long enough to distract them.

Sensei LaRusso will show how to use the bracelets to manifest the ice, and Robby Keene will also help in demonstrations, as well as with students individually. Dummies and can be used as stationary targets, and are a great way to learn how to disappear the ice, too--especially if you want to focus on using them for actual living targets, which either Sensei LaRusso or Robby can help with (or, if you're really that into getting iced...!).

ENDING NOTES

This log covers the first lesson of April, as well as continuing forward if you want to add extra days and lessons! Please familiarise yourself with what Miyagi-do teaches. Newcomers are welcomed, and there will always be a place to get food and drink...thank you, Hakkai.

Feel free to make your own toplevels on this log, it's meant as a mingle for existing students and those interested in checking out Miyagi-do! You can hang around the snack table, practice some karate, meet the teachers (and food provider...), maybe try out the new fun ice bracelets or.. you know, you can always just hang out with Daniel's Omen. He's a good boy who will stop to get belly rubs from everyone. You can't reject him. Sorry if you sat down for three seconds and are now stuck with a dog on your lap. He will not move.

Comments

2

[miyagimagic]

[ Are Chozen's lessons.. a little different from Daniel's own? Sure. Even before ever seeing Chozen at work here in the dojo, Daniel figured as much. They're just too different of people to do things the same way. But there's still an unconditional trust that Daniel has put into the other man after reconciling back in Okinawa, and it also means that Daniel trusts Chozen completely with the students. WHich says a lot, given just how protective Daniel can be of these kids.

And it helps that Chozen picking up a lesson - or a special lesson - gives Daniel a little bit more time to rest. Even if his back was healed magically for a good deal, the man doesn't exactly want to test the limits of that magic and hurt his back all over again.

So he's content to be here for this, but just-- watching. Sitting. He's being good and staying quiet while Chozen is acting out his entire spiel, not wanting to ruin the moment. Instead Daniel just looks over at the kids while petting the Omen on his lap, all the way until the kids disperse to look for proper hiding places or protective methods. ]

You think they're going to do well? [ There's no tone in Daniel's voice to indicate what he himself thinks - like he's entirely asking mister wolf's opinion over here, smiling a little at Chozen.

Daniel's Omen hops off his lap, trotting a few steps before flopping down on the deck right next to Chozen's Omen. He surrenders. Yes, he knows, he's not part of this exercise. But he would just like to be part of this cuddle pile? Yes? Please? Thanks?

Daniel himself seems to ignore the creature, instead still glancing at Chozen as he's speaking on. ]

It's pretty different from what they're used to.

[ If not just because Daniel is as intimidating as a stick of butter. ]

[toguchi]

[ Daniel's Omen is set upon by Chozen's with a tidy swiftness, climbing atop his fuzzy side and balancing there as her beak dives down to begin grooming his ruff. He can feel her fussy contentment in his own unfeathered breast, and comes very close to breaking his fearsome composure with a smile.

Instead, he covertly pauses the timer on his Omni and ambles closer to Daniel, turning his back on the scattering students. He does not mind letting them sweat for a few extra moments to consult with his co-teacher.

He squats down near Daniel and dangles his hands over his knees, unself-conscious and at ease even as he narrows his eyes conspicuously at a gaggle of students, but his easy tone when he speaks is entirely at odds with his projected intensity. ]

They will do well. [ His Omen waggles her tailfeathers in agreement, still beak deep in fluff. ] They came to lesson, and they will learn.

[ He says it with every sincere confidence, as if he has already seen the outcome of the training. He glances sideways at Daniel, and this time he does allow himself a slight and fleeting smile, no more than a vanishing quirk of the lips. ]

Broken bones, very educational. Almost never make same mistakes twice.

[miyagimagic]

[ It's amazing how quickly some things can lose their power. It's like the force of Chozen's impressive ability to seem like a different person entirely was used up instantly during that brief day they spent together in Okinawa, and now it holds no power of Daniel anymore whatsoever. No matter how much Chozen pulls out the technique here, it just can't intimidate Daniel anymore.

Not that Chozen is really trying here, with the way he even shows that brief hint of a smile to him. But even if he hadn't, Daniel would have the same reaction he does now. A huff of laughter, mostly because he's trying to surpress a full on laugh before any of the fretting students may catch on to the fact that their situation is not quite as dire as they might imagine it is.

