Kindred Spirits

[Ichi]

Thankfully, Ayame had a very fast reaction time. Noticing the rear (right) leg roundhouse kick in the nick of time, Ayame pulled her head back and stepped her right foot back, landing on the ball of her foot. Blair's foot sailed past Ayame's face, missing it by only a couple inches.

Then, Ayame would follow up with her own roundhouse kick, aimed at Blair's body! This was a textbook counter. While throwing her kick, Ayame's left hand would raise up to protect her head and her right arm would swing downwards to create momentum. Ayame's kick would come out quickly, giving Blair little time to react.

Meta Information

The momentum of the missed roundhouse kick would have likely put Blair in a suboptimal position. Blair's back would probably be slightly exposed at this point. In this position, Blair has several options:

One option would be to raise her right leg/knee to do a high check and block Ayame's kick.

Another option would be to use the momentum of the whiffed roundhouse kick to launch another spinning attack (i.e. spinning backfist, spinning back elbow, spinning back kick, wheel kick, etc). However, Ayame has her left hand up so she would be somewhat protected against a spinning attack, since a spinning attack to the head at this point would be coming towards the left side of Ayame's head (an attack to the right side of the head would be going against the momentum of the kick). Even if Ayame blocks the attack to the head, however, it still would not be pleasant to receive such an attack. Alternatively, Blair could go to the body with a spinning kick, either targeting Ayame's side or front. Ayame's elbow would provide some protection against a spinning kick to the side of her body, but her front would be relatively unprotected at this point (so a spinning back kick to the body could work). Moreover, a spinning backfist or a spinning back elbow to the body would probably be very unlikely as I believe that those strikes are usually thrown to the head (I could be wrong about that though).

A third option would be to throw a side kick with her right leg, although that would probably be less likely since Blair's base is in Muay Thai and Muay Thai does not typically utilize side kicks (side kicks are more heavily utilized in Karate and Taekwondo). If Blair threw this, it would catch Ayame off-guard.

A fourth option could be to throw a backfist with her right hand to try and hit Ayame either straight on or on the right side of the head (such a move would not be likely as such a move would strike be as more "Karate" than "Muay Thai"). It would be quite surprising if Blair threw this (probably even more so than if she threw a side kick) and would potentially capitalize on the fact that Ayame swung her right hand downwards during her kick. Again, I emphasize that this would be VERY unexpected and also VERY unlikely for Blair to do.

[CaptainL]

Blair had come in swinging, quite literally - as soon as she had received the go-ahead, she would go back into their spar by throwing a roundhouse kick at Ayame, hoping to get a good hit on her before she could fully ready herself into the right mindset to defend. Such an attack would catch Ayame off guard and set her up for further punishment, as well as showcasing just how powerful Blair's hits were in order to prove what the red-haired girl was up against. Blair wasn't usually one to brag, but she liked to think that her actions spoke louder than words, and getting taken down with one of her signature kicks would prove to Ayame that she was no one to trifle with.

Unfortunately, none of those plans came to fruition considering that Ayame was able to dodge at the last minute, leaving Blair's leg to only hit the air. As she came to rest, Blair looked back at her with an eyebrow raised, before a smile came to the corners of her mouth. But Blair had no time to say anything more, considering that Ayame was about to throw a kick of her own! Thinking quickly, Blair indeed lifted up her right leg, bent at the knee and held in front of her to stop Ayame's foot. With both fighters holding the positions, a pause ensued, the moment frozen in time. From there, Blair nodded her head to Ayame.

"Impressive," Blair said. "You've got better reaction time than I would have guessed at first...that's definitely going to do you well." She would soon transition into her next attack, however, dropping her right leg and taking a step forward to close the distance before she would use the momentum of her next stride to kick up with her left, aiming a knee right at her opponent!

[Ichi]

In typical Muay Thai fashion, Blair checked Ayame's counter kick. Fortunately, the shin-to-shin impact did not hurt much as Ayame did not throw her kick with full power (it was sparring, after all).

"Impressive," Blair said. "You've got better reaction time than I would have guessed at first...that's definitely going to do you well."

While Blair was talking, Ayame subtly adjusted her position, moving back and to her right to create some distance between herself and Blair. After Blair finished talking, Blair attempted to throw a powerful left knee. However, before the knee could reach Ayame, Ayame threw a lead side kick aimed at Blair's midsection.

Hopefully, the side kick would push Blair back and stop her advance. If that was the case, Ayame would advance on Blair, moving forward and slightly to the right to cut an angle. Otherwise, Ayame would stand her ground, prepared to launch a counter.

[CaptainL]

Without seemingly breaking a sweat, Blair had managed to block Ayame's kick with a raise of her leg, fluidly moving from one position to the next. It was a routine she had been through many times before, and she was well used to it at this point, the moves coming to her head like a well-practiced dance. Her own reaction time was quite respectable in and of itself if she could pull something like this off, but the fact that Ayame had put her in this position to begin with told Blair she wasn't messing around either. If that was the case, and they truly were going to hone their abilities, Blair saw she would need to step up her game if she wanted to test Ayame's limits.

She dropped her leg down, pushing herself forward and raising her knee in the same motion as she passed the weight from one leg to the other. Blair thought that she would be able to push the advantage and break through Ayame's defenses with such a manuever - but that same reaction time in Ayame that Blair had praised before was coming to light now. Before her blow could land, Ayame threw out a kick of her own, and it caught Blair in the stomach, stopping her in her tracks! Her leg dropping to the floor, the Muay Thai fighter staggered backward with sputters and groans, left trying to shake the cobwebs out of her head as Ayame closed in. For now, it seemed, she was open for a follow-up if Ayame so chose to go for it.

[Ichi]

Had this been a match, Ayame probably would have gone in with some ground-and-pound to try and finish Blair. However, seeing as this was not a match, Ayame would simply attempt to push Blair onto her back and go into side control. If that worked, Ayame would attempt to hold Blair in that position for a few seconds. Then, Ayame would get off of Blair. While Ayame could have continued on the ground, she felt that she would gain more from focusing on striking---after all, Blair was a an elite striker, not a grappler.

"You okay?" asked Ayame in a distant manner. Her tone was not warm but at the same time, her tone was not hostile. Moreover, Ayame would back away to create some space to avoid any future surprise attacks. However, Ayame did not judge Blair for her surprise attack---after all, Ayame had also launched a surprise attack earlier in the spar.

[CaptainL]

Winded as she was from the head-on collision she'd incurred with Ayame's leg, Blair was staggered, her head spinning from the impact she'd incurred. She bent over forward, and she tried to suck in air through the gaps in between her clenched teeth to try and regain her stamina. However, she'd ceded valuable time to her opponent in being hit - and, with her attention diverted to the aches and pains she felt all over her body, Blair didn't put up as much resistance as she ordinarily would've liked. Soon, Ayame had managed to push her down on her back, leaving the Muay Thai fighter staring up at her sparring partner.

With a dejected huff, Blair looked away. "Yeah. I'm fine." Her voice was matter-of-fact, but she seemed as though the fact she had been taken down was eating at her. Blair thought she was better than that, yet now she'd allowed herself to take so much damage, and expose herself to her enemy. If this were a real match, Ayame could well have pinned her then and there. If that had happened, it would be a blow to Blair's pride if she had been taken out so quickly. She hadn't been with LAW for very long, and didn't have many matches there to her name - how could she expect to stand a chance, she asked herself, if she could so easily be pushed around? She couldn't fathom the thought of gaining a reputation as a loser before she even had a chance to make a name for herself here.

She sighed with a shrug of her shoulders as she got herself back on her feet. Blair knew there was no use in dwelling on this fact when the sparring session was still going on, and moreover, Ayame had stepped back to allow her room to rise. This time, though, she let herself slip into a defensive stance, keeping her arms raised and ready to set up a guard if Ayame came near. She watched her opponent carefully, waiting for the right moment to act.

[Ichi]

Ayame had her suspicions that Blair's pride had been hurt, if only a little. Admittedly, Blair did a good job of hiding that in her voice---but the fact that she looked away was pretty telling.

"At least she's not taking it out on me," thought Ayame. The sorts of people who took their frustrations out on others usually did not last long---they would either quit or be kicked out of the gym. On the flip side, those who were severely critical of themselves often did not last long either. The ones who did last usually figured out ways to cope: some learn to let go of those feelings and others overcompensate by training even harder, almost obsessively. Ayame had her suspicions that Blair fit into the latter category.

After Blair got up and took up her stance, Ayame inched closer to Blair. Then, once she was in range, Ayame would once again attempt to throw a quick lead sidekick aimed at Blair's body. While Ayame could have gone with a different kick, she wanted to condition Blair to expect the lead body sidekick.

After throwing the lead sidekick, Ayame would wait for Blair's response. She wanted to observe how her opponent would attempt to close the distance---after all, Ayame had a significant height advantage against Blair so Blair would have to close the gap.

[CaptainL]

As per usual, Blair didn't wear her emotions on her sleeve. She certainly felt the sting of frustration that came from seeing her opponent manage to take her off her feet, and the knowledge that she hadn't been able to stop it, but rather than direct it outward, her feelings turned in. The former Muay Thai fighter had no ill will toward Ayame - she was only upset with herself for not being able to defend against the attack. When she looked back at the redhead as she rose up to her feet, Blair could only think about how she would need to do better, and she was committed to putting forth her best efforts and surpassing even the levels she had been at before.

Keeping her heels dug into the ground, she maintained a defensive stance as she watched Ayame approach, her fists raised in front of her. Once again, she watched as Ayame kicked one of her feet up from the floor, but Blair was ready for it. At the same moment Ayame's foot had left the ground, Blair hopped to the side, letting it whiff by her. Then, taking a half-step forward to close the distance, Blair would swing out with her fist, aiming a hook into Ayame's jaw.