Because Daniel knows that Chozen would never harm as much as a single hair on any of these students' heads. ]

It's like we're playing good cop, bad cop here. [ Daniel lowers his voice just a touch as he says it. Mostly out of respect for Chozen's entire act here, not wanting to ruin things.

Mostly for Chozen's sake, but-- you know, Daniel just thinks it's a little bit funny too, seeing all of this play out. ] Let's keep the roles this way around though, I don't think I can pull it off the way you do.

[toguchi]

[ Perhaps Daniel is letting his guard down too quickly. Chozen could be concealing any number of sinister, anti-student machinations under his twinkling eyes. He has already had some ideas involving small electric shocks...

...ideas he will only use to torment his fellow teacher in the abstract. Daniel has him dead to rights, and it is not as though Chozen is truly trying to pull the wool over Daniel's eyes. It is, as Daniel observes, about playing. ]

Are you sure? You can be...very intense.

[ And in games, it is only far to offer to sometimes change roles. It is not fun to only ever play the good guy, when bad guys can do so many other things. That, and Daniel did seem to relish some parts of the investigation of the dastardly Mike Barnes. ]

I could give you special lesson too, Daniel-san. It would be like - ah, what do you call it in America? 'Make over scene'?

[ Said with the absolute innocence of a man who has not once, ever, watched ridiculous reality television. ]

You could be like Mafia gangster. Very scary.

[miyagimagic]

[ There's already something inherently hilarious about Chozen calling him very intense, when he's spent a summer staring at Daniel's doe-like expression and then, decades later, Daniel's awkwardness. It's not even the sort of thing Daniel feels bad over. He knows what he is, and he's relatively confident in it.

But between the two of them, he's pretty sure he knows who the intense one is. And when Chozen then continues, moving down the line past his make over scene idea, and then onto that last line-- well, it's hard for Daniel to fully surpress a laugh by then. He tries, keeping his lips together to keep the students from hearing him all the way across the yard where they have been scattered, but the amused sound still spills out at least a little. ]

The Mafia, huh?

[ Judging by the amused twinkle in Daniel's eyes when he looks at Chozen, he's already imagining it. It's kind of funny, though Daniel isn't sure who's at the short end of the joke in that scenario. ]

You think I haven't wasted my chance at that by telling these kids all sorts of sappy things? [ Because he has.

He sure has, Chozen. You have no idea about the sappy shit he's been telling these kids. It's truly embarrassing. ]

[toguchi]

[ If he knew what Daniel was thinking about his own intensity, Chozen would smile, insist that something is lost in translation. He uses English with Daniel even though he knows that the ambient magic here would make Japanese as intelligible to his ears as his mother tongue, a gesture he would not quite know how to explain in either language.

But it is not really that kind of lost in translation. The meaning of the word is not in question. It's the understanding of intent that has fallen short. Chozen is entirely serious about Daniel's intensity. It is a quieter type than many possess, veiled by Daniel's first instinct always towards gentleness - but in the moments Chozen has seen Daniel called to rise to a true challenge, he has never failed to do so.

Here and now, all Chozen knows is that he is enjoying a pleasant conversation with his friend struggling to conceal his amusement - and Chozen hardly ever fails to rise to an occasion to tease. ]

Yes. The Mafia. Your American Yakuza.

[ Italian-American, Chozen. ]

And I do not think so. It would make you more threatening, that you concealed your true nature so long behind friendly smile. With me, they expect mean teacher - with you, terrible surprise!

[miyagimagic]

[ Yup, that sounds like Chozen, alright. Daniel lets out an amused huff this way, shaking his head as if in disapproval, despite the fact that Daniel seems thoroughly amused at the other man's words at the very same time as he's shaking his head. It's kind of amazing how some mannerisms can be so Chozen, almost the same as they were all those decades ago, yet the intent behind them has completely flipped around.

Amazing in a good way, though.

Daniel opens his mouth as if he's about to answer with something, but then something catches his eye among the students moving across the dojo. Most of them look like they've got some sort of plan at this point and are in the middle of carrying it out, but there's still definitely one running around like a panicked chicken..

.. oh, Peter. Daniel knew he was forgetting something in the middle of giving Chozen free reign with the dojo and its students. He watches the boy nearly trip over his own feet before quickly further scurrying off. ]

Hey, Chozen? Don't go too hard on Peter.

[ Whatever may qualify as 'not too hard' in Chozen's book, which is doubtlessly different from Daniel "won't let his kids jump on a trampoline without helmets" LaRusso's own.. ]

He may pass out. [ Especially when Chozen is at his Chozen-iest. ] Literally. I'm not exaggerating.

[ At least he thinks most of the other kids would be able to handle Chozen surprisingly well. The youngest bunch really are all tough.. or just relatively unflappable. ]

[toguchi]

[ Ah, yes. Peter. Chozen's composure finally does drop slightly as he watches the boy go, shaking his head slightly. At a distance, it no doubt will still look like some form of disapproval. ]

Has that happened before?

[ He is quite sincere with the question. Even in the line up, the young man appeared on the verge of a psychic and emotional collapse. Chozen is reminded of an amusing online video he once watched featuring small, nervous goats which collapsed into heaps at loud and shocking noises. ]

I will not break your students today, Daniel-san.

[ So much for threats of Mafia makeovers and shattered bones as teaching tools. Children are resilient, and need not be as coddled as some think - but individual circumstances do call for occasional adjustment.

Chozen's Omen kneads Daniel's fluff with her feet and adds an affirming chirp to support her Sleeper's statement. She will also not be doing any breaking of her fellow Omens. ]

But perhaps I should begin the chase. I do not want to leave them in too much suspense!

[miyagimagic]

[ It seems that Daniel is opting for a non-verbal answer to that question, because.. truly, the answer is too difficult to grasp in words. Since it's technically no, Daniel hasn't seen that before, but the look Daniel gives Chozen definitely suggests that he doesn't think it's outside of the realm of possibilities.

Especially with Chozen at his most Chozen. Peter never would have survived in Daniel's shoes during his little Okinawa adventure.

(Not to mention that Daniel isn't too sure whether the demon inside Peter could take over if he's a little too shocked, and.. you know, the last thing they need to deal with today would be a demon in the dojo.)

He's sure Chozen got the general intention behind his gaze, so Daniel just nods when the other arrives at that last line. ]

Sure. I'll stick around here. [ Mostly because Daniel's Omen apparently sure has decided to do so.. He doesn't gave to give up his personal massage. :( ] Once you start sending the kids over here, I'll make sure to thoroughly agree with them about how scary you are.

[ Don't worry, Chozen. He'll help you keep up your ruse. ]

[toguchi]

Thank you, Daniel-san. Your cooperation is appreciated.

[ It may be for the best Chozen doesn't know about the demon yet. He is far too likely to become curious about it, and it is the last thing they need running around the dojo today.

(In the future, though...? Surely, even a demon can benefit from the wholesome instruction of Miyagi-do.)

Chozen risks flashing Daniel a mischievous grin as he fishes out his Omni and cancels the time, which would have already run over by a minute or so. He throws his head back and lets out a surprisingly (or unsurprisingly, given who his audience is) credible wolf's howl, then presses up to his feet off his haunches. ]

Keep running, students! Or soon I will catch you, and eat you up!

[ He takes off running, pausing only long enough to grab the first of the weapons he will be menacing the youth with today. Back with Daniel and his Omen, the shadowy Okinawa rail fluffs out her feathers and settles down on top of her first prize, still idly preening his ruff into a rather distinguished configuration. ]

[miyagimagic]

[ No, that howl, the theatrics - they're absolutely not surprising. Not even in a single way. If Daniel would have to make a list of the people in his life he'd believe capable of that, it would be a very, very short list, but Chozen would definitely make the cut.

It's why he mostly seems a little amused when the other does that and then runs off like that, shaking his head with a faint smile that he manages to wipe off his face a moment later, just in case Chozen sends at least one student to the time out corner that quickly. (That wouldn't surprise Daniel either.)

Instead he glances for a moment at the content ritual the two Omens seem to have found themselves in, before turning his gaze back out at the garden, ready to greet the students sent here. ]