[Ichi]

Almost immediately after Ayame's foot left the ground, Blair jumped to the side, putting her towards Ayame's left side. The speed at which Blair moved caught Ayame off-guard. Additionally, the sense of timing required to dodge a side kick like that was nothing to scoff at either.

Due to how quickly and unexpectedly Blair managed to close the distance, Ayame had very little time to react to Blair's left hook. Moreover, Ayame's foot was still in the air after the kick, preventing her from using traditional head movement to slip the hook. As a last resort, Ayame spun her head to the right, her neck muscles barely having any time to move. Thankfully, the subtle turn on the neck allowed Ayame to avoid the brunt of the blow with Blair's fist instead grazing Ayame's cheek. However, had this been a serious match, even that strike would have hurt---and if this had been a serious match and Ayame hadn't dodged Blair's left hook, it could have been a knockout blow.

As soon as Ayame's lead foot hit the ground, she pushed off of her lead foot to create some distance between herself and Blair. Due to Ayame's natural explosiveness, she was able to create a fair bit of distance, putting her in kicking range. Then, making sure to keep her right hand glued to her chin, Ayame would chamber her lead leg as if she were going to throw a front kick or teep to the body.

However, instead of throwing a lead front kick or teep to the body, Ayame would suddenly turn her hips and whip her foot/shin towards Blair's head. This move was known as the question mark kick. True to the name, Ayame's foot would appear to trace out a "question mark" in midair, with the initial front kick feint serving as the "dot" and the whipping motion of the foot serving as the curved part.

Question mark kick image reference

Previously, Ayame had thrown a couple of kicks aimed towards the body. This was done to hopefully condition Blair to expect body kicks. Traditionally, the idea of the question mark kick is to feint a kick to the body, causing one's opponent to drop his or her elbows/arms to protect the body and leaving the head unguarded. Then, one whips their foot/shin up and towards the unguarded head to land a strike. Moreover, before throwing the question mark kick, one usually throws kicks to the body beforehand to get their opponent expecting body kicks.

However, given that Blair was startlingly fast on her feet, it was entirely possible that Blair would simply dodge to the side and attempt to close the distance as she had done earlier. Hopefully, in that case, if Blair dodged to her right (Ayame's left), the whipping motion of Ayame's leg would catch Blair on the way in. Otherwise, if Blair dodged to her left (Ayame's right), Ayame's right hand would be up, protecting her chin.

Granted, there was no guarantee that Blair would fall for Ayame's deception. Additionally, was possible that Blair would be able to close the distance fast enough to smother Ayame's kick---in that case, the two women would probably clinch. Regardless of the outcome, however, Ayame would make sure to pull her kick so that it does not hurt Blair.

[CaptainL]

Blair's speed had definitely given her the edge in many of her fights, no matter what discipline she entered. With her reflexes and reaction time honed by a combination of her attentiveness and her natural quickness, she had no trouble weaving her way around blows and firing back those of her own, often catching her opponents off guard. With the same momentum she had used to dodge Ayame's kick, Blair came in closer and threw a left hook into her face, the blow catching her opponent before she even had time to correct the missed strike.

All the same, Ayame had turned her head to the side at the last minute. While Blair was pulling her punches as it was, the fact that her knuckles could only graze her target would soften the impact of the blow even further. A part of her was impressed with Ayame's ability to react so quickly; perhaps the two of them weren't so different. But mostly, Blair was frustrated, and she grumbled under her breath as she drew her arm back. It didn't matter that her hit had landed - what stuck in her mind was that it could have been better.

Still, she would have a chance. Now that Ayame doubled back, she gave Blair a split second to react and adjust. She was still in range, of course, but whatever Ayame had coming next, Blair could anticipate it. She saw that she had a front kick set up. Blair figured it would be best to try and close the distance to put herself out of range, but given what she'd seen of Ayame's speed she didn't want to take her chances just yet. She began to lower herself, pointing her shoulders toward Ayame and raising her forearms to fold herself into a defensive position. Hopefully, this would also allow her to come closer to her opponent if she used the momentum of assuming the stance, hopefully putting her in a safer position.

That was Blair's thought process, anyway. It was all carefully constructed and honed from experience, and it might have actually worked - if Ayame had stuck with the teep! Instead, her leg swerved, coming up around to clip Blair in the side of the head!

Even if Ayame was holding back, it still wasn't the most conducive turn of events to Blair's plans. The Muay Thai fighter staggered to the side with a groan, wincing before she looked back at her sparring partner through narrowed and focused eyes. Ayame was good. She was keeping Blair guessing - and Blair was not someone who liked to be kept guessing about what her opponent would do next. She knew she would have to be prepared for that going forward, but for now, she could also see her chances to turn this to her advantage. Figuring that such a complex technique would leave Ayame off-center, Blair would attempt to come in closer to close the distance, hopefully getting within clinching range with Ayame before she could recover. If she could do that, hopefully she could prevent the same thing from happening again